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 classics of Bach, Gluck, Handel and Mozart through to more recent masters such as Britten, Debussy, Wagner and Stravinsky on both the opera stage and concert platforms alike.
Andrew Foster-Williams’ career, initially built on his strong Baroque credentials, has in recent seasons moved towards more dramatic repertoire with successes as Pizarro (Fidelio) at Theater an der Wien and Philharmonie de Paris, and an unanimously praised debut as Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin under esteemed conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Festival de Lanaudière. A subsequent portrayal of Captain Balstrode in Christoph Loy’s divisive production of Peter Grimes at Theater an der Wien, alongside acclaimed performances as Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress) and Gunther (Götterdämmerung) have further enhanced an already highly regarded operatic profile. Other recent role debuts as Lysiart in Christof Loy’s staging of Euryanthe at Theater an der Wien under Constantin Trinks and as Kurnewal in Tristan und Isolde at La Monnaie under Alain Altinoglu 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).
Opera performances in the current season include his role debut as Mr Flint (Billy Budd) at the George Enescu Festival under Hannu Lintu, and Donner (Das Rheingold) conducted by Alain Altinoglu in the first instalment of Roman Castelluci’s new presentation of Der Ring des Nibelungen at La Monnaie.
Praised for his facility in the French operatic repertoire, recent roles include Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande) and specially curated performances at Opéra National de Bordeaux to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Cervantes featuring music from Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Massenet’s Don Quichotte under Marc Minkowski. Andrew Foster-Williams made his house debut at Opernhaus Zürich in 2021 as the Four Villains in Andreas Homoki’s setting of Les contes d’Hoffmann under Antonino Fogliani, roles he since has reprised in a new production at Gothenburg Opera and in Barrie Kosky’s fantastical staging at Komische Oper Berlin.
As a regular guest on the Opéra français series of the Palazzetto Bru Zane label, CD releases include 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. Boasting an extensive discography, other commercial 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 Grammophone Awards. Performances captured on DVD include the Gramophone Award winning The Fairy Queen with Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Christie).
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 and the Sibelius Festival/Dalia Stasevska. Foster-Williams offers a concert repertoire as diverse as it is broad which includes Bach’s St John Passion, Britten’s War Requiem, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony. Concert highlights this season include Messiah with Orquesta Sinfonica de Castille y Leon (Egarr),Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Houston Symphony Orchestra (Valčuha), St Matthew Passion with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (Bolton) and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Stasevska).
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: shirley.thomson@harrisonparrott.co.uk
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: bp@etudearts.com