Netrebko finally breaks Covent Garden curse

The opening night of La Traviata saw the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on its feet after every act - bewitched by a spellbinding performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko. But since that night two weeks ago the singer, who is being hailed as the next Maria Callas, has had to cancel three subsequent performances due to bronchitis. Her illness has been a cruel blow to opera fans who have paid up to £175 a ticket to see an unknown Albanian understudy, Ermonela Jaho, play the role of Violetta instead.

Netrebko's illness is the latest in a series of high-profile cancellations that have struck the Royal Opera House this winter, prompting the Daily Telegraph to call it "the curse of Covent Garden". Bryn Terfel, the Welsh bass baritone, pulled out of his long-anticipated debut in Wagner's Ring cycle after his young son needed an operation. Then Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon - who has been romantically linked with Netrebko - cancelled his entire run in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore.

Netrebko's first performance on January 14 has been described as "sensational" and "dazzling" by opera critics. "No one who was there will ever forget it," wrote the Observer's Peter Conrad of Netrebko's dying courtesan Violetta. "I watched her through my tears... she had just given the finest performance anyone could remember in one of the most demanding roles in the repertory." (Continued below)

The Russian singer, 36, who has featured on Time magazine's list of the world's most influential people, was finally passed fit by doctors to perform for a second time on Saturday. The opera house is hoping that she will also be able to appear in her final scheduled performance on Tuesday night.