Awards,
International Opera Awards - The Winners!
The winners of this year's International Opera Awards were announced last night at a star-studded ceremony at the London Coliseum (home of English National Opera). Founded in 2012 by Harry Hyman in partnership with Opera Magazine, the Awards count Dame Janet Baker, Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni and Dame Felicity Lott among their patrons, with last night's ceremony including live performances from tenors Stuart Skelton and Bryan Hymel, mezzo Anita Rachvelishvili (fresh from recording her debut solo disc on Sony Classical) and Young Artist of the Year winner Louise Alder, who's all set to represent the UK in this year's Cardiff Singer of the World.
You can browse the complete results here, but here's our brief overview of the winners in the recordings categories, plus the most recent releases by the individual Artists of the Year.
Recording of the Year - Complete Opera
Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame
Misha Didyk, Tatiana Serjan, Larissa Diadkova, Alexey Shishlyaev, Alexey Markov; Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons
'Hearing as refined and lustrous an orchestra as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score is a treat in itself.' (The Guardian)
Available Formats: 3 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Recording of the Year - Solo Recital
'Her debut recording for Sony whets the appetite, tackling as it does some of the most fearsome challenges in the bel canto repertoire with fearless attack, plenty of zinging high notes, and sensitivity to emotional mood and vocal colour.' (The Times)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Female Singer of the Year - Anna Netrebko
Verismo
Anna Netrebko (soprano), Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
'Extracts from 10 operas show her voice reaching an exciting maturity, its increased weight matched by even more gleam, fizz and expressive projection. She has yet to sing most of these roles on stage, but inhabits them convincingly. ' (The Guardian)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Puccini: Manon Lescaut
Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Armando Piña, Carlos Chausson; Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Marco Armiliato
'Netrebko has developed the vocal sweep to carry the big phrases through, and her high notes, generally a strength, are glorious here. ' (Opera Now)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Male Singer of the Year - Lawrence Brownlee
Allegro io son: Bel canto arias
Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Kaunas State Choir, Constantine Orbelian
'Repeated playings prompt ever-growing admiration for Brownlee’s completely stocked technical armoury, and the artistry at once fine-grained, direct speaking and diligently polished which that technique unfailingly serves.' (Opera)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Conductor of the Year - Philippe Jordan
Schoenberg: Moses und Aron
Thomas Johannes Mayer, John Graham-Hall, Nicky Spence; Orchestre et Chœurs de National de L'Opéra de Paris, Philippe Jordan
Due for release this Friday, Jordan's account of Schoenberg's Old Testament epic in Paris in late 2015 was described by Seen and Heard International as 'an astonishing musical achievement, with Jordan on top form, indeed magnificent form.'
Available Format: DVD Video
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1
Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris, Philippe Jordan
'The Paris Opéra’s young music director reminds us that Pictures at an Exhibition is one of Ravel’s great orchestral scores, bringing Gallic finesse to Mussorgsky’s craggy piano original.' (Sunday Times)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Readers' Award - Juan Diego Flórez
'The sun shines brightly out of Flórez’s open-hearted singing, capturing the carefree élan of Neapolitan songs...Mandolin, guitar and accordion add a piquant flavour to some bubbly orchestrations. The open-air ebullience is catching.' (Financial Times)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Festival of the Year - Wexford Festival Opera
Lifetime Achievement - Renata Scotto
Browse Katherine Cooper - Head of Editorial
