The New Year is upon us, which means it’s time to look back and reflect at what was and what will remain in our memories.

As per usual, OperaWire has compiled the favorite performances of the year from many of our contributors. We won’t keep you waiting, here’s a look at the Staff Picks for the best performances of 2025.

Matt Costello – “Tosca” at Tanglewood

Tanglewood is always a magical place to hear great music. And lately, each season, an important venue for an opera — as the orchestra, the staging and the vocal performances all mesh for a stunning midsummer’s eve. This year, that opera was a perfect “Tosca.” After all, could there be a better Scarpia than Sir Bryn Terfel? And matched with the amazing Tosca of Kristine Opolais and the so-powerful Cavaradossi of Seok Jong Baek, it was riveting. The Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons with the Tanglewood Chorus made the Puccini classic shine. Perfection!

Bernardo Gaitan – Double Bill at Donizetti Opera Festival

My standout performance of 2025 was the inspired double bill “Il Campanello” and “Deux hommes et une femme” at this year’s Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo. Stefania Bonfadelli’s regia was nothing short of remarkable: she unified two operas that share neither language, style, nor dramaturgy (Italian buffa and French opéra-comique) creating a single, cohesive theatrical universe where characters from each work interacted with playful ease. Supported by scientifically critical editions and an excellent young cast from the Bottega Donizetti, it was pure inventive brilliance.

Mike Hardy – Double Bill at Teatro Massimo di Palermo

MANY amazing performances in 2025; Freddie de Tommaso and Anna Netrebko producing a captivating “Tosca” at Covent Garden, but the crowning glory must go to the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Sicily, where their incredible creative team, alongside the gifted Carolina-Lopez Moreno produced a double bill of Rachmaninoff ‘s “Aleko” and Leoncavello’s “Pagliacci” culminating in one of the most moving scenes surely witnessed in a theatre. A standing ovation and a conductor moved to tears. Extraordinary.

Vincent Lombarto – L’Opera Seria at Teatro alla Scala

Gasmann’s contribution to the genre of poking fun at reformist opera remained somewhat unknown yet was triumphantly brought back to life at La Scala, conducted by Christophe Rousset and staged by Laurent Pelly. Mixing refreshingly modern situations of pathos and humor, the audience was moved within a faithfully elegant 18th century ambiance, occupied by versatile singer-actors, so believing in the world they dwelled in. Tenderness and wit within the confines of a theater within a theater. Memorable!

Alan Neilson – “I Grotteschi” at La Monnaie

I was fortunate to see a number of excellent productions over the course of 2025. The Rossini Festival’s fabulous production of “Zelmira,” directed by Calixto Bieito, starring Anastasia Bartoli in the title role and the Karlsruhe Handel Festival’s brilliant production of “Rinaldo,” directed by Hinrich Horstkotte definitely deserve a mention. However, the stand out production has to be La Monnaie’s production of “I Grotteschi” – Rafael R Villalobos’ reimagining of Monteverdi’s three extant operas. Lasting approximately seven hours, it was played in two parts over two days. The large cast boasted a group of excellent singers, and the musical direction was overseen by Leonardo Garcia Alarcón, Set in a wealthy villa, the drama follows the complex relationships between the family members and their staff that develop and breakdown during lockdown. The characters are not intended to be Monteverdi’s originals, but composites, which allowed for the creation of a totally new drama, aimed at a 21st audience.

Benjamin Poore – “Le Balcon” at Festival d’Automne

Jennifer Pyron – “Rigoleto” at Macerata Opera Festival

The Macerata Opera Festival takes place at the outdoor Sferisterio Arena, constructed between 1823-1829, located next to the Porta Mercato gate and ancient walls of Macerata, Italy. While most of the seating is ground level, there are two floors of box seats tucked neatly between rows of neoclassical columns that envelop the arena in a semicircle. It is a local secret that the best sight and sound experience takes place from the balcony (the top ledge of the arena’s wall above the box seats). This year’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” based on the 2015 production by the Arena Sferisterio Association and Director Federico Grazzini, was my favorite 2025 performance. It was inspired by Luna Park, an amusement park designed by Charles I.D. Looff that opened in Coney Island in 1903. All together this production transformed tragedy into art and illuminated the natural beauty that is Macerata, Italy.

Francisco Salazar – Strauss in Zürich & New York

This year was filled with many memorable performances that will be stored in my memory for years to come. How could I forget the chemistry between Sondra Radvanovsky and Bryn Terfel in “Tosca” at the Met or the commanding presence of Elina Garanča in “Aida” as she dominated each scene in her return to the New York stage. Aigul Akhmetshina was impeccable in her star-making turn as Rosina in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” also at the Met, and Anna Netrebko, alongside Ludovic Tezier, were impeccable in “Un Ballo in maschera” from the Teatro San Carlo.

But perhaps my favorite performances of the year were in Strauss operas. First up was “Der Rosenkavalier” from the Opernhaus Zürich where I finally enjoyed a complete performance of this work. Diana Damrau brought so many layers to the Marschallin while Emily Pogorelc was a strong-willed Sophie with a bright and elegant sound. Angela Brower was playful and showcased a gorgeous tone. Gunther Groissbock was perfect as Baron Ochs and Lydia Steier’s production was adventurous and visually stimulating. Joana Mallwitz brought all the colors and detail of Strauss’ score.

Then there was “Arabella” from The Metropolitan Opera. Louise Alder had one of the best debuts of the years while Rachel Willis-Sorensen finally got a big break at the Met showcasing, why she is one of the best in this repertoire. Tomasz Konieczny was a powerhouse as Mandryka and Julie Roset showed off some virtuosic coloratura. And how could one not lavish over Otto Schenk’s traditionally intricate production. Finally Nicholas Carter was perfect in the way he accompanied the soloists with a rich sound from the orchestra.

David Salazar – “Andrea Chénier” at The Metropolitan Opera

There were a ton of great performances that I witnessed in 2025 that were of truly great quality (Saioa Hernández in “Turandot” and then at Carnegie Hall; a great Met Opera “Tosca” in January; “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay;” “Die Zauberflöte” at the Met) but by far the highlight has to be the show that I decided to see twice – “Andrea Chénier” at the Met Opera. The cast, headlined by Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczała, and Igor Golovatenko was simply incredible and conductor Daniele Rustioni reminded us of why he is one of the best in the world at the Italian repertoire. Moreover, my operatic journey in 2024 ended (and by extension 2025 began) with the bad taste of the Met Opera’s “Aida” in which not only did a poor production loom large, but even more problematic was Beczała’s unfortunate appearance. I hadn’t seen him at his best in some time so to see him in this Verismo vehicle at the peak of his powers in two performances (and he was undeniably stronger in that second one) was simply poetic justice. Throw in seeing Sonya Yoncheva’s star power in this and “The Queen of Spades” and there was no denying that this was by far my performance of 2025 in a year replete with good ones.

Benjamin Torbert: “Loving v Virginia” at Virginia Opera

Damien Geter’s autochthonous-sounding score for “Loving v. Virginia” and Jessica Murphy Moo’s brilliantly conversational libretto combined with Denyce Graves’ spare but lovely staging to form a true Gesamtkunstwerk. The resulting opera truly honored its subjects Mildred and Richard Loving, the May 9 performance made extra special by the appearance of many of their descendants, who snapped photographs with the creatives, post-performance. Soprano Flora Hawk gave consistently captivating performances as Mildred; her counterpart baritone Jonathan Michie as Richard offered her sturdy protection. Mildred’s family received luxury-casted featured roles, with Tesia Kwarteng’s vivacious cousin Annette, and Mildred’s parents Jake and Musiel Bryd, played intensely by dignified baritone Phillip Bullock, and sumptuous-voiced mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson, who stole the show with a lullabye. An honorable mention would be the Metropolitan Opera’s “La Sonnambula” on October 24.