Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording

The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording , in German "Grammy Award for the best opera recording", is a music prize that has been awarded annually since 1961 by The Recording Academy in the United States of America . The award goes to artists for outstanding new recordings in the field of opera .

History and background

Since 1959, the Grammy Awards are presented annually in numerous categories by the Recording Academy in the United States to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence regardless of album sales or chart position. One of these categories is the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording .

In the first two years of the Grammy Awards, 1959 and 1960, the prizes for opera and choral performances were combined in a single award, Best Classical Performance - Operatic or Choral . The present award has been given since 1961, initially under the name Best Classical Opera Production . The current award designation Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been in use since 1962.

The award is given to the conductor, the main soloists and the producer of the recording.

Winner and nominated artist

year	winner			Other nominees
	Artist / producer	Opera	composer
				Artist / producer	Opera	composer
1961	Erich Leinsdorf (conductor) Birgit Nilsson , Giorgio Tozzi , Jussi Björling , Renata Tebaldi (soloists) Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma	Turandot	Giacomo Puccini
1962	Gabriele Santini (conductor), Victoria de los Ángeles , Jussi Björling , Miriam Pirazzini, Mario Sereni (soloists) Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma	Madama Butterfly	Giacomo Puccini
1963	Georg Solti (conductor) Robert Merrill , Leontyne Price , Giorgio Tozzi , Jon Vickers (soloists) Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma	Aida	Giuseppe Verdi
1964	Erich Leinsdorf (conductor) Rosalind Elias , Leontyne Price , Richard Tucker (soloists) RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra	Madama Butterfly	Giacomo Puccini
1965	Herbert von Karajan (conductor) Franco Corelli , Mirella Freni , Robert Merrill , Leontyne Price (soloists) Wiener Philharmoniker	Carmen	Georges Bizet
1966	Karl Böhm (conductor) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Evelyn Lear , Fritz Wunderlich (soloists) Orchestra and the choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin	Wozzeck	Alban Berg
1967	Georg Solti (conductor) Régine Crespin , Hans Hotter , James King , Christa Ludwig , Birgit Nilsson (soloists) Wiener Philharmoniker	The Valkyrie	Richard Wagner
1968	Pierre Boulez (conductor) Walter Berry , Ingeborg Lasser, Isabel Strauss, Fritz Uhl (soloists) Orchestra and Choir of the Paris Opera Thomas Z. Shepard (producer)	Wozzeck	Alban Berg
1969	Erich Leinsdorf (conductor) Ezio Flagello , Sherrill Milnes , Leontyne Price , Judith Raskin, George Shirley, Tatiana Troyanos (soloists) New Philharmonia Orchestra Richard Mohr (producer)	So fan tutte	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1970	Herbert von Karajan (conductor) Helga Dernesch , Gerhard Stolze , Jess Thomas (soloists) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Otto Gerdes (producer)	Siegfried	Richard Wagner
1971	Colin Davis (conductor) Orchestra and choir of the Royal Opera House and various soloists Erik Smith (producer)	Les Troyens	Hector Berlioz
1972	Erich Leinsdorf (conductor) Grace Bumbry , Plácido Domingo , Sherrill Milnes , Leontyne Price , Ruggero Raimondi (soloists) John Alldis Choir and London Symphony Orchestra Richard Mohr (producer)	Aida	Giuseppe Verdi
1973	Colin Davis (conductor) BBC Symphony Orchestra and various soloists Erik Smith (producer)	Benvenuto Cellini	Hector Berlioz
1974	Leonard Bernstein (conductor) Marilyn Horne , Tom Krause , Adriana Maliponte, James McCracken (soloists) Orchestra and Choir of the Metropolitan Opera Tom Mowrey (producer)	Carmen	Georges Bizet
1975	Georg Solti (conductor) Judith Blegen, Montserrat Caballé , Plácido Domingo , Sherrill Milnes , Ruggero Raimondi (soloists) London Philharmonic Orchestra Richard Mohr (producer)	La bohème	Giacomo Puccini
1976	Colin Davis (conductor) Richard Van Allan , Janet Baker , Montserrat Caballé , Ileana Cotrubaș , Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Nicolai Gedda (soloists) Royal Opera House Orchestra Erik Smith (producer)	So fan tutte	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1977	Lorin Maazel (conductor) Leona Mitchell, Willard White (soloists) Cleveland Orchestra Michael Woolcock (producer)	Porgy and Bess	George Gershwin
1978	John DeMain (conductor) Donnie Ray Albert, Carol Brice, Clamma Dale (soloists) Houston Grand Opera Orchestra Thomas Z. Shepard (producer)	Porgy and Bess	George Gershwin
1979	Julius Rudel (conductor) Beverly Sills , Alan Titus (soloists) New York City Opera Orchestra George Sponhaltz, John Coveney (Producers)	The Merry Widow	Franz Lehár
1980	Colin Davis (conductor) Heather Harper , Jonathan Summers, Jon Vickers (soloists) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Vittorio Negri (producer)	Peter Grimes	Benjamin Britten
1981	Pierre Boulez (conductor) Toni Blankenheim , Franz Mazura , Hanna Schwarz , Yvonne Minton , Teresa Stratas (soloists) Orchestra of the Opéra de Paris Gunther Breest, Michael Horwath (producers)	Lulu	Alban Berg
1982	Charles Mackerras (conductor) Jiri Zahradnicek, Ivo Žídek, Václav Zítek (soloists) Wiener Philharmoniker James Mallinson (producer)	From a house of the dead	Leoš Janáček
1983	Pierre Boulez (conductor) Jeannine Altmeyer , Hermann Becht , Peter Hofmann , Siegfried Jerusalem , Gwyneth Jones , Manfred Jung , Donald McIntyre , Matti Salminen , Ortrun Wenkel , Heinz Zednik (soloists) Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival Andrew Kazdin (producer)	The Ring of the Nibelung	Richard Wagner
1984	Georg Solti (conductor) Thomas Allen , Kiri Te Kanawa , Kurt Moll , Lucia Popp , Samuel Ramey , Frederica von Stade (soloists) London Philharmonic Orchestra Christopher Raeburn (producer)	Le nozze di Figaro	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	James Levine (conductor) Plácido Domingo , Cornell MacNeil , Teresa Stratas (soloists) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Jay David Saks, Max Wilcox (producers)	La traviata	Giuseppe Verdi
1985	Lorin Maazel (conductor) Julia Migenes-Johnson , Plácido Domingo , Ruggero Raimondi , Faith Esham (soloists) Choeur de Radio France, Maîtrise de Radio France and the Orchester National de France Michel Glotz (producer)	Carmen	Georges Bizet
1986	Georg Solti (conductor) Philip Langridge , Franz Mazura (soloists) Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus James Mallinson (producer)	Moses and Aron	Arnold Schoenberg
1987	John Mauceri (conductor) James Billings, Joyce Castle, Maris Clement, David Eisler, Jack Harrold, John Lankston, Erie Mills, Scott Reeve (soloists) New York City Opera Orchestra Elizabeth Ostrow (producer)	Candide	Leonard Bernstein
1988	James Levine (conductor) Agnes Baltsa , Kathleen Battle , Gary Lakes, Hermann Prey , Anna Tomowa-Sintow (soloists) Wiener Philharmoniker Cord Garben (producer)	Ariadne on Naxos	Richard Strauss
1989	Georg Solti (conductor) Plácido Domingo , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Siegmund Nimsgern , Jessye Norman , Eva Randova , Hans Sotin (soloists) Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera Christopher Raeburn (producer)	Lohengrin	Richard Wagner
1990	James Levine (conductor) Hildegard Behrens , Gary Lakes, Christa Ludwig , Kurt Moll , James Morris , Jessye Norman , Marilyn Mims (soloists) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Cord Garben (producer)	The Valkyrie	Richard Wagner
1991	James Levine (conductor) Siegfried Jerusalem , Christa Ludwig , Kurt Moll , James Morris , Jan Hendrik Rootering , Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Heinz Zednik (soloists) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Cord Garben (producer)	the Rheingold	Richard Wagner
1992	James Levine (conductor) Hildegard Behrens , Reiner Goldberg , Matti Salminen , Hanna Schwarz , Cheryl Studer , Bernd Weikl , Ekkehard Wlaschiha (soloists) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Cord Garben (producer)	Götterdämmerung	Richard Wagner
1993	Georg Solti (conductor) Hildegard Behrens , José van Dam , Plácido Domingo , Sumi Jo , Reinhild Runkel, Júlia Várady (soloists) Wiener Philharmoniker Christopher Raeburn, Stephen Trainor, Morten Winding (producers)	The woman without a shadow	Richard Strauss
1994	John Nelson (conductor) John Aler , Kathleen Battle , Michael Chance , Mark S. Doss, Marilyn Horne , Neil Mackie, Sylvia McNair , Samuel Ramey Ambrosian Opera Chorus and English Chamber Orchestra (soloists) Steven Paul (producer)	Semele	georg Friedrich Handel
1995	Kent Nagano (conductor) Kenn Chester, Jerry Hadley , Samuel Ramey , Cheryl Studer (soloists) Orchestra and choir of the Opéra National de Lyon Martin Sauer (producer)	Susannah	Carlisle Floyd
1996	Charles Dutoit (conductor) Gary Lakes, Françoise Pollet , Gino Quilico, Deborah Voigt (soloists) Orchester symphonique de Montréal and choir Raymond Minshull (producer)	Les Troyens	Hector Berlioz
1997	Richard Hickox (conductor) Philip Langridge , Alan Opie , Janice Watson (soloists) Choir of the London Symphony Orchestra and City of London Sinfonia Brian Couzens (producer)	Peter Grimes	Benjamin Britten
1998	Georg Solti (conductor) José van Dam , Ben Heppner , Herbert Lippert , Karita Mattila , Alan Opie , René Pape , Iris Vermillion (soloists) Chicago Symphony Orchestra Michael Woolcock (producer)	The Mastersingers of Nuremberg	Richard Wagner
1999	Pierre Boulez (conductor) Jessye Norman , László Polgár (soloists) Chicago Symphony Orchestra Karl-August Naegler (producer)	Bluebeard's Castle	Béla Bartók
2000	John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) Ian Bostridge , Anne Sofie von Otter , Bryn Terfel , Deborah York (soloists) Monteverdi Choir and the London Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Parker (producer)	The Rake's Progress	Igor Stravinsky
2001	Kent Nagano (conductor) Kim Begley, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Dietrich Henschel , Markus Hollop, Eva Jenis, Torsten Kerl (soloists) Orchestra of the Opéra National de Lyon Martin Sauer (producer)	Doctor Faust	Ferruccio Busoni
2002	Colin Davis (conductor) Michelle DeYoung, Ben Heppner , Petra Lang , Peter Mattei , Stephen Milling, Sara Mingardo , Kenneth Tarver (soloists) London Symphony Orchestra James Mallinson (producer)	Les Troyens	Hector Berlioz
2003	Daniel Barenboim (conductor) Jane Eaglen, Thomas Hampson , Waltraud Meier , René Pape , Peter Seiffert (soloists) Choir of the German State Opera Berlin and the Staatskapelle Berlin Christoph Classen (producer)	Tannhauser	Richard Wagner
2004	Bernard Haitink (conductor) Jerry Hadley , Karita Mattila , Eva Randová , Anja Silja , Jorma Silvasti (soloists) Orchestra and Choir of the Royal Opera House Wolfram Graul (producer),	Jenůfa	Leoš Janáček
2005	René Jacobs (conductor) Patrizia Ciofi , Véronique Gens , Simon Keenlyside , Angelika Kirchschlager , Lorenzo Regazzo (soloists) Martin Sauer (producer)	Le nozze di Figaro	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2006	Sir Colin Davis (conductor) Carlos Alvarez , Bülent Bezdüz, Marina Domashenko, Jane Henschel , Ana Ibarra, Maria Josè Moreno, Michele Pertusi (soloists) London Symphony Chorus and London Symphony Orchestra James Mallinson (producer)	Falstaff	Giuseppe Verdi
2007	Robert Spano (conductor) Kelley O'Connor , Jessica Rivera, Dawn Upshaw (soloists) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choir Valérie Gross and Sid McLauchlan (producers)	Ainadamar	Osvaldo Golijov
2008	Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor) Jane Henschel , Jennifer Larmore , Rebecca Evans (Soloists) Brian Couzens (producer)	Hansel and Gretel	Engelbert Humperdinck
2009	James Conlon (conductor) Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone , Audra McDonald , Donnie Ray Albert, John Easterlin, Steven Humes, Mel Ulrich, Robert Wörle (soloists) Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Choir Fred Vogler (producer)	The rise and fall of the city of Mahagonny	Kurt Weill
2010	Daniel Harding (conductor) Ian Bostridge , Neal Davies, Nathan Gunn, Jonathan Lemalu, Matthew Rose, Gidon Saks, Andrew Kennedy, Daniel Teadt, Andrew Tortise, Rodrick Williams (soloists) London Symphony Orchestra and men of the London Symphony Chorus John Fraser (producer)	Billy Budd	Benjamin Britten
2011	Kent Nagano (conductor) Daniel Belcher, Ekaterina Lekhina, Marie-Ange Todorovitch (soloists) German Symphony Orchestra Berlin and Rundfunkchor Berlin Martin Sauer (producer)	L'amour de loin	Kaija Saariaho
2012	Alan Gilbert (conductor) Eric Owens , Gerald Finley , Meredith Arwady, Richard Paul Fink, Sasha Cooke and Thomas Glenn (soloists) Jay David Saks (producer)	Doctor Atomic	John Adams
2013	James Levine and Fabio Luisi (conductors) Hans Peter König , Jay Hunter Morris, Bryn Terfel , Deborah Voigt (soloists) Jay David Saks (producer)	The Ring of the Nibelung	Richard Wagner	Michael Boder (conductor) Paul Groves , Ashley Holland, Julia Juon, Patricia Petibon (soloists) Johannes Müller (producer)	Lulu	Alban Berg
				René Jacobs (conductor) Marcos Fink, Sunhae In , Bejun Mehta , Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Jennifer Rivera (soloists)	Agrippina	georg Friedrich Handel
				Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) Topi Lehtipuu , Miah Persson , Matthew Rose (soloists) Jean Chatauret (producer)	The Rake's Progress	Igor Stravinsky
				Jordi Savall (conductor) Delphine Galou , Paolo Lopez, Roberta Mameli, Raffaela Milanesi, Furio Zanasi (soloists)	Teuz zone	Antonio Vivaldi
2014	Thomas Adès (conductor) Simon Keenlyside , Isabel Leonard, Audrey Luna, William Burden, Alan Oke (soloists) Jay David Saks (producer)	The Tempest	Thomas Adès	Oliver Knussen (conductor) Ian Bostridge , Peter Coleman-Wright, Susan Gritton, Angelika Kirchschlager (soloists) John Fraser (producer)	The Rape of Lucretia	Benjamin Britten
				Tönu Kaljuste (conductor) Anna Eimarsson and Johannes Weisser (soloists) Morten Lindberg (producer)	David and Bathsheba	Ståle Kleiberg
				Diego Fasolis (conductor) Valer Barna-Sabadus , Daniel Behle , Max Emanuel Cenčić , Franco Fagioli , Philippe Jaroussky (soloists) Ulrich Russcher (producer)	Artaserse	Leonardo Vinci
				Christian Thielemann (conductor) Katarina Dalayman , Albert Dohmen , Stephen Gould , Eric Halfvarson , Linda Watson (soloists) Ohmar Eichinger (producer)	The Ring of the Nibelung	Richard Wagner
2015	Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs (conductors) Aaron Sheehan (soloist) Renate Wolter-Seevers (producer)	La descente d'Orphée aux enfers	Marc-Antoine Charpentier	Kenneth Kiesler (conductor) Dan Kempson, Jennifer Lane, Tamara Mumford, Julianna Di Giacomo, and Brenda Rae (soloists) Tim Handley (producer)	L'Orestie d'Eschyle	Darius Milhaud
				William Christie (conductor) Sarah Connolly , Stéphane Degout , Christiane Karg , Ed Lyon and Katherine Watson (soloists) Sébastien Chonion (producer)	Hippolyte et Aricie	Jean-Philippe Rameau
				Sylvain Cambreling (conductor) Andreas Conrad and Franz Grundträger (soloists) Reinhard Oechsler (producer)	Moses and Aron	Arnold Schoenberg
				Christian Thielemann (conductor) Evelyn Herlitzius , Waltraud Meier , René Pape and Anne Schwanewilms (soloists) Magdalene Herbst (producer)	Elektra	Richard Strauss
2016	Seiji Ozawa (conductor) Isabel Leonard (soloist) Dominic Fyfe (producer)	L'enfant et les sortilèges	Maurice Ravel	Donald Runnicles (conductor) Will Hartmann, Michaela Kaune and Jennifer Larmore (soloists) Magdalena Herbst (producer)	Jenufa	Leoš Janáček
				Martin Pearlman (conductor) Fernando Guimarães and Jennifer Riviera (soloists) Thomas C. Moore (producer)	Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria	Claudio Monteverdi
				Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor) Diana Damrau , Paul Schweinester and Rolando Villazón (soloists) Sid McLauchlan (producer)	The abduction from the Seraglio	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
				Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs (conductors) Karina Gauvin and Philippe Jaroussky (soloists) Renate Wolter-Seevers (producer)	Niobe, regina di Tebe	Agostino Steffani
2017	James Conlon (conductor) Joshua Guerrero, Christopher Maltman , Lucas Meachem, Patricia Racette, Lucy Schaufer, Guanqun Yu and Patti LuPone (soloists) Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Choir Blanton Alspaugh (producer)	The Ghosts of Versailles	John Corigliano	Giovanni Antonini (conductor) Cecilia Bartoli , Philippe Jaroussky, Andreas Scholl and Anne Sofie von Otter (soloists) Samuel Theis (producer)	Giulio Cesare	georg Friedrich Handel
				Miguel Harth-Bedoya (conductor) Emily Fons, Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard and Jay Hunter Morris (soloists) Elizabeth Ostrow (producer)	Cold Mountain	Jennifer Higdon
				Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor) Thomas Hampson , Christiane Karg , Luca Pisaroni and Sonya Yoncheva (soloists) Daniel Zalay (producer)	Le nozze di Figaro	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
				Antonio Pappano (conductor) Georgia Jarman, Mariusz Kwiecień and Saimir Pirgu (soloists) Jonathan Allen (producer)	Król Roger	Karol Szymanowski
2018	Hans Graf (conductor) Anne Schwanewilms and Roman Trekel (soloists) Houston Symphony Orchestra , the student and alumni choir of the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, and Houston Grand Opera Children's Choir Hans Graf and Brad Sayles (producers)	Wozzeck	Alban Berg	Lothar Koenigs (conductor) Daniel Brenna , Marlis Petersen and Johan Reuter (soloists) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Jay David Saks (producer)	Lulu	Alban Berg
				Gianandrea Noseda (conductor) Diana Damrau , Mariusz Kwiecień , Matthew Polenzani and Nicolas Testé (soloists) Orchestra and Choir of the Metropolitan Opera Jay David Saks (producer)	Les pêcheurs de perles	Georges Bizet
				George Petrou (conductor) Max Emanuel Cenčić and Lauren Snouffer (soloists) Jacob Handel (producer)	Ottone	georg Friedrich Handel
				Valery Gergiev (conductor) Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina and Kira Loginova (soloists) Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus Ilya Petrov (producer)	The golden rooster	Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov
2019	Michael Christie (conductor) Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edward Parks, Garrett Sorenson and Wei Wu (soloists) Elizabeth Ostrow (producer)	The (R) evolution of Steve Jobs	Mason Bates	John Adams (conductor) Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley and Brindley Sherratt (soloists) BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers Friedeman Engelbracht (producer)	Doctor Atomic	John Adams
				Christophe Rousset (conductor) Edwin Crossley-Mercer , Emiliano Gonzalez Toro and Judith van Wanroij (soloists) Les Talens Lyriques and Chœur de chambre de Namur Maximilien Ciup (producer)	Alceste	Jean-Baptiste Lully
				Sebastian Weigle (conductor) Renée Fleming , Elīna Garanča , Günther Groissböck and Erin Morley (soloists) Orchestra and Choir of the Metropolitan Opera David Frost (producer)	The Rosenkavalier	Richard Strauss
				Constantine Orbelian (conductor) Francesco Demuro, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Nadine Sierra (soloists) Kaunas City Symphony and Kaunas State Choir Vilius Keras and Aleksandra Keriene (producers)	Rigoletto	Giuseppe Verdi
2020	Gil Rose (conductor) John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River, Edwin Vega (soloists) Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Boston Children's Chorus Gil Rose (producer)	Fantastic Mr. Fox	Tobias Picker	George Benjamin (conductor) Stéphane Degout , Barbara Hannigan , Peter Hoare, Gyula Orendt (soloists) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House James Whitbourn (producer)	Lessons in Love and Violence	George Benjamin
				Marc Albrecht (conductor) Christopher Maltman , Eva-Maria Westbroek (soloists) Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of the Dutch National Opera François Roussillon (producer)	Wozzeck	Alban Berg
				Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs (conductors) Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim, Virginia Warnken (soloists) Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble and the Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble Renate Wolter-Seevers (producer)	Les Arts florissants; Les Plaisirs de Versailles	Marc-Antoine Charpentier
				Christian Thielemann (conductor) Piotr Beczała , Anja Harteros , Tomasz Konieczny , Waltraud Meier , Georg Zeppenfeld (soloists) Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Bayreuth Festival Choir Eckhard Glauche (producer)	Lohengrin	Richard Wagner

Web links

• Official website of the Grammy Awards - Recording Academy, Los Angeles (English)
• Winner of the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording at grammy.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Grammy Awards. Retrieved February 19, 2019 . 
2. ^ Winners Best Opera Recording. Retrieved February 19, 2019 .