“Radiant, compelling, lyrical and deeply moving.” (Der Opernfreund)
“Anna Herbst’s fresh, richly nuanced soprano is a true discovery!” (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger)
“A solo soprano blossoming with angelic purity in luminous heights.” (Kölnische Rundschau)
Internationally acclaimed soprano Anna Herbst combines vocal brilliance with exceptional expressiveness, stylistic versatility, and a commanding stage presence.
Her concert engagements have taken her to leading international venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Teatro Real Madrid, the Philharmonies of Paris, Berlin, and Cologne, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, deSingel Antwerp, Tonhalle Zurich, Müpa Budapest, as well as the WDR Great Broadcasting Hall and the Deutschlandfunk Chamber Music Hall.
Anna Herbst appears regularly at renowned festivals throughout Europe, including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Bayreuth Baroque, the Zurich Festival, the Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival, the Gdańsk Music Festival, the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, Amare The Hague, the Gluck Festival Gotha, the Bad Arolsen Baroque Festival, and the Beethovenfest Bonn.
As an oratorio soloist, she is a frequent guest at major churches and concert venues such as St. Michael’s Church (Michel) Hamburg, Cologne Cathedral, Altenberg Cathedral, St. Jakobi Church Lübeck, and St. Thomas and St. Nicholas Churches in Leipzig.
Born in Cologne, Anna Herbst is a prizewinner of the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang (German National Singing Competition) and a former scholarship recipient of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. She received her artistic training under Prof. Kai Wessel, Prof. Josef Protschka, and Prof. Henner Leyhe, and further refined her artistry in international masterclasses with distinguished musicians including Dame Emma Kirkby, Edita Gruberová, Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli, Paul Agnew, Sissel Hoyem-Aune, and Krisztina Laki.
Her repertoire spans Early Music, contemporary music, opera, oratorio, and art song, distinguished by linguistic precision and interpretive sensitivity. A particular focus of her work lies in the rediscovery of rarely performed repertoire and in collaborations with contemporary composers.
She has collaborated with conductors including Andris Nelsons, Thomas Hengelbrock, Paavo Järvi, Dorothee Oberlinger, Peter Eötvös, Pablo Heras-Casado, Peter Neumann, Michael Hofstetter, and Christoph and Andreas Spering.
Her artistic work is documented in numerous radio, television, and CD productions, as well as live recordings for broadcasters including WDR, NDR, BR, HR, RBB, and Deutschlandfunk.
In 2023, her German–Chinese art song album Lindenbaum und Lotusblüte was released by Coviello Classics. Her next recording, New England Seasons, an art song album featuring selected works from the American East Coast, is scheduled for release in 2026.