Anne Sofie von Otter

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 Leonora 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 Théâtre 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 100th 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 20/21 season includes returns to the operatic stages of Bayerische Staatsoper as Marcellina in Christof Loy’s highly-regarded production of Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Constantinos Carydis and Ivor Bolton – as well as a special Gala concert as part of their summer Opernfestspiele, also under Carydis – Royal Swedish Opera in a concert performance of Kaija Saariaho’s Passion de Simone with Christian Karlsen, and Malmö Opera for a series of Christmas concerts. Anne Sofie joins Orchestre National de France and Dalia Stasevska for New Year’s concerts in both Paris and Aix-en-Provence, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Martin Fröst for a world premiere by Mikael Karlsson, and Drottningholms Barockensemble in Handel’s Solomon. In recital, Anne Sofie continues to perform with long-time collaborator Bengt Forsberg and guitarist Fabian Fredriksson at the Ghent and Naantali Festivals, Musée d’Orsay, and Mogens Dahl. At the 2021 Menuhin Festival Gstaad, von Otter performs her acclaimed Shakespearian programme of words and music alongside Roderick Williams and Julius Drake, and brings her special project “Ich wollt ich wär ein Huhn” to Bamberg’s Lied und Lyrik Festival, featuring music from the Weimar Cabaret era and originally devised together with Barrie Kosky for its premiere at Komische Oper Berlin last season.