Out of the blue and into a sea of trouble, Plácido Domingo told Anna Netrebko, as recorded in Die Zeit:
"Yes, I talk about you. And I am talking about the calibre of a Maria Callas. And I do not just mean the voice, but the musical intuition, the acting, your phenomenal stage presence. Just everything."
Netrebko responded wisely and correctly: "Callas is unparalleled."
But Domingo insisted: "She was unparalleled until you came along."