It’s the end of the classical music season for me as I won’t be attending any shows until September when SF Opera returns. Though I’ve only posted a handful of pieces about shows I saw, I often began writing but either got lazy and gave up, or enough time had passed that I no longer had a strong enough memory to sustain writing anything in-depth.
Thinking back on this year, I decided it would be fun to rank my favorite shows from the year. The parameters are pretty simple. I count productions where singing is the main focus, or an integral part of the work, so operas, oratorios, recitals, things of those nature. No symphonies, and no symphony performances where there was singing, but it was only for part of it. In total, I saw 7 operas, 1 recital, and 1 oratorio during the 2022-2023 season. Of the 7 operas, 4 were in Italian, 2 were in German, and 1 was in French. I saw 5 productions at the SF Opera and 3 at the Met in NY.
In descending order of enjoyment, here’s my year in review.
9. Britten: War Requiem (SF Symphony)
I saw Britten’s War Requiem at the SF Symphony with Ian Bostridge, Jennifer Holloway, and Brian Mulligan. Britten's works are not usually my thing, and this show only confirmed that for me, and while I liked this piece, I didn’t love it. For me, it was grand and interesting, but ultimately not something I feel like I need or want to see again.
8. Bellini: Norma (The Met)
I actually published an opinion on this show which you can find above, but the gist was that I liked the show but didn't love it, and I felt that the cast was inadequate. That being said, I love Bellini, and his works are not easy to find, at least for me. Any chance I get to see a piece by him is special, especially Norma.
7. Puccini: Madama Butterfly (SF Opera)
Though ranked at 7, I didn't really have any major gripes with this show. You can see my review above, but overall I found it to be very enjoyable, but lacking thrill. The singing was solid, but the staging and certain creative choices, namely the choice to have Trouble run around the stage, diminished the overall impact of the show.
6. Wagner: Lohengrin (The Met)
I saw Lohengrin while on Spring Break and started writing a piece on it and never finished. This was my second Wagner opera I saw, and I was slightly disappointed. I didn't love the B-Movie Sci-Fi setting, and I found Tamara Wilson as Elsa to be vocally secure, but a little bland character-wise. Otherwise I greatly enjoyed Piotr Beczała's Lohengrin, and his voice was big enough for the role. It was intersting hearing his essentialy Italianate timbre in a Germanic role and it worked better than I thought. My only complaint was that he looked like a guy from Wall Street stumbled into the Met on casual Friday.
5. Verdi: La Traviata (SF Opera)
I saw La Traviata back in the Fall of 2022 with Pretty Yende, Jonathan Tetelman, and Simone Piazzola. I liked this production, especially the two leads. Pretty Yende is famous now for her Violetta and it's easy to see why as she brings an earthy sweetness to the role. Jonathan Tetelman was thrilling for me, and the voice is larger and darker than I would expect from an Alfredo. I see him as a future Spinto. Simone Piazzola was disappointing for me, and I thought his characterization was bland and boring. The staging was fine, and Eun Sun Kim's conducting was excellent.
4. Strauss: Die Frau Ohne Schatten (SF Opera)
Going into Die Frau, I assumed that I might like it, but probably wouldn't. Thus I was surprised when I did in fact enjoy the show. For context, I saw Der Rosenkavalier at the Met in 2019 (with Camilla Nylund as the Marschallin) and was bored out of my fucking mind, so just the fact that I didn't hate this show was a win for me. The five leads were all strong, with Nina Stemme as the Dyer's Wife, and Linda Watson as the Nurse being the standouts for me. Stemme's voice is not what it used to be, but it's still massive and rich. Years of singing the heaviest roles in opera have clearly taken their toll, but the sound is still pretty glorious. Overall, a great show, with very questionable thematic content (I'm looking at you chorus of unborn children).
3. Verdi: La Traviata (The Met)
This show scored highly for me almost entirely because of Angel Blue. Her Violetta was superb, bringing a sense of maturity and fun that Yende's Violetta lacked. Her stage presence was commanding, and her characterization was fantastic. The voice is a spinto, and Violetta should be retired, but I'm an Angel Blue stan now. I can't wait for her Leonora in Il Trovatore in September. The rest of the case was fine, with Alfredo being good, not great, and Giorgio being great, especially in his duets with Angel Blue.
2. Poulenc: Dialogue des Carmélites (SF Opera)
My enjoyment of the show was the true surprise for me of the season. I am not usually a fan of anything from the early 20th century on, and I was worried that I would hate this show, but I was so glad to be wrong. Admittedly, the music is not my favorite, but I still felt that the action moved along at a satisfying pace and that performance-wise the show was firing on all cylinders. Heidi Stober as Blanche was great, operatic hottie Ben Bliss as the Chevalier was also good (when not thinking about the somewhat aggressive incestuous undertone that was part of his character for some reason), but what I'll really remember was Michaela Schuster as Madame de Croissy. Her death at the end of Act 1 was gripping and intense, and showcased how powerful opera can be. Combined with the sparse, but effective staging, this show was truly fantastic. The choice to have Schuster stand on a platform and give us a top-down view of her deathbed was somethign I'll never forget and only added to the already intense moment. A truly great night at the opera for me.
Joyce DiDonato: Eden (Cal Performances)
If you read my piece, then you know I'm a Joyce DiDonato stan, and that I've been trying to see her perform for a long time. When my wish was actually granted, I was beyond excited. DiDonato is probably the most sensitive artist I've ever seen perform, and her connection to and thoughtfulness in choosing the pieces she performed was inspired. She herself is a genuine person whose energy permeates in her performance. Her show was everything I wanted it to be and more. I only hope that I get to see her in a staged opera.