(Credit: Frances Marshall/Met Opera/Jenkins Mitch)

As 2020 draws to a close, here is a look back at the articles that our readers found most enticing and were ultimately most-read. With COVID, racial inequity, and streaming as major themes of 2020, it should be no surprise that they remain at the forefront of readers’ minds and interest.

Please note that for the purposes of this article, we did not only include articles published in 2020. There were several categories that featured the re-emergence of pieces written in previous years.

Top 10 Most-Read Reviews

10. Opera de Oviedo 2020-21 Review: I Puritani

9. Royal Opera House 2019-20 Review: Fidelio

8. Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: Porgy and Bess

7. Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert Review: Lise Davidsen in Oslo, Norway

6. Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: Wozzeck

5. Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: Akhnaten

4. Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: Der Fliegende Holländer

3. Metropolitan Opera 2019-20 Review: Agrippina

2. CD Review: Jonas Kaufmann’s ‘Otello’

1. Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert Review: Jonas Kaufmann in Polling, Bavaria

10 Most-Read Interviews

10. Black Opera – How Jonathan Estabrooks, Miranda Plant & Kenneth Overton Are Telling the Story of a Generation of Legendary Black Artists

9. Q & A: Lise Davidsen On Her Big Breaks, Major Wagnerian Debut & COVID-19 

8. Q & A: Elīna Garanča On Dalila, Her Role Debut As Didon & Her New Roles

7. Q & A: Soloman Howard On Singing The Ring Cycle & the Lyric Opera of Chicago

6. Q & A: Voice Teacher Bill Schuman on 30 Years at AVA & Receiving the Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award

5. Q & A: Kevin Short on Systemic Racism, ‘Aida’ & the Future of Opera

4. Opera in the Time of COVID: Superstar Soprano Ermonela Jaho 

3. Interview: Soprano Erin Morley’s Enriching Work-Life Balance 

2. Q & A: Morris Robinson on Racism in Opera, Verdi & the Metropolitan Opera

1. A New Direction – Mezzo-Soprano Marina Poplavskaya on the Evolution & Relaunching of Her Career

10 Most-Read IndieOpera Stories

10.  Heartbeat Opera Releases Virtual Performance of Bernstein Classic

9. Due Donne Productions to Present ‘Hansel & Gretel’ On Nintendo’s ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’

8. Teatro Grattacielo Announces New Giovanni Consiglio Competition, Updates to 2020 Season

7. Pacific Opera Project Announces Watch Party for Nintendo-Inspired ‘The Magic Flute’ Stream

6. On Site Opera to Stream Past Performances

5. Beth Morrison Projects Offers Up Opera of Week Streaming Option

4. New York Opera Alliance Announces Virtual Opera Fest Events

3. Pacific Opera Project to Stream One Opera Per Day

2. Watch Against the Grain Theatre’s Famed Production of ‘La Bohème’

1. Regina Opera Releases ‘La Traviata’ Via YouTube – Opera Wire

10 Most-Read Quizzes

10. Opera Quiz: Puccini Diehards Will Be Tested by this ‘La Bohème’ Quiz 

9. Opera Quiz: How Well Do You Really Know Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro?’ 

8. Opera Quiz: Identify the Opera By Its Libretto’s Opening Lines

7. Opera Quiz: How Well Do You Know Piotr Beczala’s Career?

6. Opera Quiz: How Well Do You Know Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Legendary Career? 

5. Opera Quiz: Which Wagner Character Said It? 

4. Opera Quiz: Which Opera is it – ‘Eugene Onegin’ or ‘The Queen of Spades’

3. Opera Quiz: How Well Do You Know ‘La Traviata?’ 

2. Opera Quiz: Who Composed This Opera (With a Twist)?

1. Opera Quiz: Which ‘Carmen’ Character Best Defines Your Personality?

Top 10 Special Features

10. Criticism on Fridays: The End of the Year

9. Opera Meets Film: ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’s’ ‘Turandot’ Sequence A Callback With Emotional Insight 

8. OperaWire’s Top 10 Must-See Operas In 2020

7. 5 Opera Stars Who Successfully Made Crossovers into Pop Music 

6. 5 Groundbreaking Transgender Opera Singers 

5. Opera Meets Film: What the Iconic Scene From ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Says About Opera’s Greatest Power

4. The 30 Influential LGBTQIA+ Players In Opera

3. The 14 Greatest Love Duets In Opera

2. Best Of 2019: OperaWire’s Top 11 Singers Of The Year

1. Ranking Giacomo Puccini’s Operas From Least to Best

And finally, here are the 10 most-read articles on OperaWire in 2020, overall.

10. Anna Netrebko Withdraws from Metropolitan Opera’s New ‘Salome’

9. Opera Profile: Puccini’s Tosca

8. Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Anita Rachvelishvili Headline Metropolitan Opera’s 4th Week of Nightly Streams

7. Anna Netrebko, Diana Damrau, Sondra Radvanovksy Headline Week 3 of Met Opera Nightly Streams

6. Former Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Director of Artistic Administration Arrested for Child Sex-Trafficking

5. Berlin’s Leading Epidemiologists Claim that Attending Opera Performances With Full Audiences is Safe

4. Opera Profile: ‘Carmen,’ Bizet’s Masterpiece

3. A Comprehensive List of All Opera Companies Offering Free Streaming Services Right Now

2.Vienna State Opera to Offer Daily Live Streams From its Opera Archives

1. Metropolitan Opera to Offer Up ‘Nightly Met Opera Streams’