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PRESS

Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius CD Signum Classics

Paul McCreesh, conductor

Gabrieli Consort & Players

Polish National Youth Choir

Gabrieli Roar

WINNER of a "GRAMOPHONE AWARD" 2024

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 "ALBUM OF THE MONTH" July 2024

Terry Blain - BBC Music Magazine

 

Spence, Stéphany and Foster-Williams are superb in the solo roles ★★★★★

"THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR SO FAR"

Dan Cairns - The Sunday Times

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

Jeremy Dibble - GRAMOPHONE

Andrew Foster-Williams brings unexaggerated authority to the double bass-baritone role

Richard Fairman - Financial Times

Andrew Foster-Williams’ the warm, comforting bass-baritone, joined by the strong chorus, confident in the redemption of Gerontius’ soul... Foster-Williams reappears, this time as a genuinely compassionate, beseeching Angel of the Agony (the world of Parsifal comes very close here)

Norman Lebrecht - Slipped Disc

Andrew Foster-Williams’ confident performance as the Priest, especially in his imposing 'Proficiscere, anima Christiana'... the listener is compelled to 'Go forth in the name' in a stately march that has majesty and gravitas 

Andrew Palmer - Yorkshire Times

Handel - Deborah 

International Handel Festival Göttingen

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

NDR Radiophilharmonie

The bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams sang with wonderful embellishments

Göttinger Tageblatt

Wagner - Das Rheingold Donner

La Monnaie

Director - Romeo Castellucci

Conductor - Alain Altinoglu

Excellent Donner (Andrew Foster-Williams)

Emmanuel Dupuy - Diapason

Andrew Foster-Williams (Donner) his bass baritone voice distinguished by a serious, profound and rounded timbre 

Soline Heurtebise - Olyrix

Donner, bass baritone Andrew Foster-Williams sings with magnanimity and roundness

Benedict Hévry - ResMusica

Andrew Foster-Williams brought the necessary toughness to Donner

Antoni Colomer - Opera Actual

Dvořák - Stabat Mater

Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor - Kazushi Ono

Andrew Foster-Williams encountered no difficulties with this imposing orchestra. The bass-baritone pierced even the greatest forte with his brass-like timbre.  His colossal range really reveals no weakness and he performs the slightest of his interventions with a truly disarming modesty and elegance

Valentin Gautron Lavarone - Bachtrack

Mozart - Così fan tutte Don Alfonso

New Zealand Opera

Director - Lindy Hume

Conductor - Natalie Murray Beale

Andrew Foster-Williams, with his effortless baritone voice, was perfect as Don Alfonso

Anthony Ferner - The Press

 

Andrew Foster-Williams was a wonderfully wily and manipulative Don Alfonso, in total command even before the overture begins

Roger Wilson - The Post

Andrew Foster-Williams gave his Don Alfonso a standout performance with an animated voice

John Daly-Peoples - New Zealand Arts Review

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

Simon Holden - Bachtrack

Offenbach - Les contes d'Hoffmann The Four Villains

Gothenburg Opera

Director - Krystian Lada

Conductor - Sébastien Rouland

Andrew Foster-Williams a dynamic and exciting British bass baritone

Gunilla Brodrej - Expressen

Andrew Foster-Williams powerfully sings the four villainous bass-baritone roles

Bo Löfvendahl - Svenska Dagbladet

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 ★★★★★

David Karlin - Bachtrack

Andrew Foster-Williams sings with bite and authority

Lennart Bromander - Aftonbladet

 

Sibelius - In the Stream of Life (arr. Einojuhani Rautavaara)

Lahti Symphony Orchestra

Conductor - Dalia Stasevska

 

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

 

Britten - Peter Grimes Balstrode

Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Director - Christof Loy

Conductor - Thomas Guggeis

Andrew Foster-Williams is a vocally brilliant Balstrode

Peter Jarolin - Kurier

 

Andrew Foster-Williams deserves the Oscar in this tragedy

Walter Weidringer - Die Presse

Andrew Foster-Williams excellently cast as Balstrode

Martin Gasser - Kleine Zeitung

Andrew Foster-Williams a perfect casting for Captain Balstrode

Karlheinz Roschitz - Kronen Zeitung 

Andrew Foster-Williams’ robust powerful baritone

Stefan Musil - Tiroler Tageszeitung 

The charm and charisma of the character [Balstrode] are well expressed through the round, dark and powerful resonance of the vocal timbre, which is also manifested concretely in the transitions between registers.  The midrange is imposing, broad and solid even on sudden climbs and descents. The particularly charming low register brings out the subtly rugged character of the voice.

Vinda Sonata Miguna - Ôlyrix

Tonight, this final scene moved me more than on any previous occasion I’ve seen it.  Foster-Williams bringing out a haunted desire in his stage presence, one unwilling to give up on a happiness he had desperately wanted to have.  The final scene that saw Balstrode in Grimes’s bed, the mob looking in on him, perhaps ready to make him their next victim, was seriously poignant.  Foster-Williams sang the role in his compact, focused baritone, even from top to bottom.

Operatraveller

From sincere friend to suffering many mixed feelings, Andrew Foster-Williams' Balstrode has become a fascinating bundle of uncertainty with a hard-hitting baritone and immense charisma

Renate Wagner - Online Merker

Offenbach - Les contes d’Hoffmann The Four Villains

Zürich Opera

Director - Andreas Homoki

Conductor - Antonino Fogliani

Andrew Foster-Williams offered a tour de force as all the villains

Opera magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams wonderfully expresses the Mephistophelian characters with gruesome malice and devious charm

Das Opernmagazin

 

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)

Thibault Vicq - Opera Online

 

In the many roles of villain Lindorf / Coppélius / Le docteur Miracle / Le capitaine Dapertutto, the English bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams stands out for the elegance of his phrasing and the care in diction;  the voice, clear in timbre, resonates with an evenness in tone

Connessi all’Opera

 

With his never over loud, rather ironic demonry, Andrew Foster-Williams makes perfect casting in the roles of the four villains

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

 

The Villains are in good hands with bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams. The Briton brings darkness and agility

Musik & Theater

 

Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams totally convinces as Lindorf / Coppélius / Le docteur Miracle / Le capitaine Dapertutto and brings out the diabolical character of his roles

Online Merker

Wagner - Tristan und Isolde Kurwenal

La Monnaie, Brussels

Director/Design - Ralf Pleger, Alexander Polzin

Alain Altinoglu, conductor

 

Andrew Foster-Williams as Kurwenal sang as he acted, with nuance and imagination 

Mark Valencia - Musical America

 

Andrew Foster-Williams as Kurwenal and Franz Josef Selig as King Marke make a strong impression

Ashutosh Khandekar - Opera Now

 

 

Full, round and voluminous voices were those of Franz-Josef Selig as Marke and Andrew Foster-Williams as Kurwenal, perhaps the two best performers for these roles today

Antoni Colomer - Opera Actual 

 

Vibrant and striking, Andrew Foster-Williams’s Kurwenal raises the bar

Emmanuel Dupuy - Diapason

 

Andrew Foster-Williams made a similarly admirable Kurwenal

Nicolas Blanmont - Opera

 

Andrew Foster-Williams gave us a self-confident Kurwenal with beautiful stage presence

Patrice Lieberman - Bachtrack

 

Baritone Andrew Foster-Williams masters the ceremonial authority of Kurwenal and draws the character with a ringing voice, rounded and supported delivery… the voice certain and profound

Soline Heurtebise - Olyrix

 

Andrew Foster-Williams sings an excellent Kurwenal 

Jos Hermans - Flemish Wagner Society

Haydn The Seasons

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

 

Jurowski had the huge advantage of a stellar trio of soloists… [Foster-Williams] found true feeling in the music… sung with totally convincing warmth and focus

Boyd Tonkin - The Arts Desk

 

Andrew Foster-Williams was often required to use the higher tones of his flexible bass-baritone; his clear diction and light touch in the joyful husbandman’s aria was stylistically ideal

Antony Hodgson - Classical Source

 

The trio of soloists would be hard to beat… lyrical to the extreme and exceptional in their respective roles… highlighted by the last movement of ‘Winter’ opening with a solemn (and reflective) recitative by Andrew Foster-Williams… delivered by Mr Foster-Williams in a quiet and thoughtful way ★★★★★

Tony Cooper - Planet Hugill

Carl Maria von Weber - Euryanthe Lysiart

Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Christof Loy, director

Constantin Trinks, conducting

 

Lysiart, the evil schemer… Andrew Foster-Williams was physically and vocally intense in this role

Gerhard Persché - Opera magazine

 

The principals all responded well to Loy’s demands, most notably British baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, who sang Lysiart’s desperate plea to Euryanthe completely nude. His powerful, eloquent voice captured attention from the very first moment, and he was most adept at expressing the character's emotional journey

Ako Imamura - Bachtrack

 

Andrew Foster-Williams captivates through his acting… his vigorously expressive baritone

Walter Weiderinder - Die Presse

 

Andrew Foster-Williams embodies the destructive energy of Lysiart with wholehearted intensity

Albrecht Thiemann - Opern Welt

 

Andrew Foster-Williams as a fantastically acted Lysiart

Elisabeth Stuppnig - Salzburger Nachrichten

 

What can you not say about the baritone Andrew Foster-Williams. He catches the eye, not only when he wanders and sings on the stage stark naked for fifteen minutes - admirable of the singer… Foster-Williams has a Telramund voice (which he also sings, among other dramatic Wagner roles) and has no fear in playing the well-poisoning villain

Renate Wagner - Online Merker

 

Andrew Foster-Williams’ Lysiart especially stands out for his use of text

Martin Gasser - Kleiner Zeitung

 

[Andrew Foster-Williams] demonstrated creative vocal power and sensitive acting skills

Tiroler Tageszeitung

 

There is first-class acting for the first-class singing! Like Andrew Foster-Williams as Lysiart. He even masters the nude scene, where he creeps around the sleeping Euryanthe and admits the hopelessness of his desire, without any embarrassment 

Jochim Lange - Concerti

Debussy - Pelléas et Mélisande Golaud

Opera Basel

Barbora Horáková Joly, director

Erik Nielsen, conducting

 

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

Marco Stücklin - Das Opernmagazin

 

Andrew Foster-Williams sang with terrific conviction and solid stature

Sarah Batschlelet - Bachtrack

 

In his raging, almost pathological jealousy, the hothead Golaud behaves like a wounded animal… With Golaud (Andrew Foster-Williams): You can hear a voice as noble as it is agile

Johannes Adam - Badische Zeitung

 

Andrew Foster-Williams plays and sings his role convincingly. You feel his violence, can sympathize with his jealousy and suffer with him in his ignorance

Jakob Lorenz Fribourg - Online Merker

Wagner - Lohengrin Telramund

Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels

Olivier Py, director

Alain Altinoglu, conducting

 

As Telramund, Andrew Foster-Williams sounded imposing

Nicholas Blanmont - Opera magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams' Telramund has in his voice the poisonous virulence of his words

Marie-Aude Roux - Le Monde

 

The cast is truly royal… The British baritone Andrew Foster-Williams grasps Telramund with aplomb, served by a vibrant timbre and great breath control

Emmanuel Andrieu - Opera Online

 

Eric Cutler's plume and subtle shades in Lohengrin produce wonders, as does the quiet confidence of Gabor Bretz, King, and the aggressive energy of Andrew Foster-Williams (Telramund)

Christian Jade - Radio Télévision Belge Francophone

 

Andrew Foster-Williams spits Telramund’s venom with haughty arrogance

 

Emmanuel Dupuy - Diapason

Andrew Foster-Williams gives [Telramund] all the required venom

Christine Ducq - La revue du Spectacle

Gounod - Faust Méphistophélès

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Les Talens Lyriques - Christophe Rousset, conducting

 

In Mephisto, Andrew Foster-Williams consoled us after so many emphatic Slavic basses. A beautiful vocal line based on the words, a jovial or disturbing tone. He perfectly undersands the style of this French devil

Jacques Bonnaure - Opéra magazine

 

Highlights included a new Act I aria for Méphistophélès, 'Maître Scarabée', sung with artful drama by Andrew Foster-Williams

Alexandra Coghlan - Opera magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams is as Méphistophélès like a fish to water: his natural comic gift serves the character perfectly, and his bass baritone voice refreshes us nicely after so many monstrous Slavic devils

Laurent Bury - Forum Opera

 

Irresistible in the spoken [French] dialogue, Andrew Foster-Williams is as diabolical a Mephisto as one could wish for and musically superb

Revopéra

 

Andrew Foster-Williams gave us an extrovert Méphistophélès of undeniable personality and in impeccable French, both in the dialogue and in the sung numbers. He caressed the text with the love of a native speaker and so much of what he did was based in that clarity of diction

Operatraveller.com

The Mephisto of Andrew Foster-Williams has many assets. An imperceptible accent coupled with a real British chic add an ironic colour to the character, and not only a demonic one, which is often the case. Again, everything is in subtle measure and careful diction

Jean-Pierre Robert - ON Magazine

 

Through the performance of Andrew Foster-Williams, Méphistophélès is liberated from the role of a droning diabolus in musica. Take for example the serenata "Vous qui faites l'endormie" when the devil appears as Schleppfuß; [Foster-Williams] presents this like a song with sweetly poisoned colours

Jürgen Kesting - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Godard - Dante Virgil

Münchner Rundfunkorchester  

Ulf Schirmer, conducting

Nominated for International Classical Music Award 2018

 

Andrew Foster-Williams stands out with his warm timbre and elegant phrasing

Eric Myers - Opera magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams is a Virgil that we would willingly follow to Hell or to Heaven

Laurent Bury - Forum Opera

Janáček - The Cunning Little Vixen

Cleveland Orchestra  

Franz Weiser-Möst, conducting

 

One could have listened without end to bass baritone Andrew Foster-Williams

Zachary Lewis - The Plain Dealer

Saint-Saëns - Proserpine Squarocca

Münchner Rundfunkorchester  

Ulf Schirmer, conducting

WINNER International Classical Music Award 2018 - BEST OPERA RECORDING

 

Andrew Foster-Williams oozes dangerous charisma as Squarocca

Hugo Shirley - Opera magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams’s biting baritone makes for a splendid Squarocca

Mark Pullinger - Gramophone

 

Andrew Foster-Williams finds in Squarocca one of those villainous characters in which he excels, and which one can see as a preparation for the Méphistophélès in the recreation of the original version of [Gounod’s] Faust that he will perform in Paris in June 2018

Laurent Bury - Forum Opera

Delibes - Lakmé Nilakantha

Münchner Rundfunkorchester  

Laurent Campellone, conducting

Very noteworthy, because of his remarkable, very beautiful, interpretation of Nilakatha was Andrew Foster-Williams. He portrays the role of the terrifying father of the young Hindu as a wrathful deity, with his powerful baritone voice, impeccable projection, a strong stage presence and a fierce portrayal of a guardian and a protector of the divine laws

Luc Roger - Opera World

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

The Minnesota Orchestra  

Edo de Waart, conducting

Andrew Foster-Williams brought a suave dignity to the roles of Priest and Angel of the Agony

Michael Anthony - Star Tribune

Haydn The Seasons CD recording

Gabrieli Consort

Paul McCreesh, conductor

Nominated for International Classical Music Award 2018

BBC Radio 3 Record Review - Disc of the Week

Gramophone Magazine - Editor's Choice

Presto Classical - Disc of the Week

BBC Music Magazine - Recording of the Month

The three soloists are first-rate. So is the recording. An uplifting performance all-round *****

Richard Fairman - Financial Times

 

Andrew Foster-Williams, more baritone than bass, makes a genial, firm-voiced Simon, singing his ploughman’s song with unforced gusto – impressive agility, too – and bringing a grave eloquence to his valedictory aria in Winter

Richard Wigmore - Gramophone

 

Top-class solo singing… Glorious

Nicholas Kenyon - The Observer

 

Andrew Foster-Williams, who grabs attention from the off with his description of departing Winter’s ‘blust’ry ruffians’ relishes every nuance

Katherine Cooper - Presto Classical

 

Radiant soloists

Andrew McGregor - BBC Radio 3 Record Review

Bach: St John Passion Christus & arias

The Cleveland Orchestra  

Franz Welser-Möst, conducting

Andrew Foster-Williams, the bass-baritone who sang the part of Jesus, went the extra dramatic mile to portray a fully animated character living and feeling in the moment. Foster-Williams was a commanding and resonant figure throughout

Zachary Lewis - The Plain Dealer

Beethoven: Symphony No.9

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra  

Herbert Blomstedt, conducting

Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams gave a free and easy, gesture-filled opening solo, which rode effortlessly over the distance from the back of the stage

David Bratman - San Francisco Classical Voice

 

When bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams began, I was impressed by the power of projection that he had. His voice had a sweet depth in it with sharp German diction

Mayumi Wardrop - Bachtrack

Mendelssohn: Elijah

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra  

Giancarlo Guerrero, conducting

The performance relied most on bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams. Without overacting, he turned the title role into a character: dignified, implacable, ironic, resigned, weary, peaceful, interacting with the chorus. He remained focused on his last emotion when he wasn’t singing and took up a new one when his resonant, flexible voice came into play. His exemplary diction also made clear each utterance of this doom-saying, despairing man

Lawrence Toppman - Charlotte Observer

Les Voyages de Don Quichotte Title role

Opéra National de Bordeaux

Marc Minkowski, conductor

Our language [French] holds no secrets for Andrew Foster-Williams... His death is full of an admirable modesty, a beautiful moment of emotion

Laurent Bury - Forum Opera

Wagner - Götterdämmerung Gunther

Royal Festival Hall, London

Richard Farnes, conductor

Winner BEST OPERA PRODUCTION Royal Philharmonic Society Awards 2017

Winner BEST OPERA PRODUCTION South Bank Show Awards 2017

 

Andrew Foster-Williams outstanding as the easily manipulated, nervy Gunther

Hugo Shirley - Financial Times

 

Andrew Foster-Williams was a strongly sung Gunther

Martin Kettle - The Guardian

 

The formidable baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, full of passion

Katy Oberlé - Anaclase

 

Andrew Foster-Williams [was] fabulous as the Gibichung Gunther… Foster-Williams giving a vivid portrayal of an utter coward 

Mark Pullinger - Bachtrack

 

I also greatly liked Andrew Foster-Williams’ powerfully sung Gunther

Stephen Jay-Taylor - Opera Britannia

 

Andrew Foster-Williams was finally able to showcase his large voice

Colin Clarke - Opera Today

The desperate glances of Andrew Foster-Williams’s increasingly disturbed Gunther fall directly on us, pleading for deliverance from a plan spiralling swiftly out of control… A large part of the pleasure of this cycle has come from Farnes’s world-class company of singers... Foster-Williams’s exquisitely chilly and self-controlled Gunther

Alexandra Coghlan - The Arts Desk

Saint-Saëns - Proserpine Squarocca

Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Ulf Schirmer, conductor

Always expressive, Andrew Foster-Williams flourishes with the colourful character of Squarocca

Laurent Bury - Forum Opera

Gounod - Cinq Mars Père Joseph

Münchner Rundfunkorchester

Ulf Schirmer, conductor

The Sunday Times (London) Sunday Times CD of the Week”

Andrew Foster-Williams sings a disturbing and powerful Père Joseph, whose vocal authority alone seems to send his opponents to their deaths

Jacques Bonnaure - Opéra magazine

 

Andrew Foster- Williams is a deliciously despicable Père Joseph

Laurent Bury - Forum Opéra

 

Andrew Foster-Williams brings new meaning to the Church’s excesses through his nefarious overtones as Père Joseph

Christie Grimstad - Concerto Net

Britten - Peter Grimes Balstrode

Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Christof Loy, Director

Cornelius Meister, conductor

WINNER Best New Production “International Opera Awards 2016”

 

Andrew Foster-Williams is a ravishing Balstrode

Peter Jarolin - Kurier

 

Andrew Foster-Williams gives a Captain Balstrode of distinctive stature

Ernst P. Strobl - Salzburger Nachrichten

 

Balstrode, hopelessly tangled in the power of suppressed emotions, is forcefully played and sung by Andrew Foster-Williams

Christian Wildhagen - Neue Zürcher Zeitung

 

This Balstrode becomes as interesting a figure as the title role - a challenge superbly met by Andrew Foster-WIlliams whose passionate and unabashed acting well compliments his effortlessly expressive singing

Moore Parker - The Opera Critic

Andrew Foster-Williams is in every respect a brilliant Balstrode

Susanne Zobl - news.at

 

Andrew Foster-Williams is totally convincing as Captain Balstrode

 

Bernard Neuhoff - BR Klassik

Most astonishing in this production is Balstrode

Walter Weidringer - Die Presse

 

Briton Andrew Foster - Williams was totally convincing as Balstrode, not only with a powerful voice, but also with a study of uncertainty and sadness that makes this character more tangible than usual

Renate Wagner - Der Neue Merker

Fauré Requiem CD recording

Brussels Philharmonic

Hervé Niquet, conductor

With the Libera me [Andrew Foster-Williams] injects the only real note of tension into the work with appropriate gravitas but without sounding excessively operatic

Marc Rochester - Gramophone

Beethoven - Symphony No 9

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Nicholas McGegan, conductor

[McGegan] was supported, especially, by Andrew Foster-Williams who opened the bass-baritone line not like a pompous oratorio singer but like a character in an opera – speaking to the audience, drawing us in, making the words mean something

Anne Midgette - The Washington Post

Mendelssohn - Elijah

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Paul McCreesh, conductor

Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams was outstanding in the title role. Vocally, he impressed with his resounding strength, unadorned clarity, shapely phrasing and excellent diction. Foster-Williams’s Elijah was also brilliantly characterised as he assuredly traversed the prophet’s many mood swings

Murray Black - The Australian

 

As Elijah, Andrew Foster-Williams was a revelation. More than simply the old-testament prophet, he dramatised the hopes and fears of a figure that in lesser hands can come over as a blinkered fanatic. Vocally confident and secure, his rich baritone sailed over all obstacles, helped by the fact that he has the money notes that Mendelssohn always seems to require to ring out on the word “Lord”. His diction was superlative, his use of the text gripping

Clive Paget - Limelight

 

Andrew Foster-Williams portrayed Elijah with glowing richness and fierceness bordering on relish

Peter McCallum - The Sydney Morning Herald

Rossini - Mosè in Egitto Faraone - Pharaoh

Welsh National Opera

David Pountney, Director

Carlo Rizzi, conductor

Andrew Foster-Williams and Christine Rice, are formidable

Hugh Canning - The Sunday Times (London)

 

The virtuosity and range of the baritone Andrew Foster-Williams

Hilary Finch - The Times (London)

 

Andrew Foster-Williams sang with smooth, dark elegance of tone

Peter Reynolds - Opera Now

 

WNO has assembled an outstanding ensemble cast... Andrew Foster-Williams brings agility and weight to Pharoah’s music

Hugo Shirley - The Spectator

 

Foster-Williams impressed greatly as Faraone... both musical and dramatic in his solo, with an admirable facility for passagework, but it was the entirety and completeness of his performance which really impressed

Robert Hugill - Opera Today

 

Miklós Sebestyén’s Mosè is a vocal force. He is ably matched by Andrew Foster-Williams’s Pharaoh

Rian Evans - The Guardian

 

Foster-Williams gave the most striking vocal performance of the evening, and was especially effective in “Cade dal ciglio il velo”, undaunted by the elaborate coloratura and the long-phrased melodies

Simon Rees - Bachtrack

Beethoven - Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II CD recording

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Andrew Foster-Williams gives a vivid account, ranging over nearly two octaves, of Joseph crushing the head of the “monster called Fanaticism”

Richard Lawrence - Gramophone

 


Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams stands out among the vocal soloists for the eloquence of his singing

Joshua Kosman - San Francisco Chronicle

 

Andrew Foster-Williams particularly good evoking the ogre of “Fanaticism” that Joseph II allegedly banished

Richard Morrison - The Times (London)

Wagner - Lohengrin Telramund

Le Festival de Lanaudière

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Ortrud’s [Jane Henschel] co-conspirator, Friedrich of Telramund, was no less lifelike as portrayed by the splendidly focused British bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams

Arthur Kaptainis - Montreal Gazette

Dauvergne - Hercule Mourant Hercules

Opéra National de Versailles - Aparté recording

Les Talens Lyriques

Christophe Rousset, conductor

Hercule shows heroic resolve, a frame of mind that Andrew Foster-Williams’ rich bass- baritone and commanding bearing impressively convey

George Loomis - Opera 

 

Top honours, though, go to bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams as Hercules himself... from his first sentence he imbues Marmontel's heightened lyrics and Dauvergne's commanding vocal phrases with ringing authority

International Record Review

 

A strong cast is led by Andrew Foster-Williams in the bass-baritone title role, Véronique Gens as his wife Deianira and tenor Emiliano Gonzalez Toro as Hilus

Andrew Clark - Financial Times

 

Hercule’s bitter shame at his unworthy deceit of his wife at the start of Act 3 is sung commandingly by Andrew Foster-Williams

David Vickers - Gramophone

 

Andrew Foster-Williams is a nuanced, multi-faceted Hercules

Katherine Cooper - Presto Classical

 

Andrew Foster-Williams (Hercules) has the measure of the drama in his role

BBC Music Magazine

 

A strong vocal line-up, among whom Veronique Gens and Andrew Foster-Williams deserve special mention, sets the seal on a fine achievement 

Classical Music

 

Andrew Foster-Williams and the great Véronique Gens play Hercules and Deianira with a passionate intensity that proves all the more remarkable for their avoidance of flashy histrionics

Tim Ashley - The Guardian

Rossini - Guillaume Tell Title role

Rossini in Wildbad

Antonino Fogliani, conductor

Tell was sung by Andrew Foster-Williams. He has a powerful baritone, which is strong in its heights, with beautiful colours

Lennaert van Anken, Operamagazine NL

 

Andrew Foster-Williams - in whose blazing voice one can hear the outrage of the Homeland - a singer on the way to becoming a Heldenbaritone

Badische Zeitung

 

Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams shines with internalized dramatic power

Eckehard Uhlig - Die Deutsche Bühne

 

Andrew Foster-Williams earthy baritone, with lush sound, is initially underlined by his expressive recitative, before this later develops in the arioso passages into a hot flowing legato with natural height

Udo Klebes - Der Neue Merker

 

Andrew Foster-Williams shone in the title role, and seemed to have the interpretation of Tell written in his body. He sings this not necessarily pleasant guy, this fighter, with a very meaty and powerful bass-baritone

Manfred Langer - Der Opernfreund

 

Andrew Foster-Williams sang the title role with his rich, always moving, baritone

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

 

Bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams brilliantly masters the title role

Werner Müller-Grimmel - Stuttgarter Nachrichten

 

Andrew Foster-Williams added interesting nuances to Rossini’s often one-dimensional William Tell

Michael Stallknecht - Süddeutsche Zeitung

 

Andrew Foster-Williams as William Tell with his powerful baritone, is a splendid specimen of a revolutionary!... Foster-Williams and [Michael] Spyres as Tell and Arnold: What vocal charisma! What energy!

GEA, Reutlinger Generalanzeiger

 

[Andrew Foster-Williams] gives the words exactly the proper weight and expressiveness

Maurice Salles - Forum Opéra

Beethoven - The Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Of the two chief vocal soloists, bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams delivered his one heroic aria with forthright vigor

Joshua Kosman - San Francisco Chronicle

Bach - St. Matthew Passion

Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Two of the three British singers involved, Karen Cargill and Andrew Foster-Williams, proved excellent. One looked forward to their every intervention. The bass-baritone again showed himself a paragon of cleanly produced passagework with a handsome, forward tone and due gravitas

David Shengold - Opera News

 

 

Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem DVD

Orchestre des Champs-Élysées

Philippe Herreweghe, conductor

The soloists are excellent. Andrew Foster-Williams is solemn and authoritative in 'Herr, lehre doch mich’”

Richard Lawrence - Gramophone Magazine

Dauvergne: Hercule Mourant Hercules

Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles

Les Talens Lyriques

Christophe Rousset, conductor

Hercule himself was sung with great authority by Andrew Foster-Williams

Brian Robins - Opera

 

With great presence, charisma and an unparalleled, almost surreal, incarnation of Hercules, Andrew Foster-Williams is an ideal. His bass-baritone sound is coppery, powerful and colourful, his vocals and his prosody are connected with an ease and creativity in flawless ornamentation. This is the highest triumph so far for this great singer who came recently to the French repertoire and who fills us with his commitment to its psychological and dramatic roles

Pedro-Octavio Diaz - Muse Baroque

 

The Royal couple: Andrew Foster-Williams, a man of marble, and Véronique Gens, his destroyed wife, are both perfect in colour and in language

Ivan A. Alexandre - Diapason magazine

Beethoven: Fidelio Don Pizarro

Sir Richard Armstrong, conductor

Tim Albery, director

Andrew Foster-Williams's superb Pizarro

Richard Morrison - TheTimes (London)

 

The finest singing came from Andrew Foster-Williams's evilly beautiful Pizarro

Tim Ashley - TheGuardian

 

Andrew Foster Williams’s nasty Eichmannesque bureaucrat of a Pizarro sang [his] aria expertly

Rupert Christiansen - The Telegraph

 

Andrew Foster Williams brings lieder-like clarity to the jealous ravings of Don Pizarro

Anna Picard - The Independent on Sunday

 

As Pizarro, Andrew Foster-Williams offered plenty of heft and easy maneuverability in his lean and hungry vocalism

George Hall - Opera News

 

Andrew Foster-Williams’s Pizarro has a tensile strength of purpose that makes his villainy frighteningly real

The Stage

 

As the baddy of the story Andrew Foster-Williams gave a formidable sung and acted portrayal, his bespectacled demeanour sent a chill down my spine whilst his declamation, even at forte, was first class

Robert J Farr - Seen & Heard International

 

There’s a brilliant turn from Andrew Foster Williams as the villain Don Pizarro, overdressed in a natty suit and waving a sharp letter opener; a frightening depiction of petty evil

Graham Rickson - The Arts Desk

 

This costume concept is used most successfully for Pizarro, with bass-baritone Andrew Foster Williams creating the feeling of faceless, corporate evil in an expensive suit and permanent sunglasses. He delivers the hugely dramatic aria Ha! Welch ein Augenblick with a power that is intentionally at odds with his lack of physical energy. Sitting casually at his desk, he boomed the famous 'Triumph!' with little more than a flick of his letter-opener to remind us of his murderous intentions. His vocal performance is undoubtedly one of the highlights of this Fidelio

Laura Kate Wilson - Bachtrack

Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress Nick Shadow

Opéra National de Lorraine

Tito Muñoz, conductor

This charismatic bass-baritone, singing brilliantly and dominating the stage

Rolf Fath - Opera

 

Andrew Foster-Williams 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, he easily makes his mark in the role of Nick [Shadow] - this is particularly justified in the magnificent final scenes in which the British bass-baritone excels

François Lehel - Opéra

 

The standout of the cast is baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, who sings a remarkable Nick Shadow with elegance and assurance

Didier Hemardinquer - Est Republicain

 

The great discovery of the show is Andrew Foster-Williams. He is English, a dark baritone, he is just 37, and embodies the devilish Nick Shadow with stunning humour. He possesses a voice of fire, clear diction and an obvious pleasure in playing the bad guy, and perfectly represents an envoy from hell who delights in pulling the strings of the drama

Caroline Alexander - Webthea

Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten The Seasons

Concert and ‘LSO Live’ CD recording

Sir Colin Davis, conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

Editor’s Choice” Gramophone

Editor’s Choice” BBC Music Magazine

Disc of the Month” Hi-Fi News

 

Foster-Williams’ force and authority rang through the hall

Geoff Brown - The Times (London)

 

Andrew Foster-Williams’ vivid bass-baritone, a model of vocal security and textual definition

George Hall - BBC Music Magazine

 

Andrew Foster-Williams as Simon is a real bass-baritone, excelling as ploughman or huntsman and never turning cavernous

Piers Burton-Page - International Record Review

 

Andrew Foster-Williams, a fine classical stylist, is breezily extrovert in the ploughman’s song and the bird-shoot, and brings a grave intensity of line to his momento mori in Winter

Richard Wigmore - Gramophone

 

Andrew Foster-Williams’ robust, polished singing in the bass-baritone’s musical numbers ensures that the aria quoting the Surprise Symphony is duly amusing and the dramatic aria describing the shooting of a bird is charged with tension

George Loomis - The Classical Review

 

The best section is "Winter," since Haydn did less tone-painting here, and since the oracular, rotund quality of baritone Andrew Foster-Williams suits the proclamation about the power of God

William R. Braun - Opera News

Beethoven: Fidelio Don Pizarro

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Ádám Fischer, conductor

The churning figurations beneath Pizarro's aria suggested the eruption of some malevolent spiritual force. In keeping with Fischer's approach, Andrew Foster-Williams gave us a demonic Pizarro

Tim Ashley - The Guardian

 

Andrew Foster Williams sang strongly as Don Pizarro 

Hugo Shirley - The Telegraph

Bach: Mass in F major "Lutheran"

Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

Under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst, the orchestra pulled out all the stops to produce an evening that audiences will likely remember for the rest of their lives... Foster-Williams was particularly outstanding and explored his range to great effect

The Observer

Händel: Messiah

Bernard Labadie, conductor

Les Violons du Roy

Carnegie Hall, New York

Most effective was Andrew Foster-Williams, the bass-baritone in “Messiah,” who dispatched the quavering figures depicting fire and rage with full-bodied tone despite Mr. Labadie’s brisk tempos and was just as effective intoning the serene “great light” seen by “the people that walked in darkness.”

James R. Oestreich - The New York Times

Haydn: Mass in D minor “Lord Nelson”

The Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor

The [Cleveland] orchestra was joined by a fine quartet of soloists... most imposing of all, bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams

Donald Rosenberg - Cleveland Plain Dealer

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