Anna Harvey

Mezzo-soprano

"Anna Harvey's performance here is remarkable: not just delivering great arias such as and with clarity, energy and feeling, but also catching the macho swagger..."

Richard Morrison, Times

"Harvey was simply wonderful, and her aria in Cantata No. 11, was the evenings high point."

New York Times

"Anna Harvey, both uptight and sexy as Popova, sounded impressively ample and seamless."

Opera

"The singing was uniformly excellent, with the vocal highlights coming from … most particularly, Anna Harvey’s excellent Cherubino."

Independent

"Anna Harvey's gleefully priapic Lapák shone... she revealed a big, bright, characterful mezzo that's surely destined for exciting things."

What’s on Stage

"Anna Harvey stood out among the quartet of soloists with her rich tone and sensitive phrasing."

Tim Ashley, Guardian

"Harvey has a naturally youthful mezzo, and the higher register is in perfect condition, gleaming at the very top. Everything she sang was packed with flavour"

Bachtrack

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British mezzo Anna Harvey is the winner of the First Prize (Prix Pierre Verne) in the 2022 Paris Opera Competition. This season, she sings the roles of Prinz Orlofsky Die Fledermaus, Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, Meg Page Falstaff, Suzuki Madama Butterfly, 2. Dame Die Zauberflöte, and Brigitta Die Tote Stadt in a new production at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where she is a member of the solo ensemble. Other recent roles include Annio La clemenza di Tito, Varvara Káťa Kabanová, Flosshilde Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, Siegrune Die Walküre, Polina/Daphnis Pique Dame, The Child L’enfant et les sortilèges, Bejlia Weinberg’s Mazeltov, and Flora La Traviata.

Concert engagements in the current season include Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Dominica and Coronation Mass with the Gaechinger Cantorey, Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Festival Hall, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with Orchestre de Picardie, Dvorak’s Mass in D at Winchester Cathedral, Mahler’s Symphony No.2 in her hometown of Sheffield, and Flosshilde/Erda Das Rheingold with Orchestra of the Music Makers in Singapore.

Anna is a previous Associate Artist at Welsh National Opera, where she made her debut as Orlofsky Die Fledermaus while covering Serafin Figaro Gets A Divorce and Octavian Der Rosenkavalier, and returned in 2021 as Suzuki Madama Butterfly and 2020 as Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, a role she had previously sung for Longborough Festival Opera, Nevill Holt and West Green House Opera.

A keen recitalist, Anna has performed solo recitals at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Holywell Music Room, Kettle’s Yard, Garrick Club, and St George’s, Hanover Square, and was a finalist at the 2019 DAS LIED competition. Her disc of Songs by Warlock and Howe was released on Rubicon in 2022.

This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.

Die Tote Stadt (Brigitta), Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Opernhaus Düsseldorf (April 2023)

Anna Harvey, with a dark-timbred mezzo, the unusually interesting housekeeper Brigitta.

Judith von Sternburg, Frankfurter Rundschau

The most beautiful vocal moments of this evening, however, came from Anna Harvey as Paul’s housekeeper: a wonderful mezzo with groundedness, mystery and warmth.

Wolfram Goertz, Rheinische Post

Anna Harvey acts as his faithful housekeeper Brigitta, who makes a tremendous vocal impression with her short appearances.

Joachim Lange, Klassikinfo.de

Brigitta, his housekeeper… who is performed in an engaging and confident way by mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey.

Dr. Ralf Siepmann, Opera Online

Almost more interesting than this character is the housekeeper Brigitta, portrayed as a young girl by Anna Harvey with a beautiful voice.

Stefan Schmöe, Online Musik Magazin

Anna Harvey is a touching Brigitta.

Michael Kaminski, Concerti

Anna Harvey’s full-blooded Brigitta...

Eleanor Knight, Bachtrack

Anna Harvey possesses a mezzo-soprano voice that is stimulating in the lower range, lively, charming, and powerful in the higher register.

Ingrid Freiberg, IOCO Kultur im Netz

CD: Songs by Warlock and Howe, Rubicon RCD1095

(July 2022)

Harvey's bright, characterful mezzo and easy, unaffected way with text give constant pleasure in this lovely recital showcasing the breadth of Warlock's style, from the almost Straussian 'Autumn Twilight' to the salty dark humour of 'The Magpie' (later reworked as the rather less salacious 'Yarmouth Fair' due to copyright restrictions).

Katherine Cooper, Presto Music

Káťa Kabanová (Varvara), Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Theater Duisburg (March 2022)

[Anna Harvey] as Varvara is more than a match for her [Katja] in all regards.

Guido Krawinkel, Neue Musikzeitung

Anna Harvey sculpts the character with a youthful, radiant soprano [sic] voice… She embodies the optimistic model: escape is possible, which deviates significantly from the conventional (and the traditional operatic) reading, where Varvara is the light-footed but also superficial, while Katja is the profound and therefore tragic female character.

Stefan Schmöe, Online Musik Magazin

Anna Harvey is the wonderfully sensitive, caring friend Varvara.

Ursula Decker-Bönniger, Klassik.com

At her side is Anna Harvey as the foster daughter Varvara, a young mezzo-soprano who perfectly plays the role with a youthful lightness, and vocally becomes the star of the evening.

Markus Lamers, Der Opernfreund

We are also in luck when it comes to the singers…(Varvara), very beautifully sung by Anna Harvey.

Wolfram Goertz, Rheinische Post

Anna Harvey enthralled me with her effortlessness and honesty throughout the entire performance.

Dagmar Ohlwein, Opernscouts

Also superb are the future-oriented couple of Anna Harvey as Varvara and Cornel Frey as the teacher Kudrjasch.

Pedro Obiera, waz.de

Katja herself is perfectly cast with soprano Sylvia Hamvasi, Anna Harvey as Varvara is her equal. Two "strong women" in the piece with two equally strong and beautiful voices.

Isabel Fedrizzi, Opernscouts

Musically, the production also leaves nothing to be desired. Right down to the smallest role, everything is virtually optimally cast. Vivacious and looking for a way out, Anna Harvey as Varvara brings moments of happiness into the action.

Thomas Hilgemeier, Theater Pur

But the performance has a lot to offer in terms of singer-actors…Anna Harvey is openly risqué and love-crazed as the adoptive daughter Varvara, who lives out her sexual adventures with the teacher Kudrajasch (Cornel Frey).

Michael-Geroge Müller, Westdeutsche Zeitung

Paris Opera Competition, Palais Garnier

(January 2022)

Anna Harvey dared to take risks with Sesto from La Clemenza di Tito...the young artist seems to win all the votes with her strong stage presence in Hänsel und Gretel and in Der Rosenkavalier as Octavian.

Brigitte Maroillat, Forum Opera

This year nine candidates were selected and deciding between them was not easy for the jury as their level was high. In the running were the English mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey who won the first prize.

François Delétraz, Le Figaro

This emphasis on the link between singing and playing (and the balance among the jury of voice and theater connoisseurs) probably explains why the 1st Prize goes to Anna Harvey. The mezzo-soprano from the United Kingdom combines with the most homogeneity the vocal and scenic dimensions of “Parto, Parto”…She plays and sings all the intentions of her text, with accents in the middle-range, well-negotiated rises towards the treble.

Charles Arden, Olyrix

With Sesto's aria "Parto parto ma tu ben moi", Mozart finds a natural interpreter. The mezzo already has a serious job and a good vocal technique…the trio of Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss (with Serena Saenz Molinero and Anna Harvey) is one of the most beautiful moments of the evening…The big winner of the evening is Anna Harvey, winner of the 2022 Pierre Vernes Prize from the Paris Opera Competition.

Hugues Rameau-Crays, Classique

Bach Cantatas, Gabrieli Consort & Players

(December 2021)


Even more stylish was mezzo Anna Harvey with her dark alto register in the fluid, expectant „In Jesu Demut kann ich Trost“, accompanied by the charming gracefulness of Christopher Palametas’ Oboe d’amore…Pierce and Harvey complemented each other in their elegant and serious “Domine Deus”

Jens Klier, Bachtrack

Mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey…and a solo oboe duetted vigorously, in a robust dance, Harvey's warm mellow sound complementing the rich timbre of the oboe…'Domine Deus' was a duet for Rowan Pierce and Anna Harvey, the voices flowing easily over a rhythmic violin line…Followed by a striking slow accompanied recitative, where Anna Harvey's mellow voice was very expressive….A dramatic recitative from Daniel Norman led to a duet between him and Anna Harvey; a piece with a lovely lilt to it sung with joyful enjoyment.

Robert Hugill, Planet Hugill

Both (Rowan Pierce and Anna Harvey) were brilliant in the ‘Domine Deus’ of the ‘Mass in G Major BWV 236’.

Jonathan Mallada Álvarez, La Nueva España

La Clemenza di Tito (Annio), Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Opernhaus Düsseldorf (October 2021)

With Anna Harvey as Annio and Heidi Elisabeth Meier, who make the duet “Ah perdona il primo affetto” the most intense moment of the evening.

RP Online

Above all, the evening in Düsseldorf is saved by the strong female singers…Anna Harvey, in the same voice type, contrasts with a beguiling, melodious melancholy.

Lars von der Gönna, waz.de

Heidi Elisabeth Meier as Servilia and Anna Harvey as Annio also form a strong couple, whose duet "Ah perdona al primo afferto" is one of the highlights of the evening.

Markus Lamers, Der Opernfreund

Mozart at its finest is also offered by mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey as Annio.

Michael-Georg Müller, Westdeutsche Zeitung

Anna Harvey as Annio and Heidi Elisabeth Meier as Servilia also let a lot Mozartian melodiousness be heard.

Pedro Obiera, Aachener Nachrichten

Madama Butterfly (Suzuki)

Welsh National Opera (September 2021)

This heartbreaking self-delusion triggers exasperation and despair in Anna Harvey’s superbly observed Suzuki.

Richard Morrison, The Times****

The balance of the drama is strongly held by Anna Harvey’s totally sympathetic maid Suzuki – a constant warm support for Butterfly, wonderfully sung

Nicholas Kenyon, The Telegraph****

The Suzuki of Anna Harvey was quietly impressive, encompassing well a real range of emotions; she was a clear and firm, almost choric, presence, whether identifying emotionally with Cio-Cio-San or frustrated by her mistress’s refusal to see or acknowledge the truth.

Glyn Pursglove, Seen and Heard International

The duets between Anna Harvey’s mezzo Suzuki and soprano Alexia Voulgaridou’s Cho-Cho-San (alternating performances with Joyce El-Khoury) are the highlight of the show. Their voices blend excellently. Harvey may be the servant, but in this production we are watching a tale of female friendship.

Lucien Jenkins, The Critics Circle

There were outstanding performances in secondary roles too, especially … Anna Harvey as a loyal yet self-aware Suzuki

Mark Valencia, Bachtrack****

I enjoyed…especially Anna Harvey’s Suzuki, a real portrait and musically incisive.

Stephen Walsh, The Arts Desk

​ Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), Welsh National Opera

(February 2020)

Anna Harvey brought a freshness to her Cherubino and has a clarity of voice that suits the role; her straightly delivered “Voi, che sapete” providing a teasing sweetness that is lost when overdone in a haze of vibrato.

Alice Hughes, Bachtrack****

Cherubino – convincingly sung by mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey

Morning Star Online****

Anna Harvey perfectly captures the character of Cherubino, the wide-eyed, love-struck boy playing the strutting soldier.

Colin Davison, British Theatre Guide

Cherubino, played with allure by Anna Harvey

Steph Power, The Stage****

There are also stand-out performances from Anna Harvey as the cheeky Cherubino…

John Baker, The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta), Nevill Holt Opera

(June 2019)

Padraic Rowan and Anna Harvey are much more than ciphers, vocally, as Theseus and Hippolyta.

Hugh Canning, The Times

Padraic Rowan and Anna Harvey prove extremely accomplished performers

Sam Smith, MusicOMH

Dido & Aeneas (2nd Witch), London Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Festival Hall (January 2019)

…the two witches who were deliciously malicious, with strong accurate singing from all three, notably Anna Harvey.

Mark Thomas, Bachtrack*****

Anna Harvey Recital Repertoire Excerpts

BRAHMS

Zwei Gesänge for Alto, Viola and Piano

BRITTEN

A Charm of Lullabies

DE FALLA

Siete Canciones populares Españoles

DRING

Seven Shakespeare Songs

FINZI

Let Us Garlands Bring

POULENC

La Courte Paille

SCHUMANN

Frauenliebe und –leben
Maria Stuart Lieder

STRAUSS

Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Otto Julius Bierbaum

​* Role prepared but not performed​

Anna Harvey Concert Repertoire

CPE BACH

Magnificat

JS BACH

Ascension Oratorio
B Minor Mass
Cantatas BWV 3, 5, 12, 35, 36, 41, 62, 72, 75, 76, 79, 118, 121, 144, 150, 169, 170, 174, 183, 200, 214
Christmas Oratorio
Easter Oratorio
G Minor Mass
John Passion
Magnificat*
Matthew Passion*

BEETHOVEN

Mass in C
Missa Solemnis*
Symphony No. 9

BERLIOZ

Les nuits d’été

BRAHMS

Alto Rhapsody

BRITTEN

Abraham and Isaac
Phaedra

DURUFLÉ

Requiem

ELGAR

Sea Pictures
The Dream of Gerontius

GRIEG

Orchestral Songs

HANDEL

Dixit Dominus
Messiah
Jephtha

HAYDN

Arianna a Naxos
Berenice, che fai?
Creation Mass
Maria Theresa Mass
Mass in Time of War
Missa Cellensis
Nelson Mass
St Nicholas Mass

JANACEK

The Diary of One Who Disappeared

LOEWE

Passions-Oratorium (UK premiere)

MAHLER

Das Lied von der Erde
Symphony No. 2

MENDELSSOHN

Die erste Walpurgisnacht*
Elijah

MOZART

Domenican Vespers
Masses KV 194, 257, 275, 317, 427
Requiem
Vesperae Solennes

PERGOLESI

Magnificat
Stabat Mater

PROKOFIEV

Alexander Nevsky

RESPIGHI

Il tramonto

ROSSINI

Petite Messe Solenelle

SCHUBERT

Mass D452

SPOHR

The Last Judgement

VERDI

Requiem

VIVALDI

Gloria
La Senna Festeggiante
Magnificat

Anna Harvey Opera Repertoire

ALBRECHT

Kay (Die Schneekönigin)

ALDERSON/EDIS

Jean (The Choker, world première)

BERG

Groom/Theatergardrobiere/Gymnasiast (Lulu)

BERLIOZ

Béatrice (Béatrice et Bénédict)

BRITTEN

Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

CAVALLI

Diana (La Calisto)

CIMAROSA

Fidalma (Il matrimonio segreto)

CHEW

Mary (Daughter of the Sea, world première)

EVERS

Gold!

HANDEL

Ariodante (Ariodante)
Bradamante (Alcina)
Goffredo (Rinaldo)
Sesto (Giulio Cesare in Egitto)

HUMPERDINCK

Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel)

JANACEK

Lapak the Dog (The Cunning Little Vixen)
Forester's Wife, Owl, Woodpecker, Pasek's Wife (The Cunning Little Vixen)*
Mayor’s Wife (Jenůfa)*

LANGER

Serafin (Figaro Gets a Divorce)

MOZART

Annio (La Clemenza di Tito, concert version)
Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro)
Dorabella (Così fan tutte)
Ramiro (La Finta Giardiniera)
Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito)
Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte)

POULENC

La Grosse Dame (Les Mamelles de Tirésias)

PUCCINI

Suzuki (Madama Butterfly)

RAVEL

Enfant / Das Eichhörnchen (L’Enfant et les sortilèges)

ROSSINI

Angelina / Tisbe (La Cenerentola)
Zulma (L’Italiana in Algeri)

SMETANA

Ludmila (The Bartered Bride)

STRAUSS (Johann/Richard)

Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos)
Magd II (Elektra)
Magd IV / Schleppträgerin (Elektra)
Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus)
Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier)*
Page (Salome)

STRAVINSKY

Die weiße Katze (Petrushka)

SULLIVAN

Queen of the Fairies (Iolanthe)
Kate (The Pirates of Penzance)

TASSIE

Black Bile (The Anatomy of Melancholy)

TCHAIKOVSKY

Larina / Olga (Eugene Onegin)
Polina / Daphnis (Pique Dame)

TIPPETT

Astron (The Ice Break)

VERDI

Flora Bervoix (La Traviata)

WEBER

Puck (Oberon)

WAGNER

Flosshilde (Das Rheingold / Götterdämmerung)

WALTON

Popova (The Bear)

WEIR

The Consolations of Scholarship

​* Role prepared but not performed​

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