Born in Sweden, Anne Sofie von Otter’s studies began in Stockholm and continued with Vera Rozsa at London’s Guildhall before she became a principal artist of the Basel Opera from where an international career, which has now spanned more than two decades, was launched.  Equally active in opera, concert, recital and recording, and noted as one of the most versatile artists of her generation,  Anne Sofie von Otter appears regularly on the world’s major stages and boasts an unrivalled personal discography.

Anne Sofie Von Otter’s diverse repertoire has played a key role in sustaining her international reputation as an operatic force:  Der Rosenkavalier in London, Paris, Chicago, Munich, Stockholm as well as in Vienna and at the Met, conducted by the late Carlos Kleiber (filmed for DVD); Gluck’s Orfeo in Geneva and Alceste at Paris’ Chatelet, both conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner;  Carmen at the Glyndebourne Festival (Philippe Jordan) and at the Santa Fe Opera (Alan Gilbert); Nerone in Monteverdi’s Poppea at the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Marc Minkowski); Didon in  Berlioz’ Les Troyens at the Geneva Opera (John Nelson); Komponist at the Vienna State Opera (the late Giuseppe Sinopoli); Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the historic Theater an der Wien (Nicholas Harnoncourt) and, in her long-awaited return to the Basel Opera, Offenbach’s La Grande Duchesse with Christoph Marthaler ... read full bio

Born in Sweden, Anne Sofie von Otter’s studies began in Stockholm and continued with Vera Rozsa at London’s Guildhall before she became a principal artist of the Basel Opera from where an international career, which has now spanned more than two decades, was launched.  Equally active in opera, concert, recital and recording, and noted as one of the most versatile artists of her generation,  Anne Sofie von Otter appears regularly on the world’s major stages and boasts an unrivalled personal discography.

Anne Sofie Von Otter’s diverse repertoire has played a key role in sustaining her international reputation as an operatic force:  Der Rosenkavalier in London, Paris, Chicago, Munich, Stockholm as well as in Vienna and at the Met, conducted by the late Carlos Kleiber (filmed for DVD); Gluck’s Orfeo in Geneva and Alceste at Paris’ Chatelet, both conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner;  Carmen at the Glyndebourne Festival (Philippe Jordan) and at the Santa Fe Opera (Alan Gilbert); Nerone in Monteverdi’s Poppea at the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Marc Minkowski); Didon in  Berlioz’ Les Troyens at the Geneva Opera (John Nelson); Komponist at the Vienna State Opera (the late Giuseppe Sinopoli); Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the historic Theater an der Wien (Nicholas Harnoncourt) and, in her long-awaited return to the Basel Opera, Offenbach’s La Grande Duchesse with Christoph Marthaler.

Recently, Anne Sofie von Otter further broadened her repertoire producing two highly-acclaimed Wagnerian role debuts:  firstly Brangäne/Tristan und Isolde in a semi-staged production by Peter Sellars with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen followed by Waltraute/Die Goetterdämmerung in a co-production by Stéphane Braunschweig at the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

A long-running relationship with James Levine at New York’s Metropolitan Opera has  led to numerous performances there of Rosenkavalier, Clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo as well as stage debuts as Debussy’s Mélisande and Countess Geschwitz in Alban Berg’s Lulu.  A regular performer in Paris, the Théatre des Champs Elysées and Opéra de Paris have been platforms for many further role debuts including Handel’s Ariodante (Marc Minkowski), Clairon in Strauss’ Capriccio (Ulf Schirmer), Sesto in both Clemenza di Tito and Giulio Cesare (Marc Minkowski), Handel’s Xerxes (William Christie), Ottavia/Poppea (Rene Jacobs) and Lully’s Thesée (Emmanuelle Haim).

An acclaimed recitalist, Anne Sofie von Otter performs around the globe with her accompanist, Bengt Forsberg and is renowned for her fresh and explorative programming.  An equally busy concert career takes her to the major halls of Europe and North America where she enjoys a regular partnership with many of the world's pre-eminent conductors.

Much of Anne Sofie von Otter’s operatic repertoire can be found on recording:  Dorabella with Solti, Monteverdi’s Ottavia, Glück’s Orfeo and Alceste, Mozart’s Sesto and Idamantes with Gardiner, Cherubino with Levine, Marguérite with Chung, Dido with Pinnock, Xerxes with Christie, R Strauss’ Composer with Sinopoli, Debussy’s Mélisande, Bluebeard’s Castle and Oktavian with Haitink, Werther with Nagano and Ariodante, Hercules, Sesto/Giulio Cesare with Minkowski.  

During a long period as an exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon, Anne Sofie von Otter enjoyed a prolific output of recordings with orchestra, piano and chamber ensemble.  Highlights include a Grammy award-winning Schubert collection with Claudio Abbado, Weill, Mahler, Bach and Zemlinsky selections with John Eliot Gardiner, Berlioz and Brahms with James Levine, collections of Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, and Grieg together with Bengt Forsberg and a collaboration with Elvis Costello on the award-winning release For the Stars. The recent Grammy-nominated Terezin project, a collection of songs and musical works composed by musicians imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp at Theresienstadt, garnered unanimous world-wide critical acclaim.

Anne Sofie von Otter’s current season includes an extensive recital tour of the USA and Europe together with Brad Mehldau, orchestral concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Israel Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta, the Los Angeles Philharmonic/Salonen, the San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas as well as tours with Concerto Copenhagen/Mortensen and Les Musiciens du Louvre/Minkowski.  A season of operatic debuts, Anne Sofie von Otter will sing new productions of Rameau’s Castor et Pollux at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, Charpentier’s Medee for the Frankfurt Opera, and Handel’s Tamerlano alongside Placido Domingo at Barcelona’s Gran Teatro del Liceu.

In 2010, Anne Sofie von Otter began an exciting new recording relationship with Naïve Paris.  The first Naïve record, Love Songs, a collaboration with legendary jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, will be released in October 2010.

Last updated August 2010. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.