Singer List -- Those who have Thrilled me most 👍🏻

Lists are the order of the day.  This singer selection is based on certain specific performances experienced in about the last four years, and not on a generic idea of who is best.  I am strongly influenced by theatrical performance in addition to great singing. 

These have been my favorite soprano performances.  The order is alphabetical

Sopranos

• Anja Harteros for her Arabella from Munich.
• Anna Netrebko for Il Trovatore at the Met.
• Barbara Hannigan for Lulu. 
• Eva-Maria Westbroek for Tannhäuser at the Met.
• Karita Mattila for Jenůfa in San Francisco.
• Nina Stemme for Elektra at the Met and La Fanciulla del West in Vienna.
• Sondra Radvanovsky for Roberto Devereux at the Met.

These are towering performances with a strong drift toward dramatic sopranos.

Mezzos

• Cecilia Bartoli for her Norma at Salzburg.
• Elina Garanča for La Clemenza di Tito at the Met.
• Isabel Leonard for Le Nozze di Figaro at the Met.
• Joyce DiDonato for La Donna del Lago at the Met.
• Susan Graham for Les Troyens, especially in San Francisco.

These are all complete performances where the mezzo leads the way.

Tenors

• Bryan Hymel for Les Troyens at the Met and San Francisco.
• Johan Botha for Tannhäuser at the Met.
• Jonas Kaufmann for Werther at the Met and La Fanciulla del West in Vienna.
• Marcelo Álvarez for Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met.
• Roberto Alagna for Manon Lescaut at the Met.
• Vittorio Grigolo for The Tales of Hoffmann at the Met.

We trend in the direction of ham actors, but it can't be helped.

Baritones and basses.

• Ambrogio Maestri for Falstaff at the Met and in Florence.
• Dmitri Hvorostovsky for Il Trovatore at the Met.
• Ildar Abdrazakov for Faust from Salzburg.
• Paulo Szot for The Nose from the Met.
• Željko Lučić for Macbeth at the Met.

The list comes out a little different this way.  If you want on this list, wow me in something.  I apologize if your favorite is missing.  Finley was outside the time frame.