First, the sheer chutzpah of it: not that she won’t be good, but the heft the role requires is awesome.
I don’t much care how she hits the high C in O Patria Mia. After all, great sopranos like Tebaldi and Crespin could barely get that particularly exposed note in that aria right.
I’m more curious how she projects her voice through the massive ensemble of the Triumphal Scene.
I first heard Aida live in 1973–or rather act 3, when Leontyne Price sang that act at a Met Gala. Good heavens, that was exciting. I heard Price at the Met in the entire opera in 1976 and again at her final performance in 1985.
But I haven’t heard Netrebko in a long time, and I haven’t heard Aida in a long time.
Her costume, wig, makeup in the production still on the Met website provide a visual analogue that makes you want to hear the performance.