To be honest, I haven't really been to a great many live performances this year. No orchestral concerts, nothing in Period 4 at ROH. A lot skipped at ENO. Only half a performance at Holland Park. Two disappointing vocal concerts at the Barbican. No Proms. An avoidance of Puccini this autumn. I didn't review everything I went to - A gorgeous Handel evening with Carolyn Sampson at St John's Smith Square - I couldn't really say more than 'I enjoyed it very much'. I didn't review Juan Diego Flórez at the Barbican because he was suffering an allergy and couldn't give his all in a programme which, in any case, was never going to be my ideal evening out (too much Rossini).
I didn't write reviews of either Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci or Boris Godunov at ENO. In summary, the Cav was so-so, the Pag was brilliant and the Boris was probably better than I thought it to be (ie it was well performed but I have decided I don't like the opera, so it bored me).
Turkey of the year was undoubtedly La Gioconda at Opera Holland Park. I went with Jimmy. We left at the interval, which seemed a long time coming. Some people argue it was so bad it was good in a car-crash sort of way. Maybe. Roberto Alagna must also be mentioned in this paragraph. He was bad but I did stay until after at least some of the encores.
I have had some bad luck with cancellations - Anna Netrebko in Traviata, Anna Christy and Mark Stone in Lucia di Lammermoor, Marina Poplavskaya in Don Carlo. I have scored a hat-trick of last minute substitutions. When I say 'last minute' I mean 'during the course of the performance'. Mark Stone in Eugene Onegin, Marco Vratogna in Simon Boccanegra and Jennifer Check in Iphigénie en Tauride.
Of course I had trips abroad for Plácido and I think these should be placed in a separate category. Travelling abroad naturally means one's expectations are higher than when one just has to hop on an 87 bus. My readers know how much I adore Plácido so, of course, that also raises my expectations and also makes me more fearful of disappointment. And, of course, he is Plácido. He is legend, he is outstanding, arguably unique in the history of opera. He is the benchmark against which every singer will be measured for ever more. He is a phenomenon.
I enjoyed all four performances I caught of him. If I had to rank them, I would say Die Walküre (Barcelona), the Monday performance of Iphigénie en Tauride (Valencia), Tamerlano (Madrid) and the Saturday performance of Iphigénie. The best non-Plácido aspect of these Spanish performances was Waltraud Meier in Die Walküre. And René Pape in Die Walküre. And the personenregie in Die Walküre. In fact, also bearing in mind that the Liceu is the best opera house visited in almost all respects, Die Walküre Act 1 in particular should have knocked all competition out of the water and closed the debate, but for the lousy conducting.
So without further ado, here, in no particular order or logic are my highlights of the year, excluding my Spanish trips:
Best aria: Batter My Heart from Dr Atomic (okay, I'm cheating, the nearest I got to live was at the cinema). Second best, Vittoria, Vittoria from Cavaradossi Tosca
Aria that ought to be cut because it holds up the action too much: Vissi D'arte from Tosca
Best night out considering I didn't know what to expect. In second place, La Calisto. And in first place, The Minotaur
Best overwhelmingly wonderful vocal and dramatic performances, in no particular order: Gerald Finley as Eugene Onegin, Christine Rice as Arsace, Christine Rice as Ariadne , Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi, Rolando Villazón as Hoffmann and Barry Banks as Edgar
Accolades to singers in vocal categories that don't normally do it for me: Iestyn Davies and Ferruccio Furlanetto
Operas I enjoyed the least proportionate to the Praise heaped on them and the undoubted genius of their composer, and despite sterling performances from Simon Keenlyside: Die Zauberflote and Don Giovanni.
Most disappointing Verdi performance: In 4th place La Traviata, in 3rd place Don Carlo, in 2nd place, Roberto Alagna's Viva Verdi, and 1st place Simon Boccanegra. Okay, I'm being harsh on Trav and Don C, but my memory tells me that they were less than the sums of their parts, and spawned an award...
Roles that I would have reversed if I had a say in it: Rolando Villazón as Don Carlo and Jonas Kaufmann as Alfredo
Best production: La Calisto, Partenope, Minotaur, Pagliacci (or The Comedians)
Special award to three singers, all tenors as it happens, that I want to hear more of in the future having heard them for the first time this year: Ed Lyon, Ji-Man Park and Ismael Jordi (I'm cheating on this, I heard him in Spain).
Overall best performance of the year (outside of Spain): The Minotaur
Overall best non-Spanish singer of the year: Joint Runners Up - Gerald Finley, Jonas Kaufmann and Rolando Villazón. And the overall winner is, drum roll, Christine Rice!
Will my challenge for 2009 be to design a small award eg a certificate and see how many I can get to present in person?
