Gounod: Va! je t'ai pardonné (from Roméo et Juliette)

For about eighty years following its premiere in 1859, Gounod’s Faust was the most performed opera on the planet – so much so that the Metropolitan Opera in New York became known as the ‘Faustspielhaus’. Post-war audiences however turned against the work, regarding it at best as a museum piece and at worst, as an example of nineteenth century kitsch. Recently however, Faust has been re-evaluated and modern audiences, appreciative of its magnificent tunes and superb dramatic appeal, have once again fallen under its spell. This 1951 recording captures Eleanor Steber, Eugene Conley and Cesare Siepi in superb voice as they recreate their roles from the beginning of the Bing era at the Met. Bonus items taken from Mireille and Roméo et Juliette give further examples of Gounod’s passionate lyricism.

The forthcoming season marks the 10th anniversary of Anna Netrebko’s debut with the Metropolitan Opera, New York. The new album celebrates this milestone by bringing together her greatest MET moments throughout the past 10 seasons - performances never before issued on record and most never commercially released on any format.

Anna Netrebko's first operatic album sold more than 300,000 units, the second, Sempre libera, more than 400,000, while her live recording of Verdi's La Traviata has sold in excess of 350,000 on CD alone. This new album, capturing the thrill of her greatest performances on one of the world's most iconic stages, will be a major event for hundreds of thousands of fans who have followed her career in the opera house, on radio, on CD, on DVD and in cinemas worldwide.

Over the past decade, The Met has played host to many of the Russian soprano’s greatest triumphs, from Prokofiev’s War and Peace in 2002 to her most recent appearance, in 2010, as Adina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale. The album also includes virtuoso arias from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Bellini's I Puritani, Verdi's Rigoletto, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Puccini's La Bohème.

The selections - including performances with tenors Roberto Alagna, Joseph Calleja and Juan Diego Flórez - demonstrate Anna Netrebko's remarkable vocal range and dramatic imagination. All recorded live, they are infused with her unique vocal magnetism and irresistible on-stage charisma.