Rachel Willis-Sørensen
American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is renowned for her interpretations of Verdi heroines such as Leonora, Elisabetta and Desdemona, as well as works by Mozart, Strauss, Puccini, Massenet, Offenbach, Dvořák and Wagner. She appears regularly at the world’s leading opera houses and concert venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Ballet and Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Baden-Baden, the Bavarian and Berlin State Operas, Semperoper, Liceu, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Carnegie Hall.
In 2021, she signed a multi-album contract with Sony Classical. Her debut album, Rachel, was released in 2022, followed by her second recording, Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder, in 2023. She can also be heard in several duets on Jonas Kaufmann’s album Wien. In 2025, she received the Beverly Sills Artist Award.
The 2026/27 season encompasses a series of major revivals as well as two important role debuts. She opens the season at the Royal Ballet and Opera, returning as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), before making her role debut as Fausta in Massenet’s rarely performed opera Roma, presented both in Monte Carlo and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
She also makes her house debut with the Canadian Opera Company as Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), returns to the Vienna State Opera as Mimì (La Bohème) and reprises one of her signature roles, Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), at the Bavarian State Opera. As the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), she continues her long-standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera and her exploration of the works of Richard Strauss. A highlight of the season is her role debut as Tosca at San Francisco Opera.
On the concert stage, Willis-Sørensen performs Bernstein’s Kaddish at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder in Toronto, Rome, Paris and Vienna. Recitals also form a particularly important part of her season, including an appearance at the Berlin State Opera and, at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, the world premiere of a song cycle by composer Jeff Beal written especially for her.
Rachel Willis-Sørensen studied at Brigham Young University and is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. She won first prize at the Operalia Competition in 2014 and at the Hans Gábor Belvedere Singing Competition in 2011. She was a member of the ensemble at the Semperoper Dresden for three years.
Performances with Rachel Willis-Sørensen
with Kang Wang, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Leonardo Neiva, Jusung Gabriel Park, Matheus Franca, Maria Nazarova, Conductor: Domingo Hindoyan
La Bohème
Cast on Sunday 6. December 2026
with Kang Wang, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Leonardo Neiva, Jusung Gabriel Park, Matheus Franca, Maria Nazarova, Conductor: Domingo Hindoyan
La Bohème
Cast on Tuesday 8. December 2026
Zyklus »Glanz und Elend«
Ticket information
Wie nah Glück und Schmerz beieinander liegen: La Bohème verbindet Liebe und Tragik, Andrea Chénier erzählt von Liebe in Zeiten der Revolution. Manon Lescaut führt ins Verderben – während La Fille du régiment ein glückliches Ende bereithält.
with Kang Wang, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Leonardo Neiva, Jusung Gabriel Park, Matheus Franca, Maria Nazarova, Conductor: Domingo Hindoyan
La Bohème
Cast on Sunday 13. December 2026