Götterdämmerung, Kölner Philharmonie, 2026

“As regards the vocal department, one must highlight the revelation that was the Brünnhilde of the young Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger. Platea Magazine had already noted, at the time, her interpretation of the same role in Die Walküre within this same cycle. Two years later, in Götterdämmerung, those praises can be squared, as we are faced with a young and healthy voice with clear hallmarks of a Wagnerian dramatic soprano (…) Åsa Jäger, in addition to the beauty of her timbre, the size of the instrument and its remarkable projection, proved herself to be an intelligent singer, as she never pushed in the middle and lower registers — something that may now be perceived as a weakness, but which could become a strength in the future. It is clear that Nagano’s conducting worked in her favour in that regard, but also that dramatic instinct is something you either have or you don’t, and Jäger proved she has it, letting the character grow all the way to the great Immolation Scene. If in the Prologue duet she kept a low profile, from the second act onwards she came into her own and ended up commanding the entire performance. Who knows whether Birgit Nilsson, the great Swedish soprano, might find a successor in this young singer — but what is certain is that Jäger follows her predecessor’s foremost piece of advice to the letter: she wears comfortable shoes”. – Platea Magazine – June 2026

“Jäger left nothing wanting in the role – above all in her textual clarity and her portrayal of the devastating humiliation Siegfried has inflicted upon her. In the scene where Brünnhilde is overpowered by Siegfried disguised as Gunther, she spoke and cried out rather than sang – itself an effect Wagner intended. Her dramatic soprano carries powerfully even in lyrical moments, where she reminded me of Margaret Price, and is extraordinarily rich in colour. Åsa Jäger was Brünnhilde: the woman deeply in love with Siegfried, the one overpowered and overwhelmed by a stranger, the warrior fighting for her husband after he has abandoned her for antother, and finally the saviour of the world, who at last returns the cursed ring to the Rhinemaidens and ignites the conflagration. This will surely not have been her last Brünnhilde”. – Das Opernmagazin – June 2026

“Åsa Jäger’s voice has developed even further since her outstanding Brünnhilde in this project’s Die Walküre in 2024. She screamed where the project’s approach to the text demanded for it, but without sounding unpleasant. It was controlled and thus left no doubt it was intended and would never have come across as a flaw of her singing – nor as a danger to her voice. She was impeccable in the most mellow quieter moments and her fortissimo soared well above the orchestra, leaving the impression that she was still holding back a little. It is very rare to find a singer so much in control of her voice and able to produce her sound so effortlessly – and with so much joy underlying the range of emotions expressed”. – Seen and Heard International -June 2026

Götterdämmerung, Elbphilharmonie, 2026

“Åsa Jäger had won herself this position through her superb portrayal of Brünnhilde. To enable her to project over the still enormous, though internally restrained, orchestral forces without loss of impact or premature vocal fatigue, she was given an extra-high platform. She made full use of this elevated acoustic advantage, producing clearly ringing top notes throughout. In doing so, she demonstrated that a historically informed Brünnhilde need not suffer any weakness of voice whatsoever. The experiment was a success—Bayreuth can come next”. – Hamburger Abendblatt – May 2026

Götterdämmerung, Kulturpalast, 2026

“The dramatic soprano Åsa Jäger had already thrilled us in Die Walküre and Siegfried as a magnificent Brünnhilde. Also in the most extensive and demanding of the Brünnhilde roles, she displayed breathtaking assurance and infused her singing with finely calculated nuances. Her voice was evenly balanced across all registers, and her attacks on the high notes pierced through the orchestra effortlessly. Whether portraying a loving woman or one discovering betrayal, she always found the necessary expressiveness. Åsa Jäger shaped the demanding final monologue with carefully differentiated dynamics and powerful intonation”. – Der Opernfreund – May 2026

“Åsa Jäger embodies a Brünnhilde of unusual purity, carried by a voice of striking vitality, with a natural and even lower register, free from excessive chest resonance, and with high notes that meet the role’s outbursts effortlessly. The Swedish soprano also fully conveys the demands of the score, from the trills to the characteristic gruppetti associated with her character and so dear to Wagner”. – Forum Opera – May 2026

“The magnificent Åsa Jäger as a Brünnhilde who is both powerfully commanding and subtly moving”. – Neue Musikzeitung – May 2026

Tristan und Isolde, Norrlandsoperan, 2025

“Her stock on the international opera market is likely to soar after this.
Say what you will about Tristan und Isolde, but without an Isolde of Åsa Jäger’s caliber it simply doesn’t work. One must have the stamina and the courage, take the vocal leaps without losing control. Jäger has a unique presence, reflected not least in her expressive eyes. All the spotlight on Åsa, please. She can stand completely still and yet show everything – embodying the entire backstory of Tristan, who killed her intended in battle, after which she herself was deceived into nursing him back to health. The famous “Tristan chord” by Richard Wagner settles like a heavy cloud of unease over the whole hall, and it gives you goosebumps. Everyone is good. But it is Jäger who owns the stage”. – Expressen – Oktober 2025

Siegfried, Kölner Philharmonie, 2025

“Despite her young age, the Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger is perhaps already one of the greatest Brünnhildes of our time and is thus in the tradition of such great interpreters as Birgit Nilsson or Nina Stemme. Her final duet with Siegfried is one of the great highlights of this memorable evening thanks to her luminous, almost triumphant singing in the high registers”. – Der Opernfreund – April 2025

“With ‘Heil dir, Sonne’, she opened one of the most impressive love scenes in all of opera literature with a heartfelt expression of her vulnerability and exuberant love for the hero Siegfried. Siegfried ended with ‘Ewig war ich’ in a jubilant and moving finale that drew a long standing ovation from the audience”. -Das Opernmagazin – April 2025

“But the great revelation of the evening was the Brünnhilde of the very young soprano Åsa Jäger, endowed with a voice of phenomenal volume and a rare expressive ease, who—with her vocal power—challenged the orchestra”.

“This fabulous and vividly alive Brünnhilde, with the energy and sweetness of her singing, will very soon carry Åsa Jäger to Valhalla—the Olympus of the most distinguished Wagnerian sopranos”. – MundoClasico.com – April 2025

Siegfried, Philharmonie de Paris, 2025

”As for Brünnhilde, asleep for three-quarters of the opera, she only wakes up in the last scene of Act 3 with a luminous, clear, youthful, spring-like “Heil dir, Sonne! in which her timbre and volume are immediately seductive. The Swedish soprano we discover is Åsa Jäger, and she is a real revelation. She too, as an excellent Wagnerian, never shouts, her high notes are natural and sovereign and her volume phenomenal. She literally lives, right down to her face, the enchanted awakening of the young Valkyrie condemned to sleep by Wotan, and both the sweetness and the power of her singing are truly enchanting. A new Brünnhilde is born, reminiscent of the great Nina Stemme, her compatriot, and all the more so as she heralds a future Isolde that we imagine will suit her perfectly”. – Cult News – April 2025

”Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger is one of the great Wagnerian singers of the moment. Brünnhilde has been one of her favourite roles for many years. Her ability to project her voice is extraordinary. The first words she utters, “Heil dir, Sonne! are of admirable crystalline purity and overwhelming power. The final duet in Act 3, in which she rivals Siegfried in power before the final tutti, is admirable in its grace and beauty, and brings tears to the eyes”. – Première Loge Opera – April 2025

“Åsa Jäger is simply magnificent in her character, sacrificed and then conquered by love. The last to arrive on stage, she completes this evening’s cast with the power and suppleness of her voice, perfectly conveying the torments of this unarmed warrior”. – ResMusica – April 2025

Siegfried, Prague State Opera, 2025

“Even the valkyrie Brünnhilde waits in the dressing room for a few hours for hers, but then it’s worth it. The Swedish soprano Åsa Jäger dominated with a powerful fund in the extensive final scene in which Siegfried wakes her up and rescues her from her enchantment and sleep amidst the flames, i.e. from Wotan’s punishment and the promise of the conclusion of the previous part of the tetralogy” – KlasikaPlus.cz – April 2025

Die Walküre, Lucerne Festival, 2024

“As Brünnhilde, soprano Åsa Jäger made a strong impression with her hojotohos sailing out over the orchestra as she entered the stage. Her voice sounded relaxed and secure. Her intonation and articulation were crystal clear. She is a soprano with a well-supported, resonant voice, able to sustain notes over a long period, which expand effortlessly to fill the hall. In dramatically exciting scenes, her voice can explode with emotional force, yet she is equally capable of crafting soft, delicate lines. In other words, she is a singer with a voice suited to the role”. – Operawire – August 2024

Die Walküre, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, 2024

“Finest of all was the Brünnhilde of Åsa Jäger, a realisation of the utmost power and subtlety, reaching its climax in the ‘Todesverkündigung’ (‘Siegmund, sieh auf mich …’), the combination of Nagano’s tautness and Jäger’s rapt delivery stunning”. – The Gramophone – May 2024

”The Swedish singer Åsa Jäger, still unknown in Dresden, gave a compassionate, courageous and independent Wotan’s daughter Brünnhilde a defining structure with her dramatic soprano and top notes. At the beginning still carefree, almost childlike and youthful, she matured with her facial expressions, gestures and grandiose singing into an assertive broker of her interests and a humanly dominant character. With her authoritative demeanour, she brought Wotan to the brink of moral defeat and brought the concert to an overwhelming conclusion”. – Der Opernfreund – May 2024

“And then there is Åsa Jäger, probably the youngest Brünnhilde in the world at the moment. (…). The volume and warm timbre of her soprano alone, as well as the ease with which this young soprano mastered the most dramatic parts with confidence , triggered enthusiasm” – Oper! Magazin – May 2024

“Brünnhilde, for her part, was exemplary, with a voice that is fruity, fine and yet as powerful as the character requires: the Swedish Åsa Jäger showed qualities of purity of tone and controlled drama, far from the usual fury, that thrilled the audience”. – Concertclassic.com – May 2024

Die Walküre,  Elbphilharmonie, 2024

“Jäger’s sharp fifth is thunderous and truly thrilling in the cry of “Hojotoho,” launched like a silver arrow into the hall, and also in scintillating phrases at the end. But her performance is much more than that; it represents the ability to bring out the youthfulness of this virgin who is not only warlike, but also loving and deferential, even thoughtful towards her father.

Jäger is superb in the dramatic soprano middle register throughout the gentle processional crescendo of the Valkyrie’s solemn appearance to “those who are about to die” and then at the moment of Brünnhilde’s change of heart in the face of Siegmund’s fierce determination to rebel against Wotan’s proclamations.

In the final act Åsa Jäger reaches her peak. The length of the vocal line, crowned with crystalline treble, the well-timed bass, the art of deploying infinite softness on the word and the weight of its meaning. This is how Brünnhilde confronts Wotan, with his dilemmas, and provokes the ultimate reversal. As his favorite daughter, she knows how to make herself pleading before this inflexible father, adding the right dose of heroism to convince him of her status as a brave warrior, worthy of the “God of battles”. – Mundo Clasico – May 2024

“Soprano Åsa Jäger is the heart and soul of the performance in the great Hall”

“The central event of the evening takes place in this second act. Brünnhilde makes her entrance. The Swede Åsa Jäger comes, sings and wins all along the line. Her luminous soprano has no trouble asserting herself against the orchestra. Jäger can allow herself to add nuance at any time and understands the emotional experiences of Wotan’s favourite child”. – Hamburger Abendblatt – May 2024

“Åsa Jäger was simply stunning as Brünnhilde. She gave her role debut in 2022. The voice is very strong, projected with ease, firm across registers, with a more than solid basis that allows her to soar and float in the top notes. The timbre is warm overall, which allows her to open out to more metallic sounds at the top of the voice without ever sounding shrill or narrow”. – Seen and Heard International – May 2024

Der fliegende Holländer, Göteborgsoperan, 2024

“Her big voice is equalised overall and the attacks on the high notes travels through the orchestra like a welding flame. (…) Åsa Jäger is a dramatic Wagnerian soprano of the highest calibre, and an Isolde should be in the near future”. – Tidskriften Opera – March 2024

Siegfried, Landestheater Coburg, 2023

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

Die Walküre, Landestheater Coburg, 2022

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 ultimate appeal of operagoing in Germany is to see a venerable art form experiencing continuous rebirth”. – The New Yorker – June 2022