What people are saying.

  • “It has been our great pleasure to have Anja Burmeister Strauss on our San Francisco Opera Center and Merola Opera program faculty team. Anja’s practical, concise information has proven to be invaluable for our artists. An accomplished singer herself, she knows how to explain techniques of pronunciation and characterization in a manner that allows singers to implement and retain ideas and concepts with ease. I recommend Anja’s work very highly!”

    — Carrie-Ann Matheson
    Artistic Director, San Francisco Opera Center

  • "Diction specialist Anja Burmeister Strauss played a vital role in the preparation of our Weimar Nightfall production in the spring of 2020. Her outstanding work with our cast was crucial to the success of our performances. Her coaching sessions were efficient, meticulous, and informative. Her background as a native speaker paired with her vast musical knowledge as a classically trained vocalist made her a tremendous asset to our team. Her patient, friendly, and understanding demeanor when interacting with our cast made her a joy to work with, even during the most stressful moments of the rehearsal process. Her attention to detail was highly appreciated. Her mastery of German diction for singers is truly world class.."

    — Daniel Mallampalli
    LA Philharmonic, Programming Manager
    Artistic Planning at Los Angeles Philharmonic

  • “Even when Anja is addressing the most technical issues, she does so in a way that links diction to the meaning of the words, and just as crucially, the meaning of the music. Her expertise with the German language and with vocal matters is extremely impressive, but it is her way of using this expertise to bring one closer to the essence of the music that makes her work so interesting and inspiring.”

    — Jonathan Biss
    Co-Artistic Director, Marlboro Music Festival

  • “I first met Anja at Juilliard where she was studying to be a singer. Her highly refined singing is a large reason that she is one of the most sought-after diction coaches. Her musicianship, innate understanding of vocalism and kindness coalesce into a person that in my experience, singers and pianists are always glad to have in the room with them.”

    — Lydia Brown
    Chair Collaborative Piano, The Juilliard School
    Vocal Program, Marlboro Music Festival

  • "Anja is a German diction goddess!"

    — Patrick Hansen
    Director, Opera McGill

  • "Anja is my go-to person for coaching German repertoire. She constantly succeeds in targeting my needs and helping me optimize both my diction and singing. She provided me with brilliant insights and solid tools that have helped me prepare for a last-minute jump-in as I was debuting a first role in a major house. Having her as a resource has been a true blessing!"

    — Elisabeth Bouldreault, soprano