In January, Staffan will premiere the role of Don Magnifico in Rossini’s Cenerentola at Norrlandsoperan. During the fall, an album of art songs with orchestra by composer Oliver Gruhn called “Bezaubert…” which Staffan is performing on, was released.
Pierre-Damien Houville at Muse Baroque writes:
But in this Acis & Galatea it is in the second act that tragedy emerges. The tragedy is Polyphemus, jealous of the loves of our two tender hearts. To embody Polyphemus, one needs vocal charisma and a physical stage presence worthy of both the impressive Cyclop as sculpted by Jean Tiguely and Nikki de Saint Phalle (Milly-la-Forêt) and the Colossus of the Apennines (Jean Bologne, Villa di Pratolino, Tuscany). Staffan Liljas, a bass-baritone of Swedish origin, plays his demon wonderfully both vocally and physically, making Polyphemus almost a demiurgic, Armageddonian character, initially disturbing and carnivorous on O ruddier tan the Cherry! (Act II), terrifying and with perfect diction in Cease to Beauty to be suing (Act II), and still as impressive in his trio with Acis and Galatea The Flocks shall leave the Mountains, certainly the dramatic high point of the work. Filling the vaults of the abbey church of Ambronay with his voice, even when the staging pushes him back from the orchestra Staffan Liljas, too rare in our latitudes, constitutes indeed the biggest and most charismatic revelation of this performance of Acis & Galatea.
Irma Foletti at Anaclase writes:
After the interval, placed at the end of the opening chorus of Act II, Staffan Liljas’s Polyphemus – a role the Swedish artist already played when Leonardo García-Alarcón gave the work at the head of the Philharmonique de Radio-France, three years ago [read our review of May 21, 2022] – enters directly into the expression of his jealousy towards Acis and his rage at not being loved by Galatea. The bass powerfully projects I rage, I melt, I burn from the front rows of the audience, giving a beautiful dramatic relief to his recitatives.
Romain Daroles at Bachtrack writes:
Also worth noting is Staffan Liljas’s Polyphemus, completely playful, and who quickly impresses – at the border of overacting – between buffa and drama.
Claude Jottrand at Forum Opera writes:
Polyphemus is sung by Staffan Liljas, a bass from Sweden who overplays the villain a little for the sake of caricature, but convinces both with his physique and his voice with magnificent deep resonances.
Marc Dumont at Première Loge writes:
While Polyphemus only appears in the second part of the work, he immediately asserts himself thanks to the fierceness and darkness of Swedish bass Staffan Liljas’s voice. His aria lacks neither surprise nor humor.