RACHEL WILLIS-SØRENSEN is known for her diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart to Wagner. A regular guest at the leading opera houses around the world, Le Monde enthused, “…the American soprano has without a doubt one of the most impressive voices in the opera world …” In 2022, Sony Classical released her debut album, and her second CD with Four Last Songs by Strauss was released in 2023. Ms. Willis-Sørensen opens the 2023/24 season with a return to the Grand Théâtre de Genève to perform the role of Elisabeth in Verdi’s Don Carlos which she debuted in Chicago last year. This was followed by appearances at the Vienna State Opera as Desdemona (Otello) and Elena (I Vespri Siciliani), a first guest appearance at the Opéra National de Paris as Antonia (The Tales of Hoffmann), the roles of Elsa (Lohengrin) and Desdemona (Otello) at the Bavarian State Opera, with which she made her Hong Kong debut in “Ariadne auf Naxos” at the 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival. In the spring, she will sing at the Los Angeles Opera as Violetta (“La Traviata”) and at the Santa Fe Opera as the Marshallin (Der Rosenkavalier ) by R. Strauss.
Her concert appearances include performances in Mahler’s Symphony No.8 at the Bavarian State Opera, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 at the Concerthaus in Vienna, a recital at Carnegie Hall and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Houston Symphony Orchestra as part of the Strauss Festival conducted by Juraj Valčuha.
Previous engagements include Elisabeth (Don Carlos) with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rusalka (Rusalka) at the San Francisco Opera and NDR Hamburg, Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) at Glyndebourne, Semperoper and the Covent Garden, Violetta (La Traviata) at Opéra national de Bordeaux and the Bayerische Staatsoper, Marguerite (Faust) as part of the Royal Opera House’s tour of Japan, Elsa (Lohengrin) at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zurich, and Oper Frankfurt, Desdemona (Otello) at the Wiener Staatsoper and LA Opera, Mimi (La Bohème) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Countess (Le nozze di Figaro) at the Metropolitan Opera , Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Wiener Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera and Semperoper Dresden, Hélène (Les Vêpres siciliennes) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Valentine (Les Huguenots) at the Grand Théâtre Genève, Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) at the San Francisco Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden and the Wiener Staatsoper, Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) at the Houston Grand Opera, Leonore (Fidelio) at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, and Leonora (Il Trovatore) at the Teatro Regio di Torino.
She has performed Strauss’s Four Last Songs multiple times, including notably at Buckingham Palace for an HRH Prince Charles birthday celebration, and joined Jonas Kaufmann in 2019 and 2020 for a long European tour and in support of his latest recording, Wien, on which she is featured. Other repertoire includes Mahler’s 2nd and 4th Symphonies, Mendelssohn’s Elias, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and the Verdi Requiem.
Rachel was a member of the Semperoper – Dresden for three years and performed the leading roles in The Merry Widow, Così fan tutte, La clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo, Die Fledermaus, La Bohème and others.
She won first prize at the 2014 Operalia competition in Los Angeles and at the 2011 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition.She holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Brigham Young University and is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio.