Von Otter pops off again

Between recording a new disc of Baroque arias and singing a Christmas program Dec. 14 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter will be taking a detour into pop music.

The 49-year-old mezzo, known for her roles in operas by Mozart and Strauss, is scheduled to record an album of songs associated with the Swedish rock group ABBA.

Von Otter first heard ABBA during the finals of the Eurovision song contest in 1974 and later met the group’s producer-singer-keyboardist, Benny Andersson, when she was recording her 2001 collaboration with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello -- which was also her first Deutsche Grammophon crossover album -- “For the Stars.�

Andersson wrote her a song, “Like an Angel Passing Through My Room,� for that disc. The new recording is to include songs from two of his theatrical musicals, “Kristina� and “Chess,� as well as four ABBA hits and several other of his post-ABBA works.

It’s not clear whether Von Otter will sing any of the 22 ABBA songs fashioned into the musical “Mamma Mia!,� which has been a worldwide success.

The singer’s move into pop has displeased some critics, who are especially riled by the fact that the new disc will be released early next year on the prestigious DG label, for which Von Otter records exclusively.

But a spokeswoman at Deutsche Grammophon said last week that the project “was her idea. Nobody tells Sophie what to do.

“But it’s not a situation where she’s decided to do something wildly different and do that for the rest of her career,� the label representative added. “She’s going to release a [Pierre] Boulez disc with baritone Thomas Quasthoff after that.�