Best of the Bay 2016–2017 Winners (San Francisco Classical Voice)

Best Opera Singer: Joyce DiDonato

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato won by more than a length in one of our most heavily nominated races, with Carrie Hennesey a distant second. DiDonato, long a favorite in the Bay Area, also won in the best vocal recital performance category (see below). In this review, SFCV’s critic expressed her broad appeal: “There may be other mezzos, past and present, who have the gift of diving even deeper into the emotional well of humanity’s shared heart, but few have ever been able to do so with the ease, audience-friendly patter, and technical mastery of Joyce DiDonato.”

You are here to serve the words, the director, the melody, the author, the chord progression, the choreographer ~ but above all and most importantly, with every breath, step, and stroke of the keyboard, you are here to serve humanity.