Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano . Her repertoire encompasses lieder , operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs.
Anne Sofie von Otter and Brooklyn Rider: Kate Bush “Pi” (arr. Kyle Sanna; NY Premiere) Von Otter was born in Stockholm , Sweden. Her father was the diplomat Göran von Otter , a Swedish diplomat in Berlin during World War II . She grew up in Bonn, London and Stockholm. She studied in Stockholm and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where her teachers included Vera Rozsa. She made her professional operatic début in 1983 at the Basel Opera, as Alcina in Haydn 's Orlando paladino Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, début in 1985 and her La Scala debut in 1987. Her Metropolitan Opera début was in December 1988 as Cherubino.
Her recording of Grieg songs won the 1993 Gramophone Elvis Costello , For the Stars Edison Award . She is a regular recital and recording partner with Swedish pianist Bengt Forsberg .
In 2006, von Otter sang the Evangelist in the premiere of Sven-David Sandström 's Ordet – en passion Senza Sangue of Péter Eötvös . In other media, she appeared in the film A Late Quartet
In 2007, she released an album of music written by composers imprisoned in the Nazi "model" ghetto of Theresienstadt concentration camp (also known as Terezin) prior to their transportation to the death camp of Auschwitz. She collaborated on this project with Christian Gerhaher (baritone) and chamber musicians. She has stated that the material has special personal meaning for her as her father had attempted unsuccessfully during the war to spread information that he had received from SS officer Kurt Gerstein about the Nazi death camps.
Von Otter is married to Benny Fredriksson, an actor and theatre director. The couple has two children and lives in Stockholm.
Awards and honours 1995: appointed Hovsångerska by H.M. the King of Sweden 2003: Rolf Schock Prize in the musical arts category 2013: Honorary Degree, University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris (Peak positions in Sverigetopplistan , the Swedish national record chart)
Lieder and songs Alban Berg : Sieben frühe Lieder & Der Wein conducted by Claudio Abbado (1995) Deutsche Grammophon Hector Berlioz : Mélodies with Cord Garben (piano) (1994) and Les nuits d'été conducted by James Levine (1995) Deutsche GrammophonLes nuits d'été conducted by Marc Minkowski (2011) NaïveJohannes Brahms : Lieder with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1990) Deutsche GrammophonCécile Chaminade : Mots d'amour with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (2001) Deutsche GrammophonEdvard Grieg : Songs/Lieder with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1993) Deutsche GrammophonErich Wolfgang Korngold : Rendezvous with Korngold with Bengt Forsberg (piano) & Friends (1999) Deutsche GrammophonIngvar Lidholm : Songs and Chamber Music conducted by Björn Sjögren (1996) Caprice RecordsGustav Mahler : Des Knaben Wunderhorn Thomas Quasthoff conducted by Claudio Abbado (1999) Deutsche GrammophonKindertotenlieder Pierre Boulez (2004) Deutsche GrammophonMaurice Ravel : Shéhérazade Pierre Boulez (2002) Deutsche GrammophonArnold Schoenberg : Gurre-Lieder Simon Rattle (2002) EMI Franz Schubert : Lieder , with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1997) and Lieder with Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado (2003) Deutsche GrammophonRobert Schumann : Frauenliebe und -leben with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1995) Deutsche GrammophonJean Sibelius : Anne Sofie von Otter sings Sibelius with Bengt Forsberg (piano) BISKurt Weill : Speak Low: Songs by Kurt Weill conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (1994) Deutsche GrammophonHugo Wolf : Spanisches Liederbuch with Olaf Bär (baritone) and Geoffrey Parsons (piano) (1995) EMIVarious: Boldemann Gefors HillborgKent Nagano (2008) Deutsche Grammophon La Bonne chanson – French Chamber Songs with Bengt Forsberg (piano) and others (1996) Deutsche GrammophonBrahms / Schumann with Barbara Bonney (soprano), Kurt Streit (tenor), Olaf Bär (baritone), Helmut Deutsch and Bengt Forsberg (piano duet) (1994) EMIDouce France – classical French songs (disc 1) and chansons (disc 2) with Bengt Forsberg (piano) and others (2013) NaiveFolksongs with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (2000) Deutsche GrammophonLieder / Mélodies by Beethoven Meyerbeer Spohr with Melvyn Tan (fortepiano ) (2001) ArchivLieder by Wolf and Mahler with Ralf Gothóni (piano) (1989) Deutsche GrammophonLove's Twilight – Late Romantic Songs by Berg Korngold Strauss with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1994) Deutsche GrammophonMahler Zemlinsky Lieder conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (1996) Deutsche GrammophonMozart – Haydn: Songs & CanzonettasMelvyn Tan (fortepiano) (1995) ArchivMusic for a While – Baroque Melodies (2004) Deutsche GrammophonTerezín / Theresienstadt with Bengt Forsberg (piano), Christian Gerhaher , Gerold Huber (piano) and others (2007) Deutsche GrammophonWatercolours – Swedish Songs with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (2003) Deutsche GrammophonWings in the Night – Swedish Songs with Bengt Forsberg (piano) (1996) Deutsche GrammophonBartók : Bluebeard's Castle Bernard Haitink (1996) EMIBerlioz : La Damnation de Faust Myung-whun Chung (1998) Deutsche GrammophonBizet : Carmen Philippe Jordan (2003) BBC /Arte Gluck : Alceste conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (1990) Philips Iphigénie en Aulide Orphée et Eurydice conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (1989) EMIHandel : Agrippina conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (1997) PhilipsAriodante Marc Minkowski (1999) ArchivGiulio Cesare Hercules Serse William Christie (2004) Virgin ClassicsHumperdinck : Hänsel und Gretel conducted by Jeffrey Tate (1989/1990) EMIMassenet : Werther Kent Nagano (1997) ElektraMonteverdi : L'incoronazione di Poppea conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (1996) ArchivL'Orfeo conducted by John Eliot Gardiner (1987) ArchivMozart : La clemenza di Tito Così fan tutte conducted by Georg Solti (1996) Decca Idomeneo Le nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine (1992) Deutsche GrammophonPurcell : Dido and Aeneas conducted by Trevor Pinnock (1989) ArchivRachmaninoff : Aleko conducted by Neeme Järvi (1997) Deutsche GrammophonRichard Strauss : Ariadne auf Naxos Giuseppe Sinopoli (2002) Deutsche GrammophonDer Rosenkavalier Bernard Haitink (1991) EMIDer Rosenkavalier conducted by Carlos Kleiber (1995) Deutsche Grammophon DVD onlyIgor Stravinsky : The Rake's Progress Tchaikovsky : Eugene Onegin Anne Sofie von Otter sings Offenbach , conducted by Marc Minkowski – Deutsche GrammophonBaroque Arias by Handel , Monteverdi, Roman and Telemann, with the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble – PropriusOmbre de mon amant , French baroque arias conducted by William Christie – ArchivOpera Arias by Gluck, Haydn and Mozart, conducted by Trevor Pinnock – ArchivBach : St Matthew Passion English Baroque Soloists , Sir John Eliot GardinerSt Matthew Passion Kiri Te Kanawa , Anthony Rolfe Johnson , Tom Krause, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, Chicago Symphony ChorusBeethoven: Symphony No. 9 Monteverdi Choir and the Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner Maurice Duruflé: "Requiem ", conducted by Michel Plasson – EMI Elgar : The Dream of Gerontius Alastair Miles and David Rendall, conducted by Sir Colin Davis Handel: Jephtha Michael Chance , Lynne Dawson and Stephen Varcoe , with the English Baroque Soloists conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner Messiah Arleen Auger , Michael Chance, Howard Crook and John Tomlinson , with Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert Messiah, with Sylvia McNair , Michael Chance, Jerry Hadley and Robert Lloyd , with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Marriner Mauricio Kagel : Sankt-Bach-Passion , conducted by the composer – NaïveMahler: Symphony No. 3 , conducted by Pierre Boulez – Deutsche Grammophon Mozart: Requiem : Barbara Bonney , Anne Sofie von Otter, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir , conducted by John Eliot Gardiner – Archiv Great Mass in C minor: Barbara Bonney, Anne Sofie von Otter, English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner Franz Schubert : Rosamunde Chamber Orchestra of Europe , conducted by Claudio AbbadoHome for Christmas , classical works and popular tunes for Christmas (1999) Deutsche GrammophonFor the Stars Brian Wilson , Andersson –Ulvaeus and Lennon–McCartney ), with Elvis Costello and Svante Henryson (2001) Deutsche GrammophonPeter Sculthorpe : Island Dreaming , with the Brodsky Quartet (2001) Challenge RecordsI Let the Music Speak ABBA including "Money, Money, Money " and "The Winner Takes It All " (2006) Deutsche GrammophonNoel , classical Christmas music with Bengt Forsberg (2006) Deutsche GrammophonLove Songs , with Brad Mehldau (2010) NaïveOttorino Respighi : Il tramonto , with the Brodsky Quartet – Vanguard
