Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon Reunite For the Russian Soprano's New Verdi Album

Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon will reunite for the Russian soprano's new album.

The two superstars, who were at one point marketed as the "golden couple of opera," will reunite for a scene from Verdi's Il Trovatore. During a press release for the new CD, company Deutsche Grammophon stated  Tenor Rolando Villazón, who launched Verdi Year with his own solo album on Deutsche Grammophon, here joins forces with Netrebko for a scene from the final act of Il trovatore."

The news comes as a surprise as the two singers have not performed or recorded anything together since 2009 when they headlined "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Metropolitan Opera.

The press release also noted that the album would contain arias from five Verdi operas and that the repertoire was chosen by Netrebko. The company stated. "With this recording, Anna Netrebko has chosen to explore the psychological depths of five of Verdi's most complex characters. Anna Netrebko - Verdi opens with excerpts from Macbeth, including Lady Macbeth's nerve-jangling sleepwalking scene ("Una macchia è qui tuttora"), and progresses through the turbulent psychological landscapes of Giovanna d'Arco, Elena from I Vespri Siciliani and Elisabetta from Don Carlo and on to Leonora from Il trovatore."

Netrebko also commented on reuniting with conductor Gianandrea Noseda.The diva said, "Recording this album has been a wonderful journey, full of discoveries. Together with Gianandrea and the fantastic orchestra, our goal is to do justice to Verdi's beautiful creations."

Netrebko and Villazon first came to fame in 2005 with their performances in "La Traviata" at the Salzburg Festival. They also collaborated on "La Boheme," "Rigoletto," "Romeo et Juliette," "L'Elisir d'Amore," and "Manon." The duo also collaborated on a CD entitled duets and headlined the Met's 40^th Anniversary Gala.

Villazon is currently celebrating Verdi's Biccentennial with a European tour entitled Viva Verdi. His next operatic role will be in Mozart's "Lucio Silla" at the Salzburg Festival.

Netrebko is also celebrating Verdi this summer as she performs arias and duets from the composer on June 19^th alongside baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky. The concert will be broadcast in movie theaters worldwide. Netrebko will then make a stop at the Verbier Festival to sing the first act of Verdi's "Otello," and later make her role debut in Verdi's "Giovanna D'Arco" at the Salzburg festival. Netrebko will also make her role debut as Leonora in "Il Trovatore" at the Berlin State Opera and her role debut as Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

The new album will be released August 9.