# Rachel Willis-Sørensen



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Someone recommended Rachel Willis-Sørensen to me. I’ve hunted around YouTube to find some representative examples of her singing - she seems to have a wide selection of roles.

What do you think of her?


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

A good voice if not a great one. Positives first, her timbre is attractive, her tone is steady and comparatively well produced compared to most modern sopranos. She seems to have a good grasp of the music too. Unfortunately her bottom register is underdeveloped but nothing unusual there. Her voice doesn't have quite the ring and openness of great sopranos of the past and there is just a hint of artificial darkness but despite that this is a voice I'd be more than happy to hear on today's stages, if not one that excites me hugely.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Op.123 said:


> A good voice if not a great one. Positives first, her timbre is attractive, her tone is steady and comparatively well produced compared to most modern sopranos. She seems to have a good grasp of the music too. Unfortunately her bottom register is underdeveloped but nothing unusual there. Her voice doesn't have quite the ring and openness of great sopranos of the past and there is just a hint of artificial darkness but despite that this is a voice I'd be more than happy to hear on today's stages, if not one that excites me hugely.


@Op.123, I agree on the weak low register - why is it that teachers today don’t help them develop that part of the voice? At least she has a trill and employs it. I also found the voice has too much vibrato at times and it make the coloratura sound imprecise.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

MAS said:


> @Op.123, I agree on the weak low register - why is it that teachers today don’t help them develop that part of the voice? At least she has can trill and employs it. I also found the voice has too much vibrato at times and it make the coloratura sound imprecise.


Well there's a video of her on YouTube saying that Callas chest voice from her late concert sounds like belting which is a fairly pop-centred term. I think a lot of teachers today are just trying to get their students to sound as 'operatic' as possible and include as few 'popular' elements as possible. It's all just elitist b******t obviously and speaks to the industry as a whole.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Deleted deleted


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I've only seen her twice. Her Gutrune was astounding, but her Marschallin revealed a weaker voice than I would have thought and she didn't quite have the soaring legato that the role needs.

N.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The Conte said:


> I've only seen her twice. Her Gutrune was astounding, but her Marschallin revealed a weaker voice than I would have thought and she didn't quite have the soaring legato that the role needs.
> 
> N.


I wouldn’t have thought she had the gravitas for that role currently, though I’ve never heard her except on YouTube, so grain of salt with that opinion! Lol


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I largely agree with @Op.123 and note the lack of a fully developed lower register. 

Can anyone tell me why she is behaving like a demented drunk in the Vespri aria? Was that intentional?


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

If there were a contest between Willis-Sorensen and Nadine Sierra my vote would clearly go to Sierra who, to me, is a Violetta with astonishingly fine voice mechanisms and uses them well. Perhaps she uses her exquisitely rendered interpolations in "Ah forse lui" too broadly, but that is only a subjective opinion. 
The tone of her voice appeals to me much more than that of Willis-Sorensen who has a fine sound but an almost mezzo ring to it. Her high notes also lack the security that Sierra brings to hers.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> If there were a contest between Willis-Sorensen and Nadine Sierra my vote would clearly go to Sierra who, to me, is a Violetta with astonishingly fine voice mechanisms and uses them well. Perhaps she uses her exquisitely rendered interpolations in "Ah forse lui" too broadly, but that is only a subjective opinion.
> The tone of her voice appeals to me much more than that of Willis-Sorensen who has a fine sound but an almost mezzo ring to it. Her high notes also lack the security that Sierra brings to hers.


Sierra's natural voice is probably more suited to Violetta than Willis-Sorensen who naturally has a darker instrument, but here Sierra is notcieably more constricted than her, the singing on a much smaller scale.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Op.123 said:


> Sierra's natural voice is probably more suited to Violetta than Willis-Sorensen who naturally has a darker instrument, but here Sierra is notcieably more constricted than her, the singing on a much smaller scale.


I always enjoy learning new things from knowledgeable posters. Could you please point out a section of Sierra's performance that sounded constricted? I missed it completely -- not having your expertise. Thanks a bunch.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I largely agree with @Op.123 and note the lack of a fully developed lower register.
> 
> Can anyone tell me why she is behaving like a demented drunk in the Vespri aria? Was that intentional?


It was a zombie production. Note a makeup of the chorus. She had the same in previous acts.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> It was a zombie production. Note a makeup of the chorus. She had the same in previous acts.


I see. I'm sure that's exactly what Verdi had in mind.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I always enjoy learning new things from knowledgeable posters. Could you please point out a section of Sierra's performance that sounded constricted? I missed it completely -- not having your expertise. Thanks a bunch.


It's more the voice in general rather than in certain passages. It's a little more noticeable higher in the register where the sound becomes thinner but the whole voice is effected, with an artificially darkened lower register, an inoffensive but weak and unprojected middle and a thin top which doesn't open out. I can think of worse voices but constriction is inherent in her technique. I note that your tone is a little defensive and while I don't agree with her technique, if you enjoy it you enjoy it, I was just commenting on the parts of her technique I find flawed. Being able to see past those faults is no bad thing since it's pretty common and things are unlikely to change.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Believe me, I sincerely apologize if my post sounded like I was being defensive. It's just that I am confused when you say the entire voice is constricted. I guess, not being an expert, I just missed it completely. 
Oh well, I will just continue to sit back and enjoy her gorgeous voice which sounds incredibly lush (IMO of course.)
Everyone I guess hears things differently.
Thanks for your response.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Believe me, I sincerely apologize if my post sounded like I was being defensive. It's just that I am confused when you say the entire voice is constricted. I guess, not being an expert, I just missed it completely.
> Oh well, I will just continue to sit back and enjoy her gorgeous voice which sounds incredibly lush (IMO of course.)
> Everyone I guess hears things differently.
> Thanks for your response.


That's okay, sorry if I misinterpreted. Have fun, you even get to see them live when you like modern singers!


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I see. I'm sure that's exactly what Verdi had in mind.


Of course. You haven't seen a ballet scene yet. 😁


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ColdGenius said:


> Of course. You haven't seen a ballet scene yet. 😁


That sounds threatening...


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

That weird production of _Les vepres _was the only time I heard Rachel Willis-Sorensen. Despite of zombies it mostly wasn't that horrible as recent Bayreuth Ring, which was discussed this summer, just pretty mediocre, until ballet began. The notorious _Four seasons _ballet was a thing which pushed zombies aside. Procida barked something and basses through dynamics were switched on, simultaneously with the orchestra. At least half the audience cried "boo", the dancers stoically did their job (I even felt sorry for them). To the moment I stopped to get surprised by modern productions, but can't say it didn't enrich my experience. 
That time I took tickets for the opera rather than names. I knew Petean, Schrott and Hymel (the former made a good impression, the second surprised by his rapturous gruppies in the audience, the latter disappointed). The soprano was a new name for me, I wasn't astonished, but liked her and remembered her name. She seemed to me more lyric than dramatic, too light for this ill-fated opera. (My other live experience with it, _I vespri _that time, was not very successful too. Guleghina kept a big voice with powerful lower register, but her high notes were loud but saw-like to the time, and coloratura has never been her advantage.)
When I saw her name (RWS) in a schedule as Mimi next season, I thought it would be more appropriate. From her videos above Violetta and Donna Anna were the best for me. 
P.S. She is almost praised by Op.123, one of the most strict listeners at the forum. She obviously deserves attention.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> That weird production of _Les vepres _was the only time I heard Rachel Willis-Sorensen. Despite of zombies it mostly wasn't that horrible as recent Bayreuth Ring, which was discussed this summer, just pretty mediocre, until ballet began. The notorious _Four seasons _ballet was a thing which pushed zombies aside. Procida barked something and basses through dynamics were switched on, simultaneously with the orchestra. At least half the audience cried "boo", the dancers stoically did their job (I even felt sorry for them). To the moment I stopped to get surprised by modern productions, but can't say it didn't enrich my experience.
> That time I took tickets for the opera rather than names. I knew Petean, Schrott and Hymel (the former made a good impression, the second surprised by his rapturous gruppies in the audience, the latter disappointed). The soprano was a new name for me, I wasn't astonished, but liked her and remembered her name. She seemed to me more lyric than dramatic, too light for this ill-fated opera. (My other live experience with it, _I vespri _that time, was not very successful too. Guleghina kept a big voice with powerful lower register, but her high notes were loud but saw-like to the time, and coloratura has never been her advantage.)
> When I saw her name (RWS) in a schedule as Mimi next season, I thought it would be more appropriate. From her videos above Violetta and Donna Anna were the best for me.
> P.S. She is almost praised by Op.123, one of the most strict listeners at the forum. She obviously deserves attention.


I think if she freed up her method of sound production a bit more to add some more ring and ease to the sound and worked on developing a chest register she could be a decent spinto but I agree, I'm not sure about a dramatic. As a side note, I listened first through my phone speakers and currently have my headphones on so listened again. My headphones are eq'd as flat as I can get them and it does tend to expose some faults more clearly and I noticed more constriction of the sound than I did before. That said my previous comments still stand, though there might need to be a little more opening of the voice than I first thought.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I see. I'm sure that's exactly what Verdi had in mind.


Yes, but he spelled it zambi.


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