the top 10 opera singers of today

renée fleming

anna netrebko

angela gheorghiu

anja harteros
joyce didonato

elina garanca
juan diego florez

jonas kaufmann

dmitri hvorostovsky

rené pape

1. 2nd revision of list on March 7th 2012, where plácido domingo is replaced by anja harteros. next to go are a) dmitri hvorostovsky if he does not improve upon his singing or b) angela gheorghiu if she does not expand her repertoire.
2. 1st revision June 17th 2012 after thorough deliberations, where waltraud meier and karita mattila from the initial list have been replaced by joyce didonato and juan diego florez.

Although there is most certainly always a subjective element to any top 10 list, the size of the singers career and popularity are important parameters alongside vocal quality.
My entirely subjective top 10 list below (random order):

eva-maria westbroek
anne schwanewilms (mainly in lieder)
waltraud meier
anna caterina antonacci
magdalena kozena (lieder and concert mainly)
karita matila
jonas kaufmann
peter mattei
gerald finley
rene pape

Anne Schwanewilms shines as Marschallin

Rosenkavalier. DVD. Dresden Semperoper in NHK Hall, Tokyo, Japan. 2007. Production: Uwe Laufenberg. Conductor: Fabio Luisi. Cast: Anne Schwanewilms (Marschallin), Anke Vondung (Octavian), Kurt Rydl (Ochs), Maki Mori (Sophie).

What sets this DVD apart from most is Anne Schwanewilms Marschallin.

Laufenberg´s staging is classic, dark, decidedly un-sparkling and updated to what probably is the 1950´s.

Hut here we have Anne Schwanewilms, in what is probably her best role. Truly spitzenklasse.  Her almost vibratoless middlevoice and her attack on the top notes is entirely unique and may be heard also in her superb lieder albums of Strauss. Furthermore she is radiant and projects a wonderful warmth. Quite possible the best Marschallin I have seen on DVD. Her voice is not big, her soprano is not soaring and on stage, she occasionally disappoints. But here, she is simply divine.
Anke Vondung has the perfect voice for Octavian. Firm, slender and with an effortless high register.
Maki Mori not quite on the level of the other two, though she is young and fresh with effortless high notes.
While Kurt Rydl definitely has the acting skills, as well as the deep notes, all the other notes come with a far from negligeable wobble. Fabio Luisi conducts a solid performance.

However this DVD is worth seeing for the sake of Anne Schwanewilms.

Act 1 "Da geht er hin":

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Anne Schwanewilms: 5
Anke Vondung: 5
Mori Maki: 3-4
Kurt Rydl: 3

Fabio Luisi: 3-4

Laufenbergs staging: 3

Overall impression: 4

DVD Hamburg Carmelites

Dialogues des Carmelites. Hamburgische Staatsoper 2008. Production: Lehnhoff, Conductor: Simone Young. Cast: Alexia Voulgaridou(Blanche), Anne Schwanewilms (Lidonie), Kathryn Harries (Croissy), Gabriele Schnaut (Marie), Jana Büchner (Constance).

With this production, Nikolaus Lehnhoff has excelled in what he does best:  Minimalistic productions based on geometric stage designs in discrete colours. Here: A black stage, no accessories. The colors are blue, black and white. It is very beautiful. In fact, Lehnhoff has created a staging to match the aetherial beauty of Poulenc. It also, unfortunately is very static, both in outlook and conception.
Essentially, Lehnhoffi is telling the story as I believe Poulenc would have had, though traditionalists may quibble that the production has been updated from the time of the French revolution until today,
a matter of less importance for this relatively ageless staging.

Of the soloists, only Gabriele Schnaut disappoints with an ugly wobbly sound. And to a minor degree Anne Schwanewilms whose voice is not well suited to the long vocal lines of Poulenc. Simone Young delivers a sumptuous reading of the score, which undoubtedly would have made her old mentor Daniel Barenboim happy.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff does not have the depth and interpretation of Tcherniakov´s recent Munich DVD. For the more traditionally inclined, Robert Carsen´s La Scala prodution is more lively and with an all-over better cast.

But this Carmelites is among Nikolaus Lehnhoff´s most beautiful productions.

Trailer:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):


Alexia Voulgaridou: 4
Anne Schwanewilms: 3
Kathryn Harries: 3
Gabriele Schnaut: 2
Jana Büchner: 3

Lehnhoffs staging: 3


Simne Young: 4

Overall impression: 3

Wonderful Christian Thielemann in Salzburg Die Frau Ohne Schatten



© Monika Rittershaus for Salzburger Festspiele

Die Frau Ohne Schatten. Grosses Festspielhaus, August 17th, 2011, Salzburg Festival. Christian Thielemann conducts the Vienna Philharmonics. Director: Christoph Loy. Soloists: Anne Schwanewilms (Kaiserin), Stephen Gould (Kaiser), Wolfgang Koch (Barak), Evelyn Herlitzius (his wife), Michaela Schuster (Amme).

• Maximum points to Christian Thielemann for a marvellously conducted performance, powerful and detailed and with the uncut version.
• Minimum points to Christof Loy for his non-staging, placing the action in the famous recording studio Sofiensaal at the time of the first recording of the opera (1955), creating a static and ineffective staging adding no more to the opera than a concert performance. And, for some obscure reason, the end takes place in the middle of a Christmas concert. Or indeed, adding less, as the secondary daily day drama between the characters singing Barak and his Wife is both annoying and redundant. To reduce Richard Strauss´ epic fairy-tale to this is simply a shame. Christof Loy is well-known for his static stagings (among the recent a rather superb Lucio Silla), but this is by far the most extreme he has taken his directorial approach. The next step would indeed be a concert performance. A golden opportunity for a magnificent DVD thus wasted, as Die Frau really is a conductors opera and some may well feel that Thielemann surpasses both Sawallisch and Solti on previous DVDs (Sawallisch perhaps but not Solti, imho....)
• All singers were good, but none were real standouts. Anne Schwanewilms, who originally trained as a mezzo, has a simply wonderful voice and etwas altmodisch way of singing almost vibratoless in the middle register, though the voice may be in the smaller range for the Empress. Always dramatically effective, though not overly nuanced vocally was Michaela Schuster, while Stephen Gould delivered the best I have heard him do and in any respect ways above his rather dismal Siegfried in Bayreuth a couple of seasons ago. Evelyn Herlitzius received the second biggest ovation (after Thielemann) for a Wife of Barak (a somewhat vocally tired Wolfgang Koch), probably not to be seen much better today, despite occasional straining especially in the upper register. And I must admit to simply not really liking her voice.

Opening of Act 3:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):
Christian Thielemann: 5
Christof Loy: 1
Stephen Gould: 3
Evelyn Herlitzius: 3
Anne Schwanewilms: 4
Michaela Schuster: 3-4
Wolfgang Koch: 3
Overall impression: 4 (because the conductor is really the crucial point in this opera)

London: A very nice Elektra

Elektra. Royal Opera, Covent Garden. November 24th 2008. Production: Charles Edwards. Cast: Susan Bullock (Elektra), Anne Schwanewilms (Chrysothemis), Jane Henschel (Klytemnestra), Johan Reuter (Orestes), Franz van Aken (Aegisth). Conductor: Mark Elder. Further information here.

This revival of Charles Edwards production of Elektra, for some strange reason, received rave reviews in the British press. Not that the production is not good and the singing is generally not fine. The problem is, that it is very polished and never takes off dramatically.

First of all, there is Mark Elder, who conducts a well-disposed and detailed performance from the well-sounding orchestra. Very nice and completely devoid of any attempts of dramatic expression.

Secondly, there are the singers, of whom only two were really good: Johan Reuter´s plainly superb Orestes and Jane Henschel´s dominating Klytemnestra infusing some much needed drama into the production, which only took off when one of these two were on stage. Which unfortunately, for long stretches, they are not.
Elektra is as much about going over the edge than any opera. And despite a not unattractive voice, nothing about Susan Bullock even approaches the edge in a part way too heavy for her. She seemed exhausted right from the beginning in a remarkably un-forceful performance. Being half-neurotic, delicate and bleak in expression fits Anne Schwanewilm´s Chrysothemis rather well, though it doesn´t really add up compared to contemporaries such as Eva-Maria Westbroek, just to mention one.

Thirdly, the production: One room, blood on the floor. Orestes climbing down a sort of chimney. A vast landshape of small fires are revealed towards the end. Undoubtedly a paraphrase on the psychological inner mind. Original? No. Effective? Not really. Dangerous? Not at all.

The performance began with Antonio Pappano appearing before the curtain to announce the death of Richard Hickox, and his dedication of this evenings performance to him.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Susan Bullock: 3
Anne Schwanewilms: 3-4
Johan Reuter: 5
Jane Henschel: 4-5

Charles Edward´s production: 3-4

Mark Elder: 3-4

Overall impression: 3

Robert Dean Smith debuts as Tannhäuser in Berlin

Tannhäuser, Staatsoper Berlin (Unter den Linden), April 12th 2008

Harry Kupfer (p), Philippe Jordan (c). Cast: Robert Dean Smith (Tannhäuser), Roman Trekel (Wolfram), Anne Schwanewilms (Elisabeth), Michaela Schuster (Venus), Christoph Fischesser (Hermann). Details here.

Robert Dean Smith (last seen in movie theaters as Tristan in the MET HD transmission) made his debut as Tannhäuser in this Berlin State Opera revival of Harry Kupfers 1999 Tannhäuser staging. And, no doubt he is a fine Tannhäuser. And with curly hair he looked vastly better than in the Tristan live transmissions from the MET. His voice is warm, but not large, which is however not a major problem in the relatively small house of the Berlin State Opera. But even here, he seemed occasionally exhausted. He has, however, fine and clear diction, a necessity in a house where Wagner performances are never texted. As the only non-German singer in the main cast, Dean Smith was in fact the singer I could understand the best. A fine performance from him, however I doubt it would be advisable for him to try this role out in a much larger house.

Michaela Schuster is apparently set to take over Waltraud Meier´s repertoire in the major German houses – Kundry in Berlin last year, Venus this year and Ortrud next year in the new Lohengrin production. And while she does inhabit her character on stage and her voice cuts through the orchestra, she seems rather shrill with a unpleasant vibrato particularly in the high register. Anne Schwanewilms is a more mature and independent Elisabeth as usual seen, but while she convinces dramatically, I continue to hear a dryness in her voice which has never really taken to me. In fairness, she received major applause, and my neighbor asked repeatedly to borrow my binoculars several times to look at her…Roman Trekel seemed quite simply to have an off night.

Christoph Fischesser has the dubious honor to be a Wagnerian bass in René Pape´s house, meaning he is largely scheduled to sing René Pape´s roles when the latter is not available. Such as Hermann in this production and (even worse comparison-wise) King Marke in May. Fischesser is actually a quite good singer (as well as being the best-looking of the cast by far) who in fact does not deserve to be endlessly compared to Pape. Though quite young he is authoritative on stage and with a quite flexible voice as well.

Philippe Jordan´s reading of the score seems to be more focused on precision and rhythm (particularly in the string section) as opposed to Barenboim´s more fluid approach usually heard here (as most readers will know this is Daniel Barenboim´s house). But it seemed a well-thought reading and the orchestra sounded fine.

The sets are simple and aesthetic, based around a petrified piano (in the Venusberg scene), a normal piano recital with an audience (the singing contest) and a bare stage (Act 3), everything updated to around present days. The time zone change apart, Kupfer seemed to adhere quite closely to Wagner´s libretto (ie. the characters, which Wagner intended to die, do indeed die here).

Though a good performance, it was not, by any means an exceptional one. In truth, I find it difficult to be overwhelmed by Tannhäuser – I´ve always found the opera to be one of the lesser of Wagner´s works, both dramatically and melodically, despite some magnificent orchestral and chorus passages. Nevertheless the massive applause (including several curtain calls after each act) somewhat surprised me. But much preferred to the obnoxious booing practice (of which there was none today).

DVD: Götterdämmerung from "The designer Ring"

Götterdämmerung. Bayreuth 1997. Production: Kirchner. Cast: Wolfgang Schmidt (Siegfried), Deborah Polaski (Brünnhilde), Eric Halfvarson (Hagen), Anne Schwanewilms (Gutrune), Falk Struckmann (Gunther), Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Alberich). Conductor: James Levine. Further information here.

This Götterdämmerung is the only installment of the Kirchner/Rosalie/Levine 1994-8 Bayreuth Ring taped for subsequent DVD release. By some, this Ring is known as "The designer Ring", due to the striking sets and costumes by designer Rosalie, which in many ways make up the most striking aspects of this Ring Cycle.

Kirchner and Rosalie publicly stated a desire to depart from the political Ring productions of previous Bayreuth Ring directors such as Kupfer and Chéreau and free Wagner´s work from all the "ideological and philosophical" ballast. Do they succeed? Well, in a way yes. But what they create instead is an environment reminiscent of a Japanese version of Star Wars, devoid of dramatic interaction between the main characters, who often stand still and just sing to the audience oblivious of the characters the singing supposedly is directed towards.

The sets and costumes of Rosalie very much steal the show - we are on top of the world, literally illustrated as the top of a naked grey globe clearly influenced by Wieland Wagner´s discs of his Ring production of the 1960´s. The Gibichungen´s hall consist of a quadrangular plate balancing on top of that globe - in other scenes the characters walk directly on the globe. A Japanese inspired wall represent the Walkure rock. And all the characters wear quite extravagant costumes looking like mix of Jean-Paul Gaultier and Issey Miyake, which I´d say detracts from the action more than adds to it.

The major point being, however, that Kirchner does not really seem to have a sense of direction of the work. In that respect, it distinctly reminds of the current Bayreuth Ring production by Tankred Dorst, in which the characters also wear odd semi-Japanese Star Wars clothing, as well as being placed in a production with no intrinsic drama. Wagner can be about many things. But in this production, nothing seems to happen underneath the surface.

James Levine´s reading is quite slow and dense, but with seemingly more intensity than his Metropolitan DVD reading. The orchestra sound is above all beautiful as always with Levine´s Wagner, but here it just avoids crossing the line to the smooth (which is not always the case with his Wagner performances at the Metropolitan Opera).

The main stand-out among the singers was clearly Eric Halfvarson´s convincing Hagen - personally I prefer the even more menacing Matti Salminen, but definitely a fine performance from Eric Halfvarson, despite his relatively dry voice (which has become much worse in the last 10 years). Also a good Brünnhilde from Deborah Polaski, which however does not overshadow previous Bayreuth DVD interpreters such as Anne Evans or Dame Gwyneth Jones. Wolfgang Schmidt is somewhat anonymous as Siegfried, which in an odd way seems to fit in with this emotionally detached production.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Wolfgang Schmidt: 3
Deborah Polaski: 3-4
Eric Halfvarson: 3-4
Anne Schwanewilms: 4
Falk Struckmann: 4

Kirchner´s staging: 3

James Levine: 4-5

Overall impression: 3-4

DVD: Outstanding Die Gezeichneten from Salzburg 2005

Die Gezeichneten. Salzburg Festival 2005. Prodution: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Cast: Robert Brubaker (Alviano Salvago), Anne Schwanewilms (Carlotta Nardi), Michael Volle (Count Vitelozzo), Robert Hale (Duke Adorno). Conductor: Kent Nagano with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Further information here.

Die Gezeichneten (tr. "The marked ones") is a dark and disturbing opera written by Franz Shreker in 1918. A late-romantic work with lingering, unreleased harmonies and an eerie atmosphere not unlike Verklärte Nacht.
The plot is both rather stupid as well as lenghty to explain, but involves a hidden grotto, kidnapping, a secret brotherhood, a woman who will die if she loves a man, a rich Duke and a hunchback.

As I am concerned, this is probably veteran director Nikolaus Lehnhoffs best production to date and was rapturously received at the premiere at the 2005 Salzburg Festival: Staggeringly beautiful as well as eerily atmospheric, devoid of the static impression often associated with his productions. Dark and brooding, like Shrekers densely textured score making excellent use of the intrinsic arches of the Felsenreitschule, the set is one gigantic, reclining female statue, under which the hidden grotto is to be found. Transvestism explains Alvianos outsider status in society, and Lehnhoffs exposure of pedophilia, upon opening the grotto is tremendously gripping, even by today's standards.

Those familiar with the score may note that some cuts, most notably in Act 3 of about 20 minutes have been made, allegedly to simplify the story-line.

Wonderfully played by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Kent Nagano. Fine soloists in Anne Schwanewilms, with a cool soprano perfectly fitting as Carlotta. Michael Volle is a rugged Vitelozzo and Robert Brubakers Alviano is both pathetic and moving.

Indeed this is one of the best opera productions of the entire DVD catalogue.

Kent Nagano conducts the superbly dark and brooding prelude:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Robert Brubaker: 5
Anne Schwanewilms: 5
Michael Volle: 5
Robert Hale: 5

Lehnhoff´s staging: 5

Kent Nagano: 4-5

Overall impression: 5

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