“Countertenor Nils Wanderer delivered a Leonardo da Vinci performance of immense stage presence and vocal confidence. His voice possesses a beautiful timbre and sufficient body to fill the Met's grand hall, no easy feat for his vocal range. Wanderer controlled his instrument with intelligence and great musicality, though perhaps he overemphasized the mannerisms of the character disguised as Greta Garbo. Even so, his delicate singing and sensitive interpretation highlighted all the poetic and melancholic aspects of the character, resulting in a truly memorable performance.” - Opera World

“Leonardo, a countertenor role performed by Nils Wanderer in a mightily assured Met debut, is announced with the “Grimes” motif but is otherwise composed with plush, flowing melodies.” - New York Times

"Wanderer nearly stole the show. The character of Leonardo is a key to the complex fantasy in the opera—he doesn’t merely want to return to the living, but to do so in the guise of Greta Garbo to visit someone enamored of the movie star. Wanderer managed a believable and wonderful androgyny, like a reflection of the unsettled beauty in the opera, and showed a voice that has an incredible contralto quality. At one point, the line requires him to dip into regular tenor voice, then back to countertenor, and it was a stunning moment of both technique and compositional and musical imagination." - George Grella, New York Classical Review

"Nils Wanderer made his Met debut as Leonardo, a young actor who desires to return from the dead as Garbo to please a fan, helping Frida decide to return to the living. Wanderer showcased a deep countertenor voice with exquisite legato lines that flowed with beauty from his higher register into his unusually deep low notes. His turn into Garbo in Act two exuded elegance and glamour." - Francisco Salazar, OperaWire 2026

"In his house debut as Leonardo, the dead actor who dresses as Greta Garbo and persuades Frida to find her art again among the living, Nils Wanderer displayed a robust countertenor, which was edgy at the top of his range." - Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal 2026