RECAPITULATION: Top 10 List – Best of 2018 by Brian Taylor, Cadenza
A Star is Born — Jennifer Rowley at the Met
“Singing the role of Tosca, in the Metropolitan Opera’s sumptuous new production shrewdly directed by Sir David McVicar (alternating with no less than Anna Netrebko), Jennifer Rowley has arrived as an up-and-coming diva to keep an eye on. McVicar and the people at the Met seem to agree, as she was quickly assigned the role of Leonora in Il Trovatore. Her instrument is vibrant, and she invests herself in the character and the text with emotional commitment. Her upcoming Met performances as Adriana Lecouvreur are not to be missed.”
Best of 2018: OperaWire Staff Picks Most Memorable Opera Performances Of the Year
Logan Martell – “Medea in Corinto,” Teatro Nuovo
“For me, the most memorable performance this year was Jennifer Rowley in the title role of Simone Mayr’s “Medea in Corinto.” I enjoyed the mythic setting, and the focus on music and drama through the concert staging.
Given the opera’s place just before the rise of Romanticism and Bel Canto, and its influence on these styles, it was fascinating to watch these elements unfold onstage.
Throughout the performance, Rowley showed not only radiant lyricism, but hellish fury truly fitting for a character as devilish as Medea. The sheer intensity of Mayr’s work and the passion of Rowley’s artistry both made for a highly memorable experience.”