Anne Sofie von Otter by Various, wt 08 lis 2016, od (2016/2016), Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg, Bruksela, Belgia

‘The past is reinvented and becomes the future. But the lineage is everything’ (Philip Glass). The mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter excels in the great classical roles and particularly in travesti roles to which her range lends itself. So the programme for this recital, resolutely topical, may surprise at first glance. Accompanied by the Brooklyn Rider Quartet, Anne Sofie von Otter brings together Janáček and the Icelandic artist Björk while also ringing the changes on the American minimalist composers from Philip Glass to Nico Muhly, via John Adams. She is nothing if not adventurous, having already combined French mélodie and chanson. With her eminently delicate and elegant singing, she delights in tracing new ramifications and lineages between composers and periods, at first sight remote from each other, while inviting us to join her in reinventing the past as seen from our time.