Ariadne auf Naxos | Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London | June 2004

“The role fits her like a glove.”

Financial Times

“Schwanewilms is a singer at the height of her powers, in a role that suits her completely.”

Opera

“…Schwanewilms is a highly intelligent musician, who thinks about what she is singing. And today, that’s a rare quality.”

Daily Telegraph

“Tall, gainly, commanding, with a voice that can send shivers through you, Schwanewilms is one of the greatest singers on the operatic stage today.”

Independent

Four Last Songs | Manchester | May 2004

“…From her first few bars it was clear that Schwanewilms is something out of the ordinary, and not merely in terms of her effortlessly virtuosic vocal technique. Her unfailing instinct for the finest details of phrasing and timing lifted this performance into stratospheric reaches of musical experience. Although there are many sopranos who sing these songs beautifully, with Schwanewilms every word counts in a way that communicates with breathtaking intensity.”

The Guardian

Idomeneo | Glyndebourne | June 2003

“Anne Schwanewilms sings the technically phenomenal Elettra”

Der Tagesspiegel

“But for sheer vocal thrill the honours go to Anne Schwanewilms in the role of the self-torturing Greek princess Elettra, vainly in love with Idamante. Her sweet, wheedling sound in ‘Idol mio’ gives way to piercing shrieks and insane laughing in her final furious aria ‘D’Oreste.’ It’s as if she’s about to combust with anger, and it’s the highlight of the evening.”

The Independent

Elektra | Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London | March 2003

“But the revelation is the German soprano Anne Schwanewilms as Elektra’s sister Chrysothemis, reassuring us that there still exists such a creature as the svelte, sylph-like diva who can act affectingly while singing the most taxing vocal lines with effortless ease and ravishing beauty.”

The Observer

Euryanthe | Glyndebourne | June 2002

“…the performance is carried by Schwanewilms, who looks divine, moves with classical grace and sings with Straussian purity of tone. She is not only technically perfect, she is also very touching.”

Financial Times

“…the heroine’s music is often very beautiful indeed, and as sung by Schwanewilms, an unfailingly expressive, sensual soprano, it was irresistible.”

The Guardian

“Anne Schwanewilms as Euryanthe is a natural stage star. Her great quality is an ethereal stillness. She brings to the role a lieder singer’s inwardness and attention to fine detail, but the voice is possessed of a thrilling reach, too.”

The Independent