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What's New with
Andrew Foster-Williams
January 18, 2012
"A voice of fire-an envoy from hell"
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress
“Nick Shadow”
Opéra National de Lorraine
Tito Muñoz, conductor
Photo credit: Paul Foster-Williams
“Andrew Foster-Williams holds the attention of the audience with the
energy of someone who has great experience, and with sensational
vocal ability which he uses with total freedom, he easily makes his
mark in the role of Nick - this is particularly justified in the
magnificent final scenes in which the British bass-baritone excels”
--Opéra
“This charismatic bass-baritone, singing brilliantly and dominating
the stage, is certainly ready to tackle more demanding roles.” --Opera
“The standout of the cast is baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, who
sings a remarkable Nick Shadow with elegance and assurance” --Est
Republicain
“The great discovery of the show is Andrew Foster-Williams. He is
English, a dark baritone, he is just 37, and embodies the devilish
Nick Shadow with stunning humour. He possesses a voice of fire,
clear diction and an obvious pleasure in playing the bad guy, and
perfectly represents an envoy from hell who delights in pulling the
strings of the drama” --Webthea
HEAR Andrew as Nick Shadow
September 14, 2011
2011 Gramophone Award Nominees
Best Baroque Vocal Recording
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
HANDEL Flavio
Early Opera Company
Christian Curnyn, conductor
Chandos Chaconne CHAN0773(2)
“Singing with imperturbable panache, this artist contributes
another performance that ranks with the best recorded examples of
Händel singing in the bass register....Mr. Foster-Williams possesses
not only the formidable technique required to execute intricate
coloratura across a range of two octaves but also the vocal power to
roar magnificently as his music requires. In this performance, both
the grandeur of Mr. Foster-Williams’s voice and his artistic finesse
are in evidence.” -- Voix des Arts
HEAR an excerpt from Handel’s Flavio
July 11, 2011
Photo by Paul Foster-Williams
Andrew Foster-Williams Honored by Royal Academy
of Music
Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams was named a Fellow of the
Royal Academy of Music (FRAM), in a ceremony in London on June 30,
2011. Fellowships are a lifetime honor awarded to those Academy
alumni who have distinguished themselves in the music profession,
and are limited to 300 honorees at any one time. Mr.
Foster-Williams’ place on the list was previously held by the
acclaimed tenor, the late Philip Langridge, CBE.
February 11, 2011
"Profound...Riveting...Extraordinary"
ANDREW FOSTER-WILLIAMS, Bass-baritone
BACH "Profound"
BEETHOVEN
"Riveting"
DEBUSSY "Extraordinary"
HANDEL
"Spectacular" HAYDN
"Force and authority"
LUKASZEWSKI
"Outstanding" MOZART
"Superb" PURCELL
"No praise is too high" RAMEAU
"Fabulous" ROSSINI
"Authority and style"
BACH
"Andrew Foster-Williams brought profound thoughtfulness
to his arioso "Betrachte, meine Seel" and the aria "Mein teurer
Heiland" -- The Daily Telegraph
BEETHOVEN
"It was a riveting performance; he was absolutely
transported." -- San Francisco Classical Voice
DEBUSSY
"An extraordinary performance from Andrew
Foster-Williams....It’s beautiful singing – impassioned, truthful. I
found Foster-Williams the most moving Golaud I have heard." --
The Independent
HANDEL
"Foster-Williams makes a spectacular entry....the
coloratura is 100% genuine and utterly amazing...but he also excels
in the lyrical Vieni, o cara." -- David Vickers
HAYDN
"Foster-Williams’s force and authority rang through the
hall." -- The Times (London)
LUKASZEWSKI
"dramatically and vocally outstanding." -- BBC Music
Magazine
MOZART
"We feel him as an unwitting misfit, slightly apart, unaware of what
affection really is: in sum, lonely. Andrew Foster-Williams
tellingly brings all of these slants to his superb
performance." -- The Sunday Times (London)
PURCELL
"no praise is too high for bass Andrew Foster-Williams" --
The Independent
RAMEAU
"…the superb Borée of Andrew Foster Williams. Dramatically
fabulous, the English baritone offers a perfectly hateful
portrait of the god of the winds" -- Forum Opéra
ROSSINI
"Andrew Foster-Williams, as the philosopher Alidoro, sang with
authority and style." -- The Daily Telegraph
HEAR
Andrew Foster-Williams
October 14, 2010
“No Small Roles”
Andrew
Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
HANDEL Flavio
"Lotario"
Christian Curnyn, conductor
Chandos Chaconne
0773 (2)
"...singing the role of Lotario, Emilia’s father, is
bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, another young singer whose
Händelian credentials have been well established through acclaimed
performances and recordings. Singing with imperturbable panache,
this artist contributes another performance that ranks with the best
recorded examples of Händel singing in the bass register. Unlike
many of the low-voiced singers currently active in Baroque
repertory, Mr. Foster-Williams possesses not only the formidable
technique required to execute intricate coloratura across a range of
two octaves but also the vocal power to roar magnificently as his
music requires. In this performance, both the grandeur of Mr.
Foster-Williams’s voice and his artistic finesse are in evidence,
not least in the scene in which Lotario dies in his daughter’s
presence, slain by Guido. Mr. Foster-Williams’s performance brings
to mind again the adage that suggests that there are no small roles
in opera, only ‘small’ artists who fail to seize the opportunities
granted by the music given them to sing. Lotario is not a leading
role in Flavio, but as sung by Mr. Foster-Williams—one of the
handful of leading basses of his generation—it seems an opportunity
missed not by the singer but by the composer and his librettist."
-- Voix des
Arts
HEAR Andrew
sing a track from Flavio:
https://files.me.com/andrewfosterwilliams/obhtfk.mp3
HEAR Andrew in
New York and Philadelphia:
HANDEL Messiah
New York Philharmonic
Bernard Labadie, conductor
December 14-18, 2010
MOZART Requiem
Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
January 6-8, 2011
October 14, 2010
“For The Rest Of Their Lives”
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
BACH Mass in F major "Lutheran"
Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
"The Cleveland Orchestra opened its 92nd season with
a program of epic proportions. Under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst,
the orchestra pulled out all the stops to produce an evening that
audiences will likely remember for the rest of their lives.
...Bach’s Mass in F major...[a] masterwork beyond compare.
Foster-Williams was particularly outstanding and explored his range
to great effect."
--The Observer (Ohio)
VISIT
Andrew’s website
October 7, 2010
2010 Gramophone Award Winner!
Best DVD Performance
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
PURCELL The Fairy Queen
William Christie, conductor
Jonathan Kent, director
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Glyndebourne Chorus
"Andrew
Foster-Williams sings with gusto...an extraordinary variety of
characters....an absolute triumph."
David Vickers, Gramophone
VISIT
Andrew Foster-Williams’ website
March 11, 2010
“QUIVERING WINTER & FURIOUS HYMEN”
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
PURCELL The Fairy Queen
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, conductor
“...Andrew Foster-Williams, whose quivering
Winter and furious Hymen become almost instant historic reference
points...”
--concertclassic.com
“I loved icicle-ridden Winter [Andrew
Foster-Williams] and the mournful change of musical mood he brings.”
--The Observer
SEE Andrew in The Fairy Queen at
BAM March 23, 25, 26, 27
Visit Andrew’s website
November 20, 2009
HANDEL Messiah
Andrew Foster-Williams,
bass-baritone
Handel Messiah
Polyphony & Britten Sinfonia
Stephen Layton, conductor
Hyperion CDA67800
“Andrew Foster-Williams’ singing is marvelous....he holds the
listener in the palm of his hand”
--David Vickers, Gramophone
“...powerful tone and astonishing technique....only the young Samuel
Ramey rivals Mr. Foster-Williams’ performance for flair and vocal
opulence.”
--Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts
Hear Andrew sing “Why
do the nations rage”
from Messiah
Available at amazon.com
Visit Andrew’s website
November 9, 2009
“AN ENDANGERED SPECIES”
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
Voix des Arts Profile
photo: Marco Borggreve
“This remarkable singer rose to the challenge...with singing of the
sort that regrettably is an endangered species among male singers of
his generation.
A vital aspect of his artistry is the way in
which his performances combine vocal beauty with complete emotional
engagement.
There is in his work that elusive and wondrous
element of magic. The shimmering beauty of the voice commands the
ears’ full attention, the emotional and intellectual involvement
inspire the heart’s complete surrender, and ultimately one leaves
the theatre with memories of both performance and
performer....Andrew Foster-Williams never goes unnoticed.”
--Joseph Newsome,
Voix des Arts
Visit
Andrew’s website
Debussy Pelléas & Mélisande
April 22, 2009
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY MUSIC AWARDS SHORTLIST:
Pelléas et Mélisande
www.rpsmusicawards.com
Andrew Foster-Williams, bass-baritone
Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande “Golaud”
Independent Opera
“Among the operatic high notes of 2008....an extraordinary
performance from Andrew Foster-Williams....It’s beautiful singing –
impassioned, truthful. I found Foster-Williams the most moving
Golaud I have heard.”
--Anna Picard, The Independent
“In perfect contrast was the dark, resonant bass-baritone of Andrew
Foster-Williams as the tortured Golaud, a singer whose voice has
blossomed into something very special these past few years....it
cannot be long before his Golaud is taken up by a major house.”
--Sue Loder, Opera Today
Visit Andrew’s website
Read more about
Andrew
Foster-Williams
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