Otello | Oper Köln, Cologne | May 2014

…a feast of operatic singing that was also dramatically inspired. One hesitates to distinguish anyone at this rarefied level, but Anne Schwanewilms’s Desdemona was outstanding.A Straussian and Wagnerian, she sings this difficult role with a marvellously natural, unaffected innocence and purity. Each note is rich in substance, each legato arc fulfilled. The sotto voce climax to the ‘Ave Maria’ is pitched with absolute lightness and goes straight to the heart.

Kölner Stadtanzeiger, Markus Schwering, May 20, 2014

Sometimes such a singer [as Jose Cura, singing Otello] can easily out-sing his colleagues. But not Anne Schwanewilms’s Desdemona. Her generous but tender, melting soprano captivates and touches with every note.

Express Köln, Christof Ernst, May 20, 2014

Anne Schwanewilms sang Desdemona, the innocent victim. Celebrated worldwide for her Strauss and Wagner roles, the soprano here held back her voice with an impeccable technique, subdued by humiliation, in order to let its dynamic potential flare up in one single, forte cry of lamentation.

Kölner Rundschau und General-Anzeiger Bonn, Olaf Weiden, May 20, 2014

Der Rosenkavalier | Staatsoper, Vienna | April 2014

“Vienna’s new Marschallin!..With her dramatic range, fine phrasing and noble, firm soprano, she compellingly succeeds in giving the Marschallin a gently melancholic profile…here one is experiencing a new Viennese Marschallin of the first class.”

Die Presse, April 2014

“Anne Schwanewilms was singing the Marschallin in Vienna for the first time. Surrounded by a distinctive aura, the German soprano projected the wisdom of the role into the house with silvery tone, grace and gentle power.”

Kurier, April 2014

Elektra | Semperoper, Dresden | January 2014

“Evelyn Herlitzius…with Waltraud Meier, Anne Schwanewilms and Rene Pape the other members of her disfunctional family — a line-up that the world’s greatest houses would be hard pressed to match today…to hear the text delivered with such clarity by an all-German quartet of principals…was very special indeed.”

Hugh Canning, Opera, May 2014

Die Frau Ohne Schatten | Metropolitan Opera, New York | November 2013

“The cast was headed by the magisterial Anne Schwanewilms in her company debut…As the Empress, Ms. Schwanewilms brings a vocal refinement and dignity to her performance…her singing is warm and true. She spins high-lying phrases with focused sound and pliant lyricism.”

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, November 8, 2013

“From her opening monologue with its florid passagework to her final monologue in which she stops singing and speaks, Schwanewilms was a dominating presence on stage. Her voice is a massive one that showcased tremendous flexibility with Strauss’ coloratura passagework and monstrous leaps into the soprano stratosphere…The Empress has a big vocal break throughout Act 1 and most of Act 2, but Schwanewilms was still a powerful presence even when she was silent. She explored the Dyer’s house with tremendous curiosity that made it impossible to look away. Her concern for the broken marriage was visible on her face throughout most of Act 2….The third act belongs to the Empress as she sings non-stop and then has to deliver speech over Strausss’ cataclysmic orchestra.She delivered chillingly in these moments, the pain present in every utterance. There was no doubt that hers was a truly triumphant night.”  David Salazar, Latino Post, November 8, 2013

“The opening night performance was also notable for the excellent (and overdue) Met debut of Anne Schwanewilms as the Empress…The omnipresent Empress is important to the plot even when she has little singing. Schwanewilms brought elegance to the role, excelling in the coloratura-laden vocal line in the opening scene, allowing her affection and sympathy for Barak to grow convincingly, and singing with dramatic heft in the denouement.”

David M. Rice, The Classical Source, November 7, 2013

Liederabend | Wigmore Hall, London | September 2013

“…that crowning glory (Wesendonck Lieder), and its uniquely centred, hypnotically drawing-in interpretation…Schwanewilms adapts her exquisite colours to the texts, which is why only the fourth song brought forth the usual Wagnerian opulence – and how.”

http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk, September 30, 2013

“Undoubtedly the finest and most exquisite rendition of the Wesendonck Lieder we have heard in 2013.”

https://twitter.com/200Wagner200

“…the finest of Strauss sopranos onstage and the most nuanced of lieder singers….I’ve never felt a duo partnership plumb so many depths with a lighter touch in a romantic song cycle. Perfection, in short, the ideal marriage of head and heart.”

www.theartsdesk.com, September 10 2013

“If there is a better currently performing female lieder singer, I haven’t heard her. An artist fully in her prime: truly exquisite.”

http://capricciomusic.blogspot.de

“Proses lyriques…The intense settings are characterised by very long phrases, given here with complete control from Anne Schwanewilms, whose mellifluous tone at the start of ‘De reve’ was a joy to behold…Wearing a vivid red dress, Schwanewilms radiated quite a presence, using the lower range of her voice with the utmost care and precision while allowing the higher register to ring out…Liederkreis…this was a richly romantic interpretation…Schwanewilms sang with both rapture and clarity.”

http://www.classicalsource.com

Liederabend | Wigmore Hall, London | September 2013

“…that crowning glory (Wesendonck Lieder), and its uniquely centred, hypnotically drawing-in interpretation…Schwanewilms adapts her exquisite colours to the texts, which is why only the fourth song brought forth the usual Wagnerian opulence – and how.”

http://davidnice.blogspot.co.uk, September 30, 2013

“Undoubtedly the finest and most exquisite rendition of the Wesendonck Lieder we have heard in 2013.”

https://twitter.com/200Wagner200

“…the finest of Strauss sopranos onstage and the most nuanced of lieder singers….I’ve never felt a duo partnership plumb so many depths with a lighter touch in a romantic song cycle. Perfection, in short, the ideal marriage of head and heart.”

www.theartsdesk.com, September 10 2013

“If there is a better currently performing female lieder singer, I haven’t heard her. An artist fully in her prime: truly exquisite.”

http://capricciomusic.blogspot.de

“Proses lyriques…The intense settings are characterised by very long phrases, given here with complete control from Anne Schwanewilms, whose mellifluous tone at the start of ‘De reve’ was a joy to behold…Wearing a vivid red dress, Schwanewilms radiated quite a presence, using the lower range of her voice with the utmost care and precision while allowing the higher register to ring out…Liederkreis…this was a richly romantic interpretation…Schwanewilms sang with both rapture and clarity.”

http://www.classicalsource.com

Four Last Songs | Le Corum, Montpellier | April 2013

“Anne Schwanewilms – imperial in her crimson robe – captivated the auditorium. An entranced silence followed the last notes before the unfurling of a wave of bravos….her singing, natural, has the power to embrace your heart. The smallest word finds its depth and she gives to her rich and nuanced tones a litheness which you might call metaphysical so much does she seem to follow the long unfolding of a thought. She conjures up the sparkling of Spring, the nostalgia of September…night is a mystery. It precedes the glow of the final ‘Im Abendrot’ and a bewitching dialogue between the soprano and the violinist. Life stops at the threshold of death – “Might this be death already? – in this sublime expression of completeness.”

Midi Libre, April 29, 2013

“Anne Schwanewilms, a specialist in the works of ~Strauss, gave her vision of the cycle. Whilst the first two formidable songs are well sung…the last two… show her at her zenith, touching and knowing how to distill the words with accuracy and without affectation.” A beautiful artist.”

Midi Libre, April 30, 2013