There’s been a lot of opera in 2024. And quite frankly, there’s been a lot of good opera.<\/p>\n
So as has become our tradition<\/a>, here is a look at some of OperaWire’s editorial team’s picks for their personal favorite performances of 2024.<\/p>\n It\u2019s always a tricky thing to think about one\u2019s “Performance of the Year.” Especially challenging when there were a great number of remarkable performances \u2013 for which, at this end of year \u2013 I am certainly thankful.<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n But for this exercise, I used some helpful criteria. First, was it extraordinary? Obvious one that. Then: were all the elements of the performance at the same or similar wonderful level? And finally, is there something perhaps surprising about it\u2026.even unexpected? <\/span>And with that, it was easy to make a choice. This year, during their always fantastic summer season, Tanglewood and the Boston Symphony Orchestra programmed Act three of Wagner\u2019s tetralogy finale, \u201c<\/span>G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung<\/a>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Extraordinary? Well, the BSO, under Andris Nelsons,\u00a0always<\/i> hits that mark. And the performers, remarkable as well, led by Christine Goerke\u2019s <\/span>Br\u00fcnnhilde<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Michael Weinius\u2019s<\/span> Siegfried. But the entire ensemble was simply wonderful.\u00a0<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n And the surprise? That in a summer concert series, people picnicking on the lawn, candles and bubbly often spotted, such a weighty piece was scheduled, and then pulled off. And with such intense drama\u2026despite no sets and mostly minus props, and yet riveting. Totally compelling \u2013 and I say this having been to the mecca of Wagner performances, Bayreuth.<\/u><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n This is undoubtedly one of the best shows of 2024, showcasing a fresh revitalization of a little-known gem from the operatic repertoire. This hilarious contemporary farce by Nino Rota\u2014a prolific yet often unperformed composer in the operatic realm\u2014shone brightly in an impeccable production that perfectly captured the work’s light and sophisticated essence.<\/p>\n Moreover, Teatro alla Scala brilliantly merged the nostalgic charm of this piece with a modern and dynamic staging, resulting in a vibrant and unforgettable experience<\/a>. This production not only celebrated Rota’s operatic brilliance but also left audiences with an enduring smile.<\/p>\n 2024 was a wonderfully opera-enriched year for me, making it very difficult to pick a single outstanding moment. The amazing Aigul Akhmetshina performed two brilliant stagings of “Carmen,” at the ROH and at Glyndebourne and the incredible Aida Garifulina performed a breathtaking Violetta in the ROH\u2019s “La Traviata.”<\/p>\n Alas, pride of place must fall to the ROH\u2019s production of “Andrea Chenier<\/a>.” It saw superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann return to something like his former best after a series of illnesses, not least one which clearly rendered him struggling just two weeks prior to this performance when he took part in the concert celebrating 22 years of Sir Antonio Pappano at the ROH. But this night surely must belong to the wonderful Sondra Radvanovsky who sang the most heart-rending Act three aria, “La mamma morta,” where her character, Maddalena, recounts the death of her mother. Her genuinely tear-inducing rendition was made all the more poignant by virtue of Radvanovsky still mourning the loss of her own Mother in 2022. After the performance, she told me that the last time she had sung it, her mother had been in the audience, and that getting through the aria was a huge, personal struggle.<\/p>\n By chance, all the best performances I attended during 2024 occurred over a couple of months during the summer. All were festival productions. It was a production of H\u00e4ndel\u2019s oratorio \u201cIl Trionfo del Tempo e Disinganno,<\/a>\u201d however, that stood out. The work, although being defined as an oratorio, has received many fully staged performances over the years, albeit with mixed results; the main problem is that its lack of physical action often leads to uninteresting, static productions. G\u00f6ttingen\u2019s H\u00e4ndel Festival opted for a concert performance, yet the innovative approach of director Ilka Seifert and Folkert Uhde\u2019s staging managed to create a dramatically strong reading through the use of live intimate video projections that captured the emotional depths of the characters. There were no costumes or scenery, but it did not matter; the large screen behind the orchestra focused the audience\u2019s attention on the emotions etched on the singers\u2019 faces in a way that was far more convincing than one finds in a normal staged performance.<\/p>\n The four soloists, sopranos Anna Dennis and Em\u00f6ke Bar\u00e1th, countertenor Xavier Sabata and tenor Emanuel Tomljenovic, produced superb readings that captured the stunning beauty of H\u00e4ndel\u2019s music while revealing the essence and emotional dimensions of their characters. The Festspielorchester G\u00f6ttingen, under the masterful direction of George Petrou, produced a sensitive and exquisitely fashioned performance that brought out the work\u2019s elegant beauty along with its full emotional charge. All the elements came together perfectly to create a truly memorable performance.<\/p>\n Metropolitan Opera debuted John Adams\u2019s \u201cEl Ni\u00f1o<\/a>,\u201d with libretto based on original sources by Peter Sellars and John Adams, to a sold out house of past, present, and future opera goers on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024. \u201cEl Ni\u00f1o\u201d is unlike anything John Adams has done before and the historical timing of this debut is uncanny. This was his fourth work to be performed at Met Opera, including \u201cDoctor Atomic\u201d (2008), \u201cNixon in China\u201d (2011), and \u201cThe Death of Klinghoffer\u201d (2014).<\/p>\n History was made on this night because the majority of the cast made their own debuts, including director\u00a0Lileana Blain-Cruz, conductor\u00a0Marin Alsop, soprano\u00a0Julia Bullock, baritone\u00a0Dav\u00f3ne Tines, countertenors\u00a0Key\u2019mon W. Murrah\u00a0and\u00a0Siman Chung, set designer\u00a0Adam Rigg, lighting designer\u00a0Yi Zhao, projection designer\u00a0Hannah Wasileski, puppet designer\u00a0James Ortiz\u00a0and choreographer\u00a0Marjani Fort\u00e9-Saunders.<\/p>\n Director Lileana Blain-Cruz\u2019s dedication to building her own creative team took this production to the new heights that Met Opera dreams about, making this the best performance of 2024. Met Opera will debut John Adams\u2019s newest opera in 2024-25, \u201cAntony and Cleopatra\u201d (2022), which also stars Julia Bullock in the titular role of Cleopatra.<\/p>\n Some quick shoutouts to Lisette Oropesa in “La Sonnambula” in Rome and Benjamin Bernheim in “Rom\u00e9o et Juliette<\/a>” at the Met Opera – two of the most vocally exquisite performances I heard all year. After watching a rather shockingly messy opening performance of “La Gioconda” at Napoli, I was not looking forward to round two. But the team came together and delivered a true knockout<\/a>, a testament to the beauty of live theater and the second chances it provides. Then there’s the cast of “Die Frau ohne Schatten” at the Met, a true miracle of modern opera. Finally, Teatro Grattacielo’s production of “Beyond the Horizon<\/a>” was emblematic of how new opera can truly flourish an independent scale.<\/p>\n But as far as THE performance of the year… I saw three of them. And they were all “Ainadamar<\/a>.” Every single one of these three shows was truly mesmerizing and special. All of them different experiences. All of them revelatory. If you wanted to show people what opera could be and is, this is the perfect piece with which to do it. Because it’s more than opera. It’s a work that pushes the boundaries of what the artform can do. An opera that is truly inclusive not only in its content but in its form – it is opera, theater, flamenco, experimental art, poetry, all wrapped into one. Given the times we live in, we need the Met to champion more works like this.<\/p>\n Picking a best performance is always hard, especially when there are so many memorable performances in a year. How could I forget Lisette Oropesa\u2019s show-stopping \u201cSonnambula<\/a>\u201d in Rome and Asmik Grigorian\u2019s heartbreaking “Madama Butterfly<\/a>” in her Met debut? And what about the amazing production of “La Gioconda” at the Teatro San Carlo directed by Romain Gilbert, who brought opera back to its glory days? And then there was Ailyn Perez and Lucas Meachem giving it their all at the Houston Grand Opera in “Il Trovatore.<\/a>” And of course, there was Freddie De Tomasso<\/a>\u2019s Met debut as Cavaradossi. But the best of the year was by far “La Forza del Destino” at the Teatro alla Scala and “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” at the Metropolitan Opera,<\/a> reminding us that there is still a golden age of singers and opera.<\/p>\n At La Scala, Riccardo Chailly led a skillful and heartfelt performance demonstrating the many colors of Verdi\u2019s music while Leo Muscato gave us a production of Verdi’s work that connected many periods and showed how war is essentially similar no matter the time. Anna Netrebko demonstrated a sincere musicality that was enhanced by her expressiveness, especially in her arias “Son Guinta” and “Pace Pace Mio Dio,” while Ludovic Tezier gave us a Don Carlo that was both virtuosic in its technique but also musically incisive. Brian Jagde demonstrated some gorgeous high notes and true chemistry with his colleagues, while Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Alexander Vinogradv, and Marco Filippo Romano were exceptional in their supporting roles<\/p>\n At the Met, Lise Lindstrom, Elza Van den Heever, and Nina Stemme were just spectacular as the trio of divas. Nothing could prepare you for the power of these voices and the naturalism they have for this repertoire. By contrast, Micahel Volle gave a subtle and moving performance as Barak, while Russell Thomas showed that he is a tenor to look out for in this repertoire. Ryan Speedo Green was fantastic in his role and Yannick Nezet-Seguin proved to be a worthy conductor of Strauss’ music. Finally, the production by Herbert Wernicke continues to be the masterpiece of the Met and the only production this season that really deserved an HD and sadly is still not recorded for the history books.<\/p>\n Rudolph submitted a video in which he explains why he loves “The Savage Land.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMatt Costello: Act three of “G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung” – Tanglewood<\/h3>\n
Bernardo Gaitan:\u00a0“<\/i>Il cappello di paglia di Firenze” – Teatro alla Scala<\/h3>\n
Mike Hardy: “Andrea Ch\u00e9nier” – Royal Ballet & Opera<\/h3>\n
Alan Neilson: “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno” – G\u00f6ttingen International\u00a0 H\u00e4ndel Festival<\/h3>\n
Jennifer Pyron: “El Ni\u00f1o” – The Metropolitan Opera<\/h3>\n
David Salazar: “Ainadamar” – Metropolitan Opera<\/h3>\n
Francisco Salazar: “La Forza Del Destino” \/ “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” – Teatro alla Scala \/ Metropolitan Opera<\/h3>\n
Rudolph Tang: “The Savage Land” – China Conservatory of Music<\/h3>\n