Frankfurt Opera Named ‘Opera House of the Year’ for the Eighth Time

Frankfurt Opera (Oper Frankfurt) has been honored as the ‘Opera House of the Year’ for the eighth time, a recognition resulting from a survey conducted by the trade journal ‘Opernwelt’ among 43 critics. The opera house has garnered this title for the third consecutive year, praised for its “sure instinct for a dramaturgically plausible, innovative, and varied program.”

Lydia Steier received the title of ‘Director of the Year’ for her daring staging of Verdi's ‘Aida’ in Frankfurt. Additionally, awards were presented for the ‘Choir of the Year’ and the ‘Singer of the Year,’ with Asmik Grigorian recognized for her “ravishingly sung and acted role portraits” in Hamburg and at the Vienna State Opera. She is set to make her role debut as Elisabetta in Verdi's ‘Don Carlo’ at the Vienna State Opera tomorrow.

The title of ‘Singer of the Year’ was awarded to American tenor John Osborn. Simon Stone's interpretation of Martinů's ‘The Greek Passion’ at the 2023 Salzburg Festival is among several productions sharing the title of ‘Performance of the Year.’ Other notable productions include Wagner's ‘Tannhäuser’ by Matthew Wild (Oper Frankfurt), Schönberg's ‘Moses und Aron’ by Lorenzo Fiorini in Bonn, Timofej Kuljabin's adaptation of Tchaikovsky's ‘Pique Dame’ at the Opéra de Lyon, and Tobias Kratzer's production of Weinberg's ‘Passagierin’ at the Bavarian State Opera.

Pablo Heras-Casado was named ‘Conductor of the Year,’ praised for his “rhetorically and poetically impressive” interpretation of ‘Parsifal’ at the Bayreuth Festival. According to the survey, the ‘World Premiere of the Year’ was awarded to ‘Dora’ (Stuttgart State Opera) by Austrian composer Bernhard Lang, with a libretto by Frank Witzel.