Åsa Jäger

Soprano

Swedish dramatic soprano Åsa Jäger studied at the University College of Opera in Stockholm and graduated with honors in June 2015. She was the recipient of the Royal Academy of Music’s National Scholarship which she attended for five years from 2012 to 2017; she was awarded several other prestigious honours, including the Swedish Wagner Society’s Bayreuth scholarship in 2015 and the Danish Wagner Society’s Bayreuth scholarship in 2022.

Engagements this season include her house and role debut as Senta Der fliegende Holländer at Gothenburg Opera, currently winning exceptional reviews, and her appearance as Brunnhilde Die Walkure with Kent Nagano and Concerto Koeln.

Recent successes include her German, Wagner and role debut at Landestheater Coburg as Brünnhilde Die Walküre in Season 2021-22, after a twice postponed production premiere. Her performance was unanimously celebrated by critics who praised her clear tone, infectious zest and honest portrayal of Brünnhilde; noted classical music journalist Alex Ross included her in his 2022 short list of notable performances The New Yorker. The following season, 2022-23 Åsa continued her Ring Cycle debut at Landestheater Coburg when sang Brünnhilde Siegfried, again met with great success.

”Here again, Åsa Jäger sang a robust, radiant Brünnhilde, whose seemingly inexhaustible vocal capacities were once again breathtaking”. Bachtrack, March 2023

”The Siegfried-Brünnhilde is probably the most difficult of the three Brünnhilde in “Der Ring des Nibelungen”: she has no warm-up phase, must be fully present right away in a challenging vocal range. Åsa Jäger, who already thrilled the Coburg audience as Walküre, shone again this time with her sovereign mastery of this short but difficult role. In addition to the glistening, explosive high notes, the soprano found a dramatically blossoming tone with depth of soul in the lyrical moments.” Neue Presse, March 2023

”With the Swedish Åsa Jäger, a Brünnhilde with a phenomenal voice was on stage in Coburg.” BR Klassik, March 2023

Åsa Jäger’s Brünnhilde legitimises all possible scenic nonchalance. In “Die Walküre” she overwhelmed the audience by her pure vocal presence in the dramatic as well as in the heartfelt phrases, in “Siegfried” she repeats exactly this in “her” scene.” Der Opernfreund, March 2023

Alex Ross lists Notable performances and recordings of 2022: ”I spent much of May in Germany, exploring the country’s incomparable network of opera houses. The lesson is much the same as in the American orchestral field: bigger and richer is not necessarily better. In Coburg, a city of forty-one thousand, the young Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger took possession of the mighty role of Brünnhilde, her voice aglow with the confidence of arrival”. The New Yorker, December 2022

“The vocal discovery of the night was the young Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger, who sang Brünnhilde with clarion tone, crisp diction, and infectious zest. This run of performances marks not only Jäger’s German début but also her début in any Wagner role. I suspect that later in her career she will look back fondly on Coburg, where her ascent began” The New Yorker, June 2022

“…and with Åsa Jäger there is a great Brünnhilde on the small stage, for which many larger houses should envy Coburg. So much tenderness with so much dynamic range and height, so much ladylike, yet youthful vocal elegance with so much dramatic sincerity: this is how a young Brünnhilde must sound”. Der Opernfreund, June 2022

“Among the guest soloists, one in particular stood out at the premiere: Åsa Jäger as Brünnhilde. The young Swede not only mastered the role…but also sang her very first Hojotoho with such a lively lightness, confidence in the high notes and penetrating power that it was a real joy. She also succeeds in portraying a compelling role that requires concentration, strength, talent and courage. Bravura, a stroke of luck from a Wotan child! Bamberg Richard Wagner Verband, April 2022

“First and foremost, we should mention the young Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger, who lets her luminous voice resound powerfully and expansively as the wild Valkyrie, only to let soft, lyrical tones be heard in the final touching dialogue with the father”. Neue Presse, April 2022