Ten tweeting opera singers you should follow

Erwin Schrott is among the opera stars spreading their love for the artform one tweet at a time...

It's Friday night as I type this – though it won't be when you're reading it – and if you're a Twitter person, you know what happens today: Follow Friday, or FF, a chance to recommend new tweeters to your own followers, and thereby give those people a vote of confidence and admiration.

I confess I don't often do it, mostly through sheer indecision (You're All My Favourites!) but tonight I thought I might make up for that in an extended way. You may have read my recent opera column in the September issue of Limelight, all about opera singers and Twitter. I only managed to namecheck a few obvious superstars in that article, but there are so many more I could have mentioned – so here I am, on Follow Friday, with ten tweeting singers who I think are among the best.

So if Twitter's your thing, please read on, and maybe find a few new voices to enliven your feed. You can also follow me @primalamusica and Limelight @limelighted.

Barry Banks @belcantobhoy

Fans of bel canto, and particularly of Opera Rara's pioneering efforts, will know Barry's voice – and virtuosity – very well indeed, and if you're like me, it's always nice to see the personal and funny (in this case very, very funny) side of an artist you might previously have known only by name and a headshot.

He's a lively presence on Twitter, full of good humour and also ready to engage in conversation about some of opera's more controversial issues: the crossover phenomenon, for instance, and the recent Il Divo/Atlanta Symphony kerfuffle. Sometimes it's hard to believe he's a more or less a newcomer to Twitter; he's made it his stomping ground in record time.

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