The ever-diverse mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter launches her recital tour this week in San Sebastián, with a programme based on her acclaimed Douce France CD. With concerts running through to 20 December, Anne Sofie and accompanist Bengt Forsberg are joined by accordionist Bengan Janson and viola players Lawrence Power and Antoine Tamestit.

Following San Sebastián, the tour continues to Madrid, Florence, Frankfurt, Zürich and Strasbourg with further concerts next year in Aix-en-Provence’s Grand Théâtre and Berlin’s Komische Oper.

A busy season for the Swedish icon, Anne Sofie returns to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Leocadia Begbick in the new production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, appears in a one-woman show under Christoph Marthaler’s direction at Theater Basel, and tours North America with pianist Angela Hewitt in a mixed programme of lieder and melodies.