I’m a capable researcher using electronic technology (not to mention, that I work for a College and have great resources at my disposal). I was searching for someone’s–anyone’s–contemporary classification of the world’s best opera singers. I found a link to a dated USA Today article naming the best stars of the 1990′s. Interesting. But far from up-to-date.
I wanted to skip the venerable legends who are still alive but sing only occasionally, if at all. For the purposes of this list, I wasn’t looking for promising up-and-comers either, though they may be the subject of another post.
Who are the opera stars of today? Whom are we seeing onstage, watching with awe and admiration?
Since I didn’t have any contemporary articles to from which to choose candidates, I asked my “Operatoonity” followers on Twitter to help me put together a slate of favorite current performers.
Here then are all the male stars identified as top-of-the-heap. Which are your favorites?
Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna
- Marcelo Álvarez, Argentine lyric tenor
- Lawrence Brownlee, American tenor
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee / photo by Andreas Klingberg
- Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
- Gerald Finley, Canadian bass-baritone
- Juan Diego Flórez, Peruvian tenor
- Ferruccio Furlanetto, Italian bass
- Thomas Hampson, American baritone
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
- Jonas Kaufmann, German spinto tenor
- Simon Keenlyside, British baritone
- James Morris, American bass-baritone
- René Pape, German bass
Bass-bari Erwin Schrott
- Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass-baritone
- Stuart Skelton, Australian heldentenor
- Bryn Terfel, Welsh, bass-baritone
- John Tomlinson, English bass
- Ramón Vargas, Mexican tenor
- Tenor Ramon Vargas
Did I include your favorite male performer singing opera today? Write-ins are, of course, welcome in the comments.
Stop back tomorrow for the women!And a special thank you, to all those providing input on Twitter.
