Delving into the traffic reports, we can see that Limelight readers in 2025 gravitated toward ambitious repertoire, genre-bending collaborations and performances that blended tradition with innovation.

This year’s most-read music reviews speak of a curious audience hungry for depth, emotional power and bold artistic imagination – whether delivered by major Australian ensembles or international guests.

Jane Ede, Helen Sherman, Paul Fitzsimon with the Opera Australia Orchestra and Chorus in Mozart Requiem. Photo © Jansson J. Antmann

1. Mozart Requiem – Opera Australia

The most-read music review of the year was of Mozart’s enigmatic final work, testament to the enduring fascination with its history, drama and spiritual intensity. Beginning with a showcase of OA Concertmaster Matthieu Arama’s talents as a soloist, the concert was described by Limelight reviewer Jansson J. Antmann as “an outstanding evening that proves the superb musicianship of the OA musicians and singers has remained unscathed, despite the much-publicised goings-on in the company’s upper management of late”.

2. Simone Young Conducts Siegfried – Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Simone Young’s traversal of Wagner’s Siegfried – one of the Ring cycle’s most technically demanding instalments – had readers eager to see how she...