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 Suzuki Madama Butterfly, Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte, Octavian Der Rosenkavalier, Olga Eugene Onegin, Mary Der fliegende Holländer, and Blumenmädchen Parsifal at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where she is a member of the solo ensemble. Other recent roles include Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, Prinz Orlofsky Die Fledermaus, Meg Page Falstaff, Brigitta Die Tote Stadt, 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.
In concert this season she sings Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Tonhalle Düsseldorf and Bach’s St John Passion with the Tampere Philharmonic in Finland. Recent engagements 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.
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.
Anna studied on the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music under Elizabeth Ritchie and Iain Ledingham, graduating with the Alumni Development Award for a singularly distinguished studentship. She is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Oratorio and Audience Prizes at the Grand Final of the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2017, the London Bach Society Bach Singers Prize in 2015 and a Leonard Ingrams Foundation Award from Garsington Opera in 2014. At the Royal Academy of Music she was awarded the English and Russian Song Prizes and the Fordyce and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Scholarships.
This biography is for information only and should not be reproduced.
Bach St John Passion, Tampere Filharmonia
Tampere Hall (March 2024)
…there was a marvelous cast featuring some of the frontline Bach singers of our time… mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey, fresh from her London performances with the Hanover Band, delivered memorable accounts of the alto arias.
Jari Kallio, Adventures in Music
Haydn Nelson Mass, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker
Tonhalle Düsseldorf (January 2024)
The rest of the trio is exemplary: Anna Harvey's elegant mezzo
Regine Müller, Rheinische Post
Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian)
Deutsche Oper am Rhein (December 2023)
Anna Harvey gave an outstanding performance as Octavian. Her beautiful, clear, pure but powerful voice did full justice to all the emotional interplay that this young man gets caught up in. Also in her acting she was at the height of her game, and with her outward[1]looking energy, formed a clear contrast to the more inward-looking Marschallin... Scenically it crackled wonderfully as the two young people [Octavian and Sophie] came closer to each other until they touched. Music, staging and acting came together as one.
Florian Steindl, Forum con Brio
Anna Harvey was a very playful Octavian with a high mezzo...When Sophie and Octavian stepped in front of the curtain at the end, there was a loud storm of bravos, and there was a standing ovation with bravos and bravis for almost 10 minutes.
Alfred Schmidt, Tamino Klassikforum
Das Rheingold (Flosshilde/Erda), Orchestra of the Music Makers
The Esplanade Singapore (July 2023)
The level of the cast matched that of the orchestra… Together with Anna Harvey [the Rhinemaidens] made for a vivacious trio.
Robert Markow, Opera Magazine
Mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey (also appearing later as Erda) tackled Flosshilde with such allure that it made it all the more believable that Alberich (German baritone, Joachim Goltz) would renounce love once and for all.
Derek Lim, The Flying Inkpot
Joined by Anna Harvey, who also sang the Earth goddess Erda, (the Rhinemaidens) were the embodiment of innocence, ignorance and loss.
Chang Tou Liang, The Straits Times
Madama Butterfly (Suzuki)
Deutsche Oper am Rhein (August 2023)
Once again the singing is first-class, especially the soprano Liana Aleksanyan as Cio-Cio[1]San and the tenor Eduardo Aladrèn as Pinkerton. The mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey was cheered almost as much as them, as Cio-Cio-San’s confidant Suzuki.
Wolfram Goertz, Rheinische Post
Anna Harvey depicts Suzuki’s believable transformation from Cio-Cio-San’s talkative companion to a compassionate friend.
Rudolf Hermes, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
Donizetti Messa di Requiem, Klangvokal Musikfestival Dortmund
(June 2023)
In the subsequent "Praeces meae" we find Anna Harvey (with her darkly coloured mezzo soprano), Cardoso and Alcántara in a moving trio of haunting intimacy.
Thomas Molke, Online Musik Magazin
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
From the supporting roles, Anna Harvey is remarkable as Brigitta, Paul's maid, displaying an ample and rich mezzo-soprano which we would like to hear in Wagner soon.
Nicolas Bonnaud, Le Forum
The smaller parts are also well cast. The Housekeeper Brigitta with Anna Harvey's mellow timbre…
Sabine Weber, Klassik Favori
Anna Harvey delves into the text in such a comprehensible way as the caring Brigitta, who brings her own spiritual abysses into the morbid housekeeping of Paul's ‘Church of the Past’.
Stephan Schwarz-Peters, Oper!
Anna Harvey's Brigitta…is characterised by a tremendous amount of warmth.
Jochen Rüth, Der Opernfreund
Anna Harvey clearly upgrades the small part of the housekeeper Brigitta with a penetrating mezzo.
Regine Müller, Rondo
Mozart Vesperae solennes de Domenica and Krönungsmesse
Gaechinger Cantorey (February 2023)
Anna Harvey (alto), Patrick Grahl (tenor) and Kresimir Strazanac (bass) harmonized in the solo parts.
Dietholf Zerweck, Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung
Handel Messiah, Royal Festival Hall
(December 2022)
The four soloists had three absolute standouts…the mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey was equally impressive, a proper mezzo (not a contralto) who shaped her lines beautifully.
Colin Clarke, Seen and Heard International
CD: Songs by Warlock and Howe, Rubicon RCD1095
(July 2022)
Howe says he hears folksong features in Warlock…this album makes a plausible case…“The Magpie” is dispatched vigorously by Anna Harvey, who elsewhere finds a languor (“Late Summer”) and poignant archaism (“The First Mercy”). “Adam lay ybounden” is better known in its later choral version, but I’m not sure I don’t prefer this voice-and-piano original, performed with subtle give-and-take between singer and pianist…The impressionistic “The Banks of Sweet Primroses” is delightful, Harvey’s line beautifully controlled.
Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk
Mezzo-soprano Anna Harvey and pianist Mark Austin look great in the period graphics that go with the album, and they have a real rapport that is critical in performing Warlock’s pieces…this is a fine Warlock release.
James Manheim, All Music
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
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 |
| 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 |
| BEETHOVEN | Mass in C |
| BERLIOZ | Les nuits d’été |
| BRAHMS | Alto Rhapsody |
| BRITTEN | Abraham and Isaac |
| DURUFLÉ | Requiem |
| ELGAR | Sea Pictures |
| GRIEG | Orchestral Songs |
| HANDEL | Dixit Dominus |
| HAYDN | Arianna a Naxos |
| JANACEK | The Diary of One Who Disappeared |
| LOEWE | Passions-Oratorium (UK premiere) |
| MAHLER | Das Lied von der Erde |
| MENDELSSOHN | Die erste Walpurgisnacht* |
| MOZART | Domenican Vespers |
| PERGOLESI | Magnificat |
| PROKOFIEV | Alexander Nevsky |
| RESPIGHI | Il tramonto |
| ROSSINI | Petite Messe Solenelle |
| SCHUBERT | Mass D452 |
| SPOHR | The Last Judgement |
| VERDI | Requiem |
| VIVALDI | Gloria |
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) |
| HUMPERDINCK | Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) |
| JANACEK | Lapak the Dog (The Cunning Little Vixen) |
| LANGER | Serafin (Figaro Gets a Divorce) |
| MOZART | Annio (La Clemenza di Tito, concert version) |
| 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) |
| SMETANA | Ludmila (The Bartered Bride) |
| STRAUSS (Johann/Richard) | Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos) |
| STRAVINSKY | Die weiße Katze (Petrushka) |
| SULLIVAN | Queen of the Fairies (Iolanthe) |
| TASSIE | Black Bile (The Anatomy of Melancholy) |
| TCHAIKOVSKY | Larina / Olga (Eugene Onegin) |
| 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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