This is so difficult as I have loved pretty much everything I've seen! And I've seen so much, lucky, lucky me!
Il Trovatore - Met Opera - Live in HD
Dmitri Hvorostovsky - Sondra Radvanovsky - Marcelo Alvarez
I was expecting something special from my very first look at Dmitri Live in HD (only previously saw him once on tv in Eugene Onegin with Renee Fleming - instantly knocked out by him, smitten of course). Had no idea how amazing his performance was going to be and how could he possibly, as Count di Luna, steal the show, but steal the show he did, and I still get breathless every time I think of how good that performance was. Sondra was great too loved her.
Yes this was such an amazing performance from Dmitri, think it has to rate as the performance of the year for me - he just manages to edge out Jonas Kaufmann's Cavaradossi (Tosca), but only just!
Tosca - Royal Opera House - Cinema Screening
Jonas Kaufmann - Bryn Terfel - Angela Gheorghiu
My second chance to see Jonas Kaufmann in action on the big screen (I do love opera in cinemas!) and as I have previously confessed in this blog, this is where he stole my heart. Both Jonas and Bryn Terfel put in stunning performances, Angela G was great also but with these two giants centre stage, was a little overshadowed. I was totally transfixed throughout.
pssssst - if you've not seen it yet, here it is
Die Walkure - Met Opera - Live in HD
Jonas Kaufmann - Eva-Marie Westbroek - Bryn Terfel - Debra Voigt
Little did I know as I sat in my seat waiting for Die Walkure to start that I was about to witness one of the most sizzling love scenes - Wagner, surely not - I had thus far seen in opera - yet Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Marie Westbroek together blew me away with their tender passion and magical chemistry. My first viewing of Jonas Kaufmann and I was very very impressed. That was THE highlight for me but I loved the entire opera, the staging included - even after five and a half hours, forty minute late start due to technical issue at The Met and with a numb rear I would happily have sat through it all again! Bryn Terfel and Debra Voigt were just fabulous also, wonderful chemistry between them as well, particularly for the final scene and the staging came into it's own for The Ride of The Valkyries, my word what a ride!
Macbeth - Royal Opera House
Simon Keenlyside - Lyudmila Monastyrska
My very first trip to the Royal Opera House, and boy was I excited! My first real live opera!
Having seen and been impressed by Simon Keenlyside in Met Opera's Hamlet on TV I really wanted to see more of him and this was the first opportunity to see him live on stage at The Royal Opera House. Loved it! The two leading stars were fabulous and I was totally blown away by Lady Macbeth, wow can she sing!! Must give an extra special mention to The Royal Opera House Chorus, they were awesome and I particularly loved the witches, all 32 of them!!!!! (pic below)
Am very excited to have learnt that this production will be available on dvd very shortly - end of this month I think.
Cendrillon - Royal Opera House
Joyce DiDonato - Alice Coote 
So excited to have the opporunity to see my very very favourite lady in the opera world - Joyce DiDonato - at Royal Opera House as Cendrillon, my first chance to see her sing live. What a magical evening it was too, full of beautiful singing and a stunning performance from Joyce, also Alice Coote as the Prince was great and their love duet together fabulous as their voices blended so beautifully together.
Have heard that this production will be available on dvd in the spring and it's screening in cinemas around the world this month - don't miss it!
A bit more about my Cendrillon experience here
http://annez-reflectionz.blogspot.com/2011/12/cendrillon-royal-opera-house-looking.html
Le Comte Ory - Met Opera - Live in HD
Joyce DiDonato - Juan Diego Florez - Diana Damrau
What a fabulous romp this was and my introduction to three of the greatest singers around.
Faust - Royal Opera House
Dmitri Hvorostovsky - Vittoria Griggolo - Rene Pape - Angela Gheorghiu
Dmitri, as Valentin, died beautifully. And yes a stunning performance from him that took mine, and pretty much everyone else's, breath away - he stole the show.
Loved it so much went for another taste at the live cinema screening the following week.
Faust - Met Opera - Live in HD
Jonas Kaufmann - Rene Pape - Marina Polavskaya
Did not expect this to surpass the ROH production I had so recently seen nor get even close really. Was I soooooo wrong. Even without Dmitri as Valentin (how could they miss him out) I felt this was on the whole a much better cast - Rene Pape was a fabulous Mephisto in both - except of course for that one obvious oversight on the part of The Met! Both Jonas Kaufmann and Marina Poplavskaya outshone their counterparts from the Royal Opera House production, such great singing from them both that the strange setting seemed to evaporate before my eyes as if it were not there.
Anna Bolena - Met Opera - Live in HD
Anna Netrebko - Stephen Costello
Anna Netrebko was stunning in this role. Anna Netrebko WAS Anna Boleyn, those silken honey-gold tones were just so incredibly beautiful.
There is a dvd out now of Anna Netrebko in this role in Vienna, just a shame Stephen Costello not in that one but hey, the bonuses are that Elina Garanca (Anna and Elina are amazing together) and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (Enrico) are in that one and it's another incredible performance from Netrebko!
Der Freishutz - Weber arr Berlioz
BBC Proms - Royal Albert Hall
I cannot close the curtain on 2011 without giving this a mention. My first view of an opera in concert format, although it was semi-staged. I had not come across it before at all until I saw it in the proms program, decided to dip my feet in and give it a try.
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| Sir John Eliot Gardiner |
-
Weber
Der Freischütz (135 mins)
(French version, 1841, with recitatives by Berlioz; concert performance)
- Andrew Kennedy tenor (Max)
- Sophie Karthäuser soprano (Agathe)
- Gidon Saks bass (Kaspar)
- Virginie Pochon soprano (Ännchen)
- Matthew Brook bass-baritone (Kuno)
- Monteverdi Choir
- Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
- Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor
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| Andrew Kennedy and Matthew Brook |
Also attended a wonderful pre-concert interview with John Eliot Gardiner across the road at the Royal College of Music where he gave a lot of insight into the re-arrangement by Berlioz - I found this fascinating and was very impressed.
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| Sophie Karthuser and Virginie Pochon |
I really loved the concert itself, the singing was fantastic - the music just blew me away and, although not ever having heard the original, liked that the recitatives were sung instead of spoken - can't say I'm too keen on the spoken word in opera, can't explain why.
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| Andrew Kennedy and Gidon Saks |
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