“The character of Norma goes through extreme emotional states, she loves, hates, grieves.”

"The object of these adversaries’ desires, Leonora, is here portrayed by American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen. A well established and outstanding soprano of some repute, she devours this role with relish and is seemingly improving in it the more she performs it. Additionally, she appears to accrue a special stage presence just for this role, filling the empty stage with gravitas. Her full-bodied upper register slides majestically into a rich, lower; encompassing expressive and sweet pianissimos. She paints her phrases with the trills and ornaments of her coloratura. Her ‘Tacea la notte placida’, where she engages with her confidant, Ines, declaring her love for the Troubadour, is tangibly endearing. Her final act when she sings a moving, “D’amor sull’ali rosee” was positively entrancing. I have already alluded to her duet “Miserere” where she further pledges her love to Manrico beneath the tower where he is imprisoned; she sings here with delicate phrasing and restraint, allowing the distant vocals of Manrico to filter through and blend."

OperaWire