Recordings of Doctor Atomic, (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Met’s Rosenkavalier with Renée Fleming, and Rigoletto with Dmitri Hvorostovsky Shortlisted for Best Opera Recording Grammy Award
Hvorostovsky Shortlisted for Best Opera Recording Grammy Award. Anthony Roth Costanzo, Philippe Jaroussky and Sabine Devieilhe Nominated for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album; Jake Heggie’s Great Scott Nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2019 GRAMMY AWARDS were announced today, with Best Opera Recording nods going to the first studio recording of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic; Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs; the Metropolitan Opera’s recording of Der Rosenkavalier featuring Renée Fleming and Elīna Garanča; a recording of Verdi’s Rigoletto featuring the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role; and Christophe Rousset’s recording of Lully’s Alceste. Jake Heggie’s Great Scott also received a nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and recital discs by Anthony Roth Costanzo, Philippe Jaroussky, and Sabine Devieilhe received nominations for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 10, 2019 at LA’s Staples Center. The winners in the classical music and opera categories—which include Best Opera Recording, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Solo Vocal Album—will be announced as part of a pre-telecast ceremony preceding the Awards broadcast on CBS.
Adam’s Doctor Atomic recording features Gerald Finley and Julia Bullock as J. Robert and Kitty Oppenheimer, alongside Aubrey Allicock and Brindley Sherratt; on the disc the composer conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs features conductor Michael Christie leading the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Edwards Parks in the title role, Garrett Sorenson and Sasha Cooke. Christophe Rousset’s recording of Lully’s Alceste, featuring French ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, includes Edwin Crossley-Mercer as Alcide, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro as Admète and Judith Van Wanroij in the title role. The Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Der Rosenkavalier stars Renée Fleming’s Marschallin, Elīna Garanča’s Octavian, Günther Groissböck’s Ochs and Erin Morely’s Sophie; the recording, made from a live performance at the Met, features conductor Sebastian Weigle leading the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Rigoletto stands at the center of the nominated recording of Verdi’s opera; Constantine Orbelian paces the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra as well as Francesco Demuro’s Duke of Mantua and Nadine Sierra’s Gilda.
In the category of Classical Solo Vocal Album, Costanzo received a nomination for his debut recital disc, ARC, featuring arias by Philip Glass and Handel; French countertenor Jaroussky was nominated for his album of Handel arias with ensemble Artaserse; French soprano Sabine Devieilhe received a nomination for Mirages, her recording of French opera arias; baritone Randall Scarlata was nominated for his recording of Winterreise with Gilbert Kalish; and tenor Karim Sulayman was nominated for his disc, Song of Orpheus, featuring arias by Monteverdi, Caccini, D’India and Landi with ensemble Apollo’s Fire.
In the Best Contemporary Classical Composition, which goes to a work’s composer, Heggie was nominated for Great Scott, which received its world premiere at Dallas Opera in 2015. Also nominated were Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, about the late Apple founder, which premiered in August 2017 at Santa Fe Opera. Joining those two operas in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category were Du Yin’s Air Glow with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Aaron Jay Kernis’s Violin Concerto with James Ehnes and the Seattle Symphony and Missy Mazzoli’s Vespers for Violin, as recorded by Olivia De Prato.
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