Awards,
Recordings of the Year 2023 - Special Category Nominees
As the Presto Awards panel embark on a final round of detailed listening and heated discussion to decide on our Top 10 Recordings of 2023, we reveal the shortlists for the six special category awards: Debut Solo Album, two varieties of Premiere Recordings, Box Set, DVD/Blu-ray, and Technical Achievement. The winners will be revealed alongside the Top 10 next Thursday evening…
Debut Solo Album
Robyn Allegra Parton (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Reginald Mobley (countertenor), Baptiste Trotignon (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
María Dueñas (violin), Wiener Symphoniker, Manfred Honeck
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Yunchan Lim (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
World Premiere - New Work
Kate Royal, Claire Booth (sopranos), Hugh Cutting (countertenor), Christopher Purves (bass-baritone)
BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, Hallé Choir, Ben Gernon, Vimbayi Kaziboni
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Lotte Betts-Dean (mezzo), Sequoia
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Anthony Roth Costanzo (Dionysus), David Portillo (Jonathan Harker), Jarrett Ott (John Seward), Kathryn Henry (Lucy Harker), Matt Boehler (Van Helsing)
Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Gil Rose
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Rebeca Omordia (piano), BBC Concert Orchestra, John Andrews
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
World Premiere Recording - Rediscovery
Ramón Vargas (Giorgio Argyll), Irene Roberts (Malvina Douglas), Elizabeth DeShong (Odoardo Douglas), Sally Matthews (Anna Ruthven), Iván Ayón-Rivas (Arturo Murray), Goderdzi Janelidze (Guglielmo Ruthven)
Britten Sinfonia, Opera Rara Chorus, Carlo Rizzi
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Odhecaton, Paolo da Col
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Sarah Fox (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), David Butt Philip (tenor), Neal Davies (bass-baritone)
London Mozart Players, Crouch End Festival Chorus, William Vann
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Natalya Romaniw (Röschen), Claire Barnett-Jones (Iolanthe), Robert Murray (Heinrich), Andrew Shore (A Peddler), Morgan Pearse (Count Rudolf), Matthew Brook (Peter)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Andrews
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Box Set
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Leo Hussain, Victor Julien-Laferrière (cello), Théo Fouchenneret (piano), Cyrille Dubois (tenor), Tristan Raës (piano), François Dumont (piano), Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est, David Reiland, Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth et al
Available Formats: 8 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Jessye Norman (soprano)
Available Format: 45 CDs
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Available Format: 31 CDs
DVD/Blu-ray of the Year
Corinne Winters (Kát’a), Evelyn Herlitzius (Kabanicha), David Butt Philip (Boris), Jaroslav Březina (Tichon), Jarmila Balážová (Varvara), Benjamin Hulett (Váňa), Jens Larsen (Dikój)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Jakub Hrůša, Barrie Kosky
Available Format: Blu-ray
Julia Bullock (Theodora), Joyce DiDonato (Irene), Jakub Józef Orliński (Didymus), Ed Lyon (Septimius), Gyula Orendt (Valens)
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Opera Chorus, Katie Mitchell, Harry Bicket
Available Format: Blu-ray
Asmik Grigorian (Lauretta/Giorgetta/Suor Angelica), Misha Kiria (Schicchi), Karita Mattila (La Zia Principessa), Roman Burdenko (Michele), Joshua Guerrero (Luigi), Alexey Neklyudov (Rinuccio)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Franz Welser-Möst, Christof Loy
Available Format: Blu-ray
Bryn Terfel (Boris), Kostas Smoriginas (Andrey Shchelkalov), John Graham-Hall (Shuisky), Ain Anger (Pimen), David Butt Philip (Gregory), John Tomlinson (Varlaam), Rebecca de Pont Davies (Hostess)
Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Antonio Pappano, Richard Jones
Available Format: Blu-ray
Technical Achievement
Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Peter Pears (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) & Simon Preston (organ)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Melos Ensemble, Highgate School Choir & The Bach Choir, Benjamin Britten
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Choir of Westminster Abbey, Andrew Nethsingha, Peter Holder (organ), Coronation Orchestra, Antonio Pappano, Ascension Gospel Choir, Roderick Williams (baritone), Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) et al
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Wolfgang Windgassen (Siegfried), Gottlob Frick (Hagen), Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Gunther), Claire Watson (Gutrune), Christa Ludwig (Waltraute)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti
Available Formats: 4 SACDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV