HOWZAT

Watch Karita Mattila sing Rusalka's Song to the Moon with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

3. Natalie Dessay

Unquestionably the finest actress on the list, a blazing Dessay performance makes Netrebko look like a clockwork doll. She idolises Callas and arguably comes closer than any other opera singer to realising her fusion of drama and music into one gesture, one thought.

She’s edgy, too, though not necessarily to her own benefit. She has spats with directors and in the past has been less than kind about the histrionic flair of some of her colleagues. The difficulty is that this gives her less of a populist touch than some of her rivals - take her as you find her, but don’t expect her to make nice for the PR benefits. And, although her light lyric voice has grown weightier over the years, she’ll never sing the meat and potatoes Italian roles that Netrebko has already set her eyes on.

Voice: 8
Visuals: 10
Roles: 6
Back story: 6
Celeb factor: 5
35/50

Watch Natalie Dessay sing Où va la jeune hindoue from Delibes's Lakmé

2. Angela Gheorghiu

The obvious choice pre-Netrebko, but the Romanian continues to lose ground. The main difficulty now is choosing the right rep: Gheorghiu is so picky, and her voice still on the light side - leaving limited opportunities beyond those delicate flowers such as Mimi in La Boheme, Magda in La rondine and Violetta in La traviata. Trouble is, all those women are supposed to be considerably younger than Gheorghiu now is. The scandal-o-meter, meanwhile, is ticking over nicely (she was recently fired from Chicago Lyric Opera for another no-show at rehearsals) but eventually she may have to realise that there are younger models out there who are considerably more willing to please.

Voice: 7
Visuals: 8
Roles: 6
Back story: 10
Celeb factor: 6
37/50

Watch Angela Gheorghiu sing Habanera from Bizet's Carmen

1. Anna Netrebko

The Russian soprano continues her domination of the operatic globe - even though it’s less than a year since the birth of her first child. But why would that stop her? Even the new baby son (whose father is the hunky Uruguayan baritone Erwin Schrott) added to her star quotient. Netrebko sings a higher concentration of “Callas parts” than any other singer on our list. She cancels just enough performances to add the all-important notes of controversy (a recent no-show at Covent Garden was another smart move). And, most importantly, any vocal deficiences - some bumpiness in the bel-canto rep, diffident diction - are neatly overcome by her theatrical daring and film-star looks. Currently untouchable on all counts, and doesn’t her record label know it.

Voice: 8
Visuals: 10
Roles: 9
Back story: 9
Celeb factor: 9
45/50

Watch Anna Netrebko sing Puccini's O soave fanciulla with Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon

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