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.
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 Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) of her generation, giving performances around the world, to her acclaimed creation of Leonora in the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel at Salzburger Festspiele and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Recent highlights include Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmélites) at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) in Christof Loy’s production at Bayerische Staatsoper, L’Opinion Publique (Orphée aux Enfers) at Salzburger Festspiele in Barrie Kosky’s new production, Mérope (Oedipe) at Opéra National de Paris, and the leading role of Charlotte Andergast in the world premiere of Sebastian Fagerlund’s Höstsonaten for Finnish National Opera.
The 2022/2023 season sees von Otter further expand her repertoire with productions of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame (Countess) at La Monnaie under Nathalie Stutzmann and Strauss’ Arabella (Adelaide) at Teatro Real Madrid under David Afkham, in addition to a reprise of Countess Geschwitz in Theater an der Wien’s new production of Berg’s Lulu, conducted by Maxime Pascal. After their acclaimed collaboration last season at Theater Basel in ‘Eine Winterreise,’ an intimate evening of music theatre conceived by Christoph Loy and inspired by the songs of Franz Schubert, von Otter and Kristian Bezuidenhout reunite for recitals in New York, Boston, Minnesota, Rochester, Santa Monica, Montréal and Warsaw this season.
Equally recognized as a concert and recital singer of exceptional gifts, von Otter’s career has taken her around the globe as a regular presence on the world’s most important stages excelling in a diverse repertoire including works by Mahler, Berlioz, Bach and Kurt Weill, and her expansive Lieder recordings range from classics by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf and Mahler, through lesser-known compilations from Cécile Chaminade, Korngold, Peterson-Bergen and Stenhammar.
Anne Sofie von Otter is one of today’s most recorded artists with an incomparable catalogue built across a career now spanning more than four decades at the very top of her profession. A lengthy and exclusive relationship with Deutsche Grammophon produced a wealth of acclaimed recordings including the Grammy-winning Mahler Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Claudio Abbado, Handel’s Ariodante, Giulio Cesare and Hercules with Marc Minkowski and a collaboration with pop legend Elvis Costello on For the Stars. On Naïve Classique, her double CD of Mélodies and Chansons, Douce France, received the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Von Otter immortalized many of her operatic characters on disc: Octavian with Bernard Haitink and the Staatskapelle Dresden and on DVD with Wiener Staatsoper under Carlos Kleiber; Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) under James Levine; La clemenza di Tito and Orfeo ed Euridice under Sir John Eliot Gardiner; and Ariadne auf Naxos under Giuseppe Sinopoli.