Joachim Bäckström

"Francis is a killer tenor part with a wide range, but Joachim Bäckström is capable of spellbinding falsetto in his part’s highest notes. Bäckström has perhaps the most challenging acting of all, needing to fluidly switch between his charismatic public persona, his manipulative intimacy with Nelly or Rita, and his occasional lapses dues to his frustrations (once walking into Nelly’s flat and asking her ‘Seen many nutters today?’). He met this challenge brilliantly, both varying vocal colour and mannerisms depending on the situation. It is a joy to experience music performed by the singers it was written for when it shows off their strengths like this." Mythomania/Gothenburg Opera

Niklas Smith/Seen and Heard International – 11 October 2023

"Joachim Bäckström gibt einen Don Carlos, dem die Reserven nie auszugehen scheinen. In der Tongebung und Intensität seiner Bühnenerscheinung erinnert er stark an Neil Shicoff. / Joachim Bäckström gives a Don Carlos who never seems to run out of reserves. In the tone and intensity of his stage appearance, he is strongly reminiscent of Neil Shicoff." - Don Carlos/Theater Basel 2022

Jan Krobot/Oneline Merker - May 15 2022

"The main character is Peter Grimes, a fisherman living alone on a cliff above the town. He was brilliantly portrayed by Swedish tenor Joachim Bäckström. He managed a dramatic and firmly tense dramatic position with a resounding and brassy-sounding tenor, strenuously and without difficulty. He was also an acting-convincing representative of a rough, stubborn and bitter man who cannot succeed in the fight for his happiness." - Peter Grimes/the National Theater Brno 2021

Karolina Štorková/Operaplus.cz - Oct 8 2021

"The tenor of the title role, Swedish tenor Joachim Bäckström, paid maximum attention to himself.  His combination of musical expression, acting and singing discipline surpassed other performers by one class."

"The female singer’s delicate and sensitive soprano was the best “companion” to Joachim Bäckström’s sometimes harsh and sometimes tender expression. It is the complex and contradictory emotional life of the title character that deserves a singer who is not only able to penetrate the mind of the chosen character, but who also possesses a wide expressive palette with which to present this unfortunate soul to the audience. And Bäckström is undoubtedly this singer – his voice went from the most menacing levels to the most tender gentleness with complete naturalness. Moreover, he always supported these expressive means perfectly with appropriately used dynamics, which often immediately went from extreme to extreme, but still preserved maximum musicality." - Peter Grimes/the National Theater Brno 2021

Lukáš Pavlica/Music Friendly City Brno 28 October 2021

"Der weiche, biegsame und höhensichere lyrische Tenor des Schweden Joachim Bäckström erweist sich mit seinen Spinto-Qualitäten als hinreißende Besetzung der Titelpartie." - Hoffmanns erzählungen/Musiktheater im Revier

Peter Bilsing/Der Opernfreund - 2 June 2017

”Joachim Bäckströms Hoffmann hat noblen Schmelz, Wärme, Seele,.. ein Tenor von fabelhaft viriler Eleganz." - Hoffmanns erzählungen/Musiktheater im Revier

L. von der Gönna/ Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (Kultur) - 11 June 2017

"Joachim Bäckström captivated as Don José in only his second role at the Gothenburg Opera (...). His bright tenor sounded like a clarion all the way to the top notes, but was equally capable of sublime emotion in ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’. Mr Bäckström’s acting explored the contradictions of Don José’s character, with flashes of his jealous and violent side showing before the terrifying eruptions of the last two acts, but also a believable understanding of the sense of duty that so bitterly disappoints Carmen in Act II" - Carmen/GöteborgsOperan 2016

Niklas Smith/Seen and Heard International, December 12 2016