The One Secret to Anna Netrebko's Undying Success


By Bill Zuckerman
 
Anna Netrebko is such a good janitor.
 
In fact, if she weren’t such a stellar janitor, she would probably not be the world-class opera star she is today.
 
A little more than two decades ago, the aspiring and gifted young Netrebko was studying music performance at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. Simultaneously, she got a job in the prestigious Mariinsky Theatre of Saint Petersburg, which was directed under the baton of Valery Gergiev at the time.
 
As a janitor.
 
So did Anna Netrebko simply get a job as a janitor at the Mariinsky Theatre for the sole reason that she needed some extra cash to help pay her bills and schooling?
 
Maybe. I don’t know Anna so I didn’t ask her.
 
But I would be willing to bet she made this very shrewd and calculated move for a very different reason. If she needed extra cash just to fund her student lifestyle, she could have worked as a waitress, in an office, at a register, in a retail outlet, etc. All of these jobs would probably have been more comfortable than custodian work, where one has to mop and clean after thousands of others on a daily basis.
 
Anna Netrebko likely has a deep intuition for social science and dynamics, an intuition that, combined with her unbelievable talent, has propelled her to the highest ranks of international classical music performance.
 
So how does being a janitor make Anna Netrebko a super famous opera performer?
 
Before we answer that, let’s examine the beginnings of some other famous musicians. A common trait we can consistently see about successful people, in any field, is that they will go the distance to put themselves into a situation that could open up doors to greater opportunities, even if they have to go through the throes of being an underemployed and underappreciated person first.
 
In music, we have seen people like composer Nico Muhly work as Philip Glass’s copyist and recording studio assistant (translation: sometimes doing musical arrangements, sometimes doing coffee runs). Philip Glass himself once started a moving company with composer Steve Reich so they could work together and support their art.
 
Renée Fleming had early employment as a student singing at an off-campus dive bar. World-famous Hollywood film composer Hans Zimmer, who now makes millions per score, got a job writing 30-second jingles in his early 20s barely scratching away a living. And speaking of famous film score composers, let’s not forget John Williams, whose earliest work in film was actually as a lowly studio pianist for other famous composers of the early 1960s.
 
The list could go on for dozens of pages, but in all of these examples we see musicians who put themselves in a position to succeed and network with other professionals, even if they are not yet fully appreciated and compensated for their passions and talents.
 
So what do you think happened the day Anna Netrebko auditioned for a spot in the prestigious Mariinsky Theatre?
 
Well, conductor Valery Gergiev immediately knew who she was, recognizing her as a janitor from his very own theatre. Of course, when she sang for him, he was stunned that his lowly custodian had such enormous talent. He offered her a position in the theatre, and ever since her story has become the stuff of legendary opera history.
 
So should you go file an application to be a janitor at the Metropolitan Opera? Maybe, but that isn’t exactly the point.
 
If you want to have success on any level, whether it be in an international scene or in a more local area, it is critical to emerge yourself into the culture of whatever you are doing, at any cost and at any risk of what others will think about you (do you think Anna Netrebko thought being a janitor would be an instant status booster?)
 
Think about those famous composers who did work well below their talents in order to get to know other musicians, or how Renee Fleming sang non-classical music just to get the opportunity to perform for other people…at a dive bar.
 
A good rule of thumb is that if the opportunity you are pursuing is outside of your typical comfort zone, but still related to what you want to do, then it’s probably going to help you grow infinitely as a person in and out of music.
 
For most conservatory and professional musicians, being a janitor would be far out of the question as a means of real employment; having such a job would be very much out of the comfort zone of a normal person.
 
But I’d be willing to bet that Anna Netrebko, a thoroughly eccentric and not-normal persona, wouldn’t be known as who she is today if she weren’t such a good janitor. I’d bet a great deal on that statement, actually, since her custodian position ultimately opened up the doors to her becoming Gergiev’s biggest star ever.
 
So what situations are you willing to put yourself through for your art? For your career?
 
The right answer isn’t conveyed in words – it is just simply done.
 

Bill Zuckerman is a composer and the author behind Music School Central, a website dedicated to helping musicians choose the best music schools and careers for their talents. Check out www.musicschoolcentral.com for more information – follow Bill @musicschoolcent.