Girl of the Golden Met Awards 2023
Congratulations to all the winners for triumphing in these highly competitive categories and to all the nominees for their extraordinary performances! Thank you to everyone that voted; I hope you enjoyed it!
Best Opera
WINNER: Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites
Poulenc's devastating tale of a convent of nuns martyred in the last days of the Reign of Terror starred Ailyn Pérez, Christine Goerke, Sabine Devieilhe, Alice Coote, and Jamie Barton — arguably the 2022-23 season's most stupendous cast (and there have been many).
Best Soprano Performance
WINNER: Sondra Radvanovsky in Medea
Sondra's thrilling, terrifying performance in the title role of Medea personified the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", and many considered it her finest at the Met yet. Judge for yourselves: her Medea was uploaded to Met Opera on Demand just yesterday.
Best Tenor Performance
WINNER: Piotr Beczała in Fedora
Brian Jagde in Aida
Matthew Polenzani in Tosca
Piotr imbued his riveting performance as Loris Ipanov in Fedora with “his usual stylish ardor,” (NYTimes) and after attending, I wrote that “his earnest, passionate singing blew me away". You can watch his performance now on Met Opera on Demand.
Best Mezzo-Soprano/Contralto Performance
WINNER: Samantha Hankey in Der Rosenkavalier
Samantha's Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier earned the title of “one of the best performances of the year" from the New York Times, which also praised her “mighty yet smooth sound" and “tireless energy and dramatic skill”.
Best Baritone/Bass-baritone/Bass Performance
WINNER: Quinn Kelsey in Rigoletto
Quinn's Rigoletto this season was acclaimed as “a truly immersive and powerful characterization" (OperaWire) and “the most compelling Rigoletto... in a decade" (id.). You can watch his Rigoletto from the 2021-22 season on Met Opera on Demand.