Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams finds just the right combination of awe and empathy intoning the Priest’s ‘Proficiscere, anima Christiana’, his proclamation sharpened by the rasp of period brass. In Part Two he is an appropriately solemn, firm-toned Angel of the Agony, his delivery prayerful and heartfelt… This is unquestionably a great recording of Gerontius, one that every Elgarian should have ★★★★★.
BBC Music Magazine, Terry Blain
Andrew Foster-Williams cuts a powerful figure as the Priest… and his impassioned, more mordant aria as the Angel of the Agony, replete with some of the most anguished chromaticism in the work, provides a powerful foil and preparation for the dramatic culmination of Gerontius’s glimpse of the Almighty.
Gramophone, Jeremy Dibble
Andrew Foster-Williams, with his effortless baritone voice, was perfect as Don Alfonso.
The Press, Anthony Ferner
Andrew Foster-Williams gave his Don Alfonso a standout performance with an animated voice. He was the arch manipulator inhabiting roles within the narrative as well as directing the characters and events.
New Zealand Arts Review, John Daly-Peoples
Andrew Foster-Williams was a wonderfully wily and manipulative Don Alfonso, in total command even before the overture begins.
Stuff, Roger Wilson
The production also had a sly Don Alfonso in the form of Andrew Foster-Williams, wry and world-weary but with a warmth and grain to his tone that belied the cruelty of his actions.
Bachtrack, Simon Holden
Andrew Foster-Williams was in fine form, devious as Lindorf and Coppélius, malign and oleaginous as Dr Miracle and just plain violent as the pimp Dapertutto, bringing a solid bass-baritone underlay to all four roles.
Bachtrack, David Karlin
Andrew Foster-Williams is a vocally brilliant Balstrode.
Kurier, Peter Jarolin
Andrew Foster-Williams’ Balstrode has become a fascinating bundle of uncertainty with a hard-hitting baritone and immense charisma.
Online Merker, Renate Wagner
Andrew Foster-Williams deserves the Oscar in this tragedy.
Die Presse, Walter Weidringer
Admirably sung by bass-baritone Andrew Foster Williams, In the Stream of Life was given a brilliant performance, one of nuanced acuteness and dramatic power. Well in accord with each other, the soloist, the orchestra and Stasevska set the poetry alight with expressive psychological and sonorous detail. Within the musical narrative, glimpses of the entire cycle of life were woven into the seven-song arch with sensitivity and dramatic beauty, concluding the first half with perfection.
Adventures in Music, Jari Kallio
With his never over loud, ironic demonry, Andrew Foster-Williams makes perfect casting in the roles of the four villains.
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Christian Wildhagen
The Four Villains are admirably suited to Andrew Foster-Williams, who with his quilted and mischievous phrasing manages to reveal a specific character to each of the “devils” (moreover in the most refined French language of the cast).
Opera Online, Thibault Vicq
It is remarkably well served by singers who speak as well as they sing… With his asides and banter, this Méphistophélès is close to that of Goethe, and Andrew Foster-Williams plays him with an infectious pleasure.
Télérama, Sophie Bourdais
Baritone Andrew Foster-Williams convincingly shapes his role as Golaud with the whole range of love, hate, jealousy and despair. His voice allows him to convey all facets of this demanding role.
Das Opernmagazin, Marco Stücklin
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Discography
Andrew Foster-Williams possesses a vocal versatility that allows him to present repertoire ranging from the masterpieces of Bach and Handel, through the classics of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to more recent masters such as Britten, Debussy, Wagner, and Mahler on both the opera stage and concert platforms alike.
In a career initially built on strong Baroque credentials, Andrew Foster-Williams has in more recent seasons embraced a more dramatic repertoire with successes as Don Pizarro (Fidelio) at Theater an der Wien and Philharmonie de Paris, as Captain Balstrode in Christoph Loy’s striking staging of Peter Grimes also at Theater an der Wien and in two new productions at La Monnaie, as Kurnewal in Ralf Pleger’s staging of Tristan und Isolde, and as Donner in Romeo Castellucci’s Das Rheingold both conducted by Alain Altinoglu. His performances highlight a dramatic capacity that has earned the respect of many stage directors as he “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…” (Opéra).
Other recent successes as Lysiart in Christof Loy’s staging of Euryanthe at Theater an der Wien under Constantin Trinks, as Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress) at Opéra National de Lorraine conducted by Tito Muñoz, as Gunther (Götterdämmerung) at Opera North under the baton of Richard Farnes and, marking his house debut at Opernhaus Zürich, as the Four Villains in a new production of Les contes d’Hoffmann under Antonino Fogliani have further enhanced an already highly regarded operatic profile.
Recognised for his facility in the French operatic repertoire, he has since reprised the Four Villains in a new production at Gothenburg Opera and in Barrie Kosky’s fantastical staging at Komische Opera Berlin and has appeared as Goloud (Pelléas et Mélisande) at Theater Basel under Erik Nielsen. He sang the title role in Saint-Saens’ Henry VIII and L’Ombre de Virgile in Benjamin Godard’s Danté both with the Müncher Rundfunkorchester conducted by Ulf Schirmer and appeared in a specially curated performance to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Cervantes at Opéra National de Bordeaux with music from Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Massenet’s Don Quichotte conducted by Marc Minkowski.
Performances in Andrew Foster-Williams’ 2024/25 season include Gunther (Götterdämmerung) in the final chapter of La Monnaie’s Der Ring des Nibelungen under Alain Altinoglu, a reprise of Captain Balstrode in Christoph Loy’s staging at Opéra de Lyon conducted by Wayne Marshall, and a return to Opernhaus Zürich as the Four Villains under the baton of Antonino Fogliani. Concert appearances include Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Hill.
An impressive line-up of concert invitations has taken Andrew Foster-Williams to some of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors of our day. These include the Cleveland Orchestra/ Franz Welser-Möst, Salzburg Mozarteum/Ivor Bolton, San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ Richard Egarr, Hong Kong Philharmonic/Edo de Waart, Gulbenkian Orchestra/Lorenzo Viotti, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Jurowski and the Sibelius Festival/Dalia Stasevska. Foster-Williams offers a diverse concert repertoire including Bach’s St John Passion, Britten’s War Requiem, Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, Handel’s Messiah, and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony.
Boasting an extensive discography, releases include Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with San Francisco Symphony (Tilson Thomas) on SFSMedia, and The Seasons with Gabrieli Consort & Players (McCreesh) released on Signum and shortlisted for the 2017 Gramophone Awards. He features on several releases in the Opéra français series of the Palazzetto Bru Zane label including Joncières’ Dimitri, Gounod’s Cinq-Mars, Saint-Saëns’ Proserpine, and Gounod’s Faust – winner of the Opera of the 19th Century category at the Opus Klassik 2020 awards. Performances captured on DVD include the Gramophone Award winning The Fairy Queen with Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Christie).
Sinfonia Lahti, In the Stream of Life (excerpts)
Opernhaus Zürich, Les contes d'Hoffmann
Theater an der Wien, Fidelio (Leonore 1805)
The Church of the Holy Cross, Warsaw, Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem
Contact
General Management
Harrison Parrott
Shirley Thomson, Director & Head of Vocal
Email: [email protected]
www.harrisonparrott.com
Management (The Americas)
Bill Palant, Étude Arts
Ansonia Station, Post Office Box 230132
New York, New York 10023
Tel: 929.777.0775
Email: [email protected]