Gramophone‘s shortlists are out for this year’s awards. No real surprises, but then those Gramophone people have great taste! Here’s a sample:

Opera:

Die Zauberflöte – René Jacobs;  Akademie für Alte Musik

Ermione – David Parry; LPO

Verdi’s Otello – Colin Davis; LSO

Solo Vocal:

Richard Rodney Bennett, Songs before Sleep – Sophie Daneman; Susan Bickley; Iain Burnside

Britten, Songs & Proverbs of William Blake – Gerald Finley; Julius Drake

Wolf, Italienisches Liederbuch – Christoph Prégardien; Julia Kleiter

Recital:

“Ne me refuse pas” French Opera Arias  – Marie-Nicole Lemieux

“Diva, Divo” Various – Joyce DiDonato

Verismo Arias Various  – Jonas Kaufmann

DVD Performance:

Britten, Death in Venice – Teatro La Fenice/Bruno Bartoletti

Mahler Symphony No 9 – Lucerne Festival Orchestra/Claudio Abbado

Verdi, Don Carlo – Royal Opera House, Covent Garden/ Antonio Pappano

and the award for which readers can cast their vote:

Artist of the Year:

conductors Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel and Iván Fischer

conductor and viol player Jordi Savall

pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Lang Lang

trumpeter Alison Balsom

violinist Alina Ibragimova

tenor Jonas Kaufmann

and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Something tells me it’s going to be Jonas Kaufmann’s year.