HÀ NỘI — Audiences in Hà Nội will have the chance to enjoy the extraordinary voice of the world-renowned mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, winner of two Grammy Awards, in a special one-night only concert in the city on Friday night. The Swedish artist will stage her first-ever concert in the country at the Việt Nam Academy of Music.

Accompanied by pianist Leif Kaner-Lidström and Fabian Fredriksson on guitar, von Otter will present a repertoire of personal favourites by Sibelius, Schubert, Bach, Andersson/Ulveaus (ABBA) and many more.

Von Otter is one of today’s most recorded artists with an unrivalled discography built across a career 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 double CD, Douce France, received a Grammy Award in 2015 for "Best Classical Solo Vocal Album".

In 2004, the artist also won a Grammy Award for the Best Classical Vocal Performance for a disc of Schubert lieder with Thomas Quasthoff, Claudio Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. 

Considered the superlative Octavian of her generation, she has performed at the world’s biggest opera houses, such as the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan and Metropolitan Opera in New York.

An ever-evolving repertoire has played a key role in sustaining von Otter’s international reputation as an operatic force.

Recent roles have included Leocadia Begbick (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny or Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden, Cornelia (Giulio Cesare) at the prominent festival of music and drama Salzburg Festival, Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande) of the Opéra national de Paris, and Countess Geschwitz in Christoph Marthaler’s production of Lulu at Hamburg State Opera House.

She appeared as Jenny (Die Dreigroschenoper) at Theater an der Wien, and as Waltraute (Die Götterdämmerung) at both the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Vienna State Opera. She created the role of Leonore in the world premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel at the Salzburg Festival and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, conducted by the composer.

A busy concert schedule takes the award-winning artist to all corners of the world, where recent appearances have included the Boston, Washington’s National and Swedish Radio symphony orchestras, London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

She appeared with Jonas Kaufmann and the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by the late Claudio Abbado, on the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death. She also appeared with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu performing specially commissioned arrangements of Sibelius songs on the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

Her Friday concert in Hà Nội, which is organised by the Swedish Embassy in Việt Nam, will start at 7.30pm. For further information about the concert, please visit https://www.swedenabroad.com/en-GB/Embassies/Hanoi. — VNS