Opera is often at its most achingly beautiful when its characters are facing ultimate despair. A brilliant showcase for the rich, dark voice of Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, these heartbreaking arias from opera’s most tragic stories depict their heroines at their most vulnerable. Netrebko is an extraordinary actress, inhabiting her range of deep, sorrowful worlds with remarkable intensity, from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, who waits in vain for the father of her son to return, to Lisa from Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, weary with sorrow, abandoned by her lover. These triumphant performances are brilliantly supported by the Orchestra of La Scala and conductor Riccardo Chailly.