The journalistic paucity of writing-up "overviews of the year" has begun early this year - something usually saved for the week after Christmas, when "stories I wrote earlier" can safely be published while the actual journos munch their plum puddings in the safety of their own homes.
Tom Service in the Guardian has launched the "retrospective" season with his picks for 2012 - an unsurprising list in most ways. ANNE NICOLE gets a second drubbing - although it's not entirely clear if Service is saying that it was nevertheless a highlight of the year? I was pleased to see a good write-up for the McVicar/Jurowsky staging of DIE MEISTERSINGER at Glyndebourne - which I managed to catch both live at Glyndebourne, and again on an internet relay courtesy of The Guardian. (In fact I would personally put the advent of the Guardian bringing us free netcasts of major opera productions as one of the REAL highlights of this year - long may this trend continue and flourish!).
Tom Service's Best Of 2011