Donna Anna/The Metropolitan Opera

Donna Anna, Rachel Willis-Sørensen essayed a truly powerful interpretation. From the opening notes to the very end of the opera, her performance was marked by tremendous vocal confidence with arguably the most challenging role in the opera.

Operawire

Donna Anna, Rachel Willis-Sørensen essayed a truly powerful interpretation. From the opening notes to the very end of the opera, her performance was marked by tremendous vocal confidence with arguably the most challenging role in the opera.

Hers was a fierce Donna Anna, challenging Ottavio when he called her “Crudele” with an even more violent outburst throughout the recitativo of her second aria. In this paricular section, she transitioned to a potent exploration of pain, with expansive legato. The second section of this aria was marked by pointed high notes that further emphasized the pain of the character.

Willis-Sørensen commanded the stage at every moment she was there. She didn’t need to make big gestures to prove her point, but when she did, the moments were effective and undoubtedly immersive. One of the touchstone moments of her performance came right after the quartet. Don Giovanni has just kissed her hand and walked away. Donna Anna recognizes that this is the man that killed her father and she suddenly starts to wipe her hand with everything she can possibly find. It was violent and visceral and really spoke to the disgust of the character in that moment. It is hard to wipe that image away. 

On the whole, it was impossible to take your eyes off of Willis-Sørensen when she was onstage and she will likely remain one of the highlights over the course of the run.”