Albert Herring (not strictly ROH but staged by ETO at the Linbury)
The Minotaur
Eugene Onegin (new production)
Written on Skin (new production)
La Boheme
Tosca (twice plus a rehearsal)
Nabucco (new production)
Die Zauberflote (twice)
Don Carlo (twice)
La Donna del Lago (new production)
Gloriana (new production)
La Rondine
So, not included in my considerations are the Ring Cycle which kicked off the season (still a bit of a Wagner-phobe...or Ring-phobe), L'elisir d'amore, Robert le Diable (probably just as well), Simon Boccanegra or Cappricio in concert.
Best New Production
This was a perversely hard decision as quite frankly I think most of the new productions this season have been a bit of a let down - I do hope this isn't going to be a trend. But in the end my vote goes to....
Gloriana. Although some critics didn't enjoy the 1950's framing device, I thought it worked. I also enjoyed the commitment of the cast and of the conductor Paul Daniel, and although Susan Bullock's voice is not a beautiful instrument, she was touching in the final scene and the whole opera was a joy to watch. Toby Spence was also a fine Essex and brought a sweet vulnerability to the part.
Worst New Production.
Where to start? For the most part I found the new productions this season depressing or incomprehensible or both. Doppelgängers in Eugene Onegin could have been a good idea but the execution was clumsy and interfered too much with the story. Rather perversely I enjoyed the production of Written on Skin but hated the actual music. Nabucco was musically very good indeed but so depressing to watch - 50 Shades of Grey indeed. So that just leaves the winner of this category....
La Donna del Lago. Poor Joyce. She's a game girl but even she couldn't persuade me of the merits of this one. Which is a pity as the singing was sublime - as you would expect with Joyce di Donato and Juan Diego Florez. But what a waste of such fantastic singers. One where you closed your eyes and listened.
Best Production Revival
A bit spoilt for choice here and most of the revived productions were well executed, well sung and had their particular merits but for me the winner is....
Worst Production Revival
Actually very hard to pick out a production that I'd label 'worst' so be kind I'd say that this one is less good in comparison to others this season. The winner is....
La Boheme. Now don't get me wrong, I like Boheme as much as the next person and I also know that this production is vintage and 'well loved' but honestly I think its time for a new production to have a fresh look at this. Mind you, given the lack-lustre new productions this season perhaps we'd better stick with this for a few more years. The singers were fine and in some cases very fine indeed. Sonya Yoncheva as Musetta impressed, as did Hibla Gerzmava as Mimi. Vittorio Grigolo I found quite annoying. His arrogance and mannerisms on stage did him no favours, which is a pity because when he settled down and started paying attention to his fellow singers (and the conductor) he was actually quite good.
Which brings me to...
Best Male Singer Performance
For regular readers of this blog (and my twitterfeed) the winner of this award will probably come as no surprise. However there was some serious competition and honourable mentions must go to Charles Castronovo in Zauberflote and La Rondine; Feruccio Ferlanetto in Don Carlo, Aleksandrs Antonenko in Tosca and Toby Spence in Gloriana. But the winner has to be...
Jonas Kaufmann. As as I said, probably no surprise but honestly this performance just blew me away - so good I saw it twice. I would venture that the role of Don Carlo is a great fit for Kaufmann, he really seems to relish the dark, tormented characters in opera so this one fits the bill perfectly. And if you add superb acting to the daring vocalism and you have the perfect package. I'm hooked.
Best Female Singer Performance.
Lots of competition for this one too. I'm not as heavily invested in the female voice, although I do love a good mezzo it has to be said. Honourable mentions go to Angela Gheorghiu in Rondine, Sophie Bevan in Zauberflote, Lianna Haroutounian in Don Carlo and Krassimira Stoyanova in Eugene Onegin. But for me the winner is.....
Joyce di Donato. Whatever the faults of the production, the singing from Joyce was absolutely superb and if she had any doubts about what she was being asked to do, she certainly didn't show it. Add to that a winning manner and a wonderful down to earth personality which I was lucky enough to see in her masterclass, then Joyce is my Best Female Singer Performance of the season. Brava!
And finally...
Operatic Highlight of the Year.
This simply has to be...
Don Carlo. And not just because of the wonderful performance by Jonas Kaufmann. If you add Ferruccio Ferlanetto, Lianna Haroutounian, Mariusz Kwiecien, not to mention Tony Pappano conducting then you have a top class performance.
So that's it. Covent Garden is (relatively) quiet until the new opera season starts with Turandot on 9th September - I'll be having an early preview with the dress rehearsal on 7th September so watch this space.
In the meantime please do let me know your favourites of the season.
