©Photo: Ewa Marie Rundquist

©Photo: Mats Becker

Anne Sofie von Otter

Mezzo-soprano

Home
Reviews
Projects
Features
Discography

“von Otter’s generous personality is reflected in the way she puts over every item, with care for text and a honeyed sweetness of tone.”
(BBC Music Magazine, March 2019)

Gallery

Boasting an unrivalled and multi award-winning discography, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter’s versatility has seen her work with legendary artists ranging from the late greats of Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado and Giuseppe Sinopoli to Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright III.

An ever-evolving repertoire has played a key role in sustaining Swedish-born von Otter’s international profile, from an early position as the superlative Oktavian (Der Rosenkavalier) of her generation giving performances around the world, including at Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris and The Metropolitan Opera, to her more recent acclaimed creation of Leonore in the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel, performed at both Salzburger Festspiele and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Other recent highlights include Countess Geschwitz in Christoph Marthaler’s production of Lulu at Staatsoper Hamburg, Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmélites) at Theatre des Champs-Élysées, The Old Lady (Candide) at Komische Oper Berlin in Barrie Kosky’s new production, Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande) for Opéra National de Paris, and Leocadia Begbick (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Following earlier success at the Salzburger Festspiele as Cornelia (Giulio Cesare), von Otter returned there in the 2019 edition as L’Opinion Publique in Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers; as Waltraute (Götterdämmerung), she has appeared under Sir Simon Rattle at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; and at Finnish National Opera, she has most recently created the leading role of Charlotte Andergast in the world premiere of Sebastian Fagerlund’s Höstsonaten, based on the iconic Ingmar Bergman film, to unanimous critical acclaim.

Anne Sofie von Otter is one of today’s most recorded artists with an incomparable discography built across a career now spanning more than three decades at the very top of her profession. A lengthy and exclusive relationship with Deutsche Grammophon produced a wealth of acclaimed recordings as well as a collaboration with pop legend Elvis Costello on For the Stars. Her first recording with Naïve Classique, Love Songs, with renowned jazz pianist Brad Mehldau was released in 2010 and her double CD, Douce France, received a Grammy Award in 2015 for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Von Otter immortalized many of her operatic characters on disc: Oktavian with Bernard Haitink and the Staatskapelle Dresden and on DVD with Wiener Staatsoper under the late Carlos Kleiber, Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) under James Levine, Idomeneo, La clemenza di Tito, Alceste and Orfeo ed Euridice under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Handel’s Ariodante, Hercules and Giulio Cesare under Marc Minkowski, and Ariadne auf Naxos under the late Giuseppe Sinopoli.

Equally recognized for her exemplary work in both concert and recital, Anne Sofie von Otter’s career has taken her around the globe as a regular presence in the world’s most important venues and her expansive discography of Lieder ranges from classics by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf and Mahler, through lesser known compilations from Cecile Chaminade, Korngold, Peterson-Bergen and Stenhammar. Von Otter was part of two very special events which were streamed worldwide: Das Lied von der Erde with Jonas Kaufmann, the Berliner Philharmoniker and the late Claudio Abbado to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Mahler’s death; and in specially-commissioned new arrangements by Aulis Sallinen of Sibelius’ songs with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

Von Otter’s 19/20 operatic season includes her role debut as the Countess in David Marton’s new production of Pique Dame conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann, the premiere of her latest special project “Ich wollt ich wär ein Huhn”, devised together with Barrie Kosky for Komische Oper Berlin and featuring music from the Weimar Cabaret era, revivals of both Lulu at Staatsoper Hamburg and Höstsonaten at Finnish National Opera, and concert appearances with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding in Mahler’s Symphony No.3, Helsinki Philharmonic/Susanna Mälkki in Zemllinsky’s Maeterlinck Lieder, and the New European Ensemble/Christian Karlsen at the Concertgebouw for Saariaho’s Passion de Simone.

‘Abendempfindung’ in Le nozze di Figaro © Bayerische Staatsoper

Sibelius: Men min fågel märks dock icke © Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Handel: Priva son d’ogni conforto (Cornelia) - Giulio Cesare © Salzburger Festspiele, Decca

A Simple Song promotional video © BIS

Norbert Glanzberg: Padam Padam from Douce France © Naïve

“In between, the orchestra sat, lest it get between the Swedish mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter and her hauntingly exquisite expression in Berlioz’s song cycle “Les nuits d’été.”

(LA Times, September 2019)

“Anne Sofie von Otter is ideally cast in the role of L’Opinion Publique, with her soft timbre yet robust stage presence.”

(Neue Zürcher Zeitung, August 2019)

“Anne Sofie von Otter as L’Opinion Publique – what a performer! She whispers, screams, and sends glances into the hall like Jupiter’s flashes so that no one misses her message.”

(Der Tagesspiegel, August 2019)

“As L’Opinion Publique, Anne Sofie von Otter shines brilliantly.”

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 2019)

“Anne Sofie von Otter is impressive as L’Opinion Publique.”

(Der Standard, August 2019)

“Anne Sofie von Otter is the grande dame among the singers of historical performance practice, and she knows exactly why she’s performing her recital of Mozart, Schubert, Lindblad and Berwald with this fortepiano. Because von Otter does not want to overpower or offer drama, she lets her voice float as light as a feather through the songs, she strokes the cantilenas, she sounds the high in the low, she coaxes the depth.”

(Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 2019)

“von Otter’s generous personality is reflected in the way she puts over every item, with care for text and a honeyed sweetness of tone.”

(BBC Music Magazine, March 2019)

“von Otter tore with beguiling ease through the rapid passagework of ‘Iris hence away’ from Semele.”

(SF Chronicle, Joshua Kosman, March 2019)

“As Charlotte Andergast, Anne Sofie von Otter sings with timbral richness and deep attentiveness to her character’s complex and ultimately tragic persona. Shaping her vocal lines to compelling effect, she reveals the serious cracks masked by Charlotte’s self-obsession and apparent personal strength.”

(Opera Magazine, March 2019)

“’A Simple Song’ turns out to be a thoughtful, even challenging recital…all the instrumentalists involved match the intelligence and thoughtfulness of von Otter’s singing. This is a delightful, surprising and thought-provoking programme”

(Gramophone, Hugo Shirley, February 2019)

“Just as good was the duet ‘We are women’ with Anne Sofie von Otter’s wry Old Lady offering ideal support. As in her earlier ‘I am easily assimilated, von Otter made it clear that this trickster is campy, but with a touch of steel.”

(Opera Magazine, February 2019)

“von Otter is spectacular, capturing the nuance of her character’s complexities”

(BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2018)

“Anne Sofie von Otter played a nicely deadpan Old Lady, giving a dry twist to the role’s humour.”

(Financial Times, Richard Fairman, December 2018)

“Anne Sofie von Otter’s alluring Old Lady was further luxury casting”

(Telegraph, John Allison, December 2018 )

“Anne Sofie von Otter was a deluxe Marcellina”

(Opera Magazine, March 2018)

“The entire cast is superlative. Anne Sofie von Otter is formidable as Madame de Croissy, whose unjustly painful death is staged as a muted crucifixion.”

(Financial Times, Shirley Apthorp, February 2018)

“Anne Sofie von Otter gives a lesson in grandeur [as Madame de Croissy]. The only member of the cast who isn’t French, her diction is impeccable, as is her ability to impose tension into each of her appearances”

(Bachtrack, February 2018)

“I’m sure [Sibelius] would have loved Anne Sofie von Otter’s singing, with its unique mixture of warm and cold tone and its searching musicality.”

(BBC Music Magazine, January 2018)

“Anne Sofie von Otter makes her Finnish National Opera debut in the role of the lauded pianist Charlotte, a grand ‘artiste’ with little ability to empathise with the struggling daughters she visits for the first time in seven years…von Otter plays the aloof diva with total conviction”

(Gramophone, November 2017)

“Here is another addition to the flood of high-calibre Sibelius recordings prompted by the composer’s 150^th anniversary… Aulis Sallinen picked eight of Sibelius’s songs and reworked the piano parts for orchestra. The voice he had in mind was Anne Sofie von Otter’s and she sings them beautifully here. Sallinen strikes a skilful balance between a dark, typically Sibelian soundworld and something supportive of von Otter’s mezzo-soprano, with its easy poise and natural flow”

(The Guardian, November 2017)

“With her aristocratic demeanour and her ability to express a great range of conflicting emotions, von Otter was perfectly cast as Charlotte, her commitment to the role complete.”

(Opera Magazine, November 2017)

“Anne Sofie von Otter creates the role of Charlotte, the mother, in a characterisation that relies as much on the Swedish mezzo-soprano’s own star aura as on her remarkably versatile voice.” *****

(Financial Times, September 2017)

“Anne Sofie von Otter beguiled as the ailing Leonora, addicted to various substances”

(Fiona Maddocks, Guardian, May 2017)

“Anne Sofie von Otter made a moving, repressed Countess Geschwitz, singing with considerable heft as well as her trademark class.”

(Hugo Shirley, Opera Magazine, May 2017)

“All praise to a superbly integrated cast – Anne Sofie von Otter among its brightest stars”

(Rupert Christiansen, Telegraph, April 2017)

“Anne Sofie von Otter brings bags of character to the ailing Leonora”

(The Stage, April 2017)

“Anne Sofie von Otter – on searing vocal form – portrayed Countess Geschwitz with brooding intensity, a woman with a quiet obsession and constantly snatching sorrowful glances at the object of her infatuation.”

(Bachtrack, February 2017)

“The best thing about this eclectic recital is Anne Sofie von Otter’s handsomely rich voice…Highlights include Shaw’s “Cant voi l’aube”, setting a 12^th century French love poem to music of rare beauty and delicacy. Otter’s delivery is superb, reaching feverish heights in the final verse…Von Otter’s immaculate French is heard to advantage in the closing aria from Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna, and there’s a beguiling extract from John Adams’ Doctor Atomic. Best among the cover versions in a sultry version of “Love Sublime” by Brad Mehldau.”

(The Arts Desk, November 2016)

“Not every singer could bring this off. You need one who can approach all music without prejudice, preconceptions or star mannerisms and simply communicate through song — a rare gift. Von Otter has honed the art of singing to such a point that she is purely expressive, no matter what she’s singing. Hers is not a powerhouse voice, but this only furthers her artistry. She can be brassy (in an ABBA encore, “Gimme Gimme Gimme”), she can be straightforward or she can be purely, limpidly beautiful, as she was in Anders Hillborg’s “Kväll,” lyrically accompanied by Johnny Gandelsman on solo violin, and in Caroline Shaw’s “Cant voi l’aube,” a luminous setting of a 12^th-century troubadour text that was one of the evening’s standouts.”

(Washington Post, October 2016)

“Anne Sofie von Otter stood out for her portrayal of Leonora, a tragic, desperate patient of the Doctor”

(Opera Magazine, October 2016)

“The mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, singing with richness and vulnerability, plays Leonora”

(New York Times, August 2016)

“The singers were more than fine; stand outs included Anne Sofie von Otter as a nuanced Leonora”

(Frankfurter Rundschau, August 2016)

“Making these characters convincing required power and consistent vocal presence, which was especially apparent from Anne Sofie von Otter as senile Leonora”

(Opernnetz, August 2016)

“the male trio fawn over von Otter who dazzles every second, with every prominent gesture, as the central figure for the evening. From barmaid to glamorous vamp, from Dowland to Elvis Costello and everything in between, she slips into the various roles and falls right back out of them again with ease”

(Die Presse, June 2016)

“The performance was driven primarily by the great artist and legendary mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter…vocally, she is the absolute central power of the production. She sings with unmatched dedication and is perfect as the object of ultimate desire.”

(Kurier, June 2016)

“Anne Sofie von Otter’s Jenny…[is] a classy number as one would expect from this imaginative performer.”

(Opera Critic, January 2016)

“Anne Sofie von Otter’s Muse/Nicklausse, [is] a role she can still deliver with plenty of lissom tone”

(Opera Magazine, December 2015)

“Anne Sofie von Otter is not the overripe contralto battleaxe one might usually cast as Leokadja Begbick but, resplendent in a platinum-blonde, hot-pink-dip-dyed wig, she gave a memorable performance on her own terms, singing with point and delivering her spoken lines in a tone-perfect Estuary accent.”

(Opera Magazine, May 2015)

“Anne Sofie von Otter is a memorable Leokadja Begbick, strutting and commanding the stage, singing with eerie beauty. Always a treat when singing”

(Backtrack, March 2015)

“von Otter has a beautiful voice and, as the evil widow Begbick, joyously attacks her lines with bitingly vicious phrasing”

(Londonist, March 2015)

“Anne Sofie von Otter sings and struts splendidly as the widow Begbick whose brothel-keeping skills more or less run the town”

(Express, March 2015)