Mezzo Alert: Wednesday with von Otter
[Anne Sofie von Otter, interviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald, weekend edition Oct. 8th/oth 2011]
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Next month, Anne Sofie von Otter appears in Australia for the first time and Australia gets points for using this opportunity to conduct an interview with the singer in last weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald (thank you for the scan, jcmwee!).
The headline of “I’m sick and tired of playing young, foolish, naive, hot-headed men” (something von Otter has been stating since the early 2000s) may break a White Shirt lover’s heart at first reading, but after decades of being pigeonholed into the Sestos and Octavians of this world, it’s understandable. We’ll always have Paris the recordings. Besides, it’s not as if von Otter wouldn’t be splendid in many other roles and, above all, her varied song repertory.
The more she still gets to try out, the better for us. I’m already looking forward to von Otter’s next project, after the fabulous Bach arias and Mehldau songs. Whatever it may be, it will be intelligent, thought-provoking and well sung.
And do you yourself a favor and read the interview, if only for the Helen Mirren comparison. I’ve never seen it that way before, but then again, I’ll never protest a Helen Mirren reference.
Another von Otter interview you shouldn’t miss is the one conducted by Catherine during the “Lied & Lyrik” festival, where von Otter stopped by to present her internationally acclaimed Theresienstadt program. The interview is available in French and English here on the festival website, so hop over there for the read (and leave a comment while you’re at it).
Sorry couldn’t read it, blurred and much too small even with a magnifying glass. I should imagine it is very interesting, Thanks for the try.
@PL: it’s a pdf, just open it in Acrobat reader and pump up the size – shouldn’t be a problem at all. On my screen, it initially opened with 74%, which was impossible, but at a 100% or 150%, it reads very well.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/interview-anne-sofie-von-otter-20111006-1la2r.html
..or this way!
Thanks DtO. I was looking for a URL, but couldn’t find it, so I scanned the paper.
ooh, looking forward to reading this, thanks!
Well worth the read, a very well balanced lady.
Well worth as well is this read:
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/festival-lied-lyrik-so-nah-am-froehlichsein-wie-moeglich-1.1158659
She’s hailed in the press and she really has rendered absolutely
outstanding services to this programme!