Rachel Willis- Sørensen - Four Last Songs by Strauss (CD)

"The new album by the American soprano follows on from her debut "Rachel" with arias by Mozart, Verdi, Dvorák, Puccini and the Vilja song by Franz Lehár, which received unanimous international praise last year. Rachel Willis-Sørensen sings with her "shimmering, silvery, well-rounded soprano voice, whose slight vibrato enhances the emotions expressed," wrote the German Opernglas. Gramophone Magazine recommended the album as "a worthwhile and intelligent debut from a very good singer". The French classical magazine L'Opéra praised her as "an unusual talent who can keep up with the best examples of the past". Willis-Sørensen herself considers Strauss to be ideal for "a lyrical soprano voice that is perhaps a little heavier," as is the case with her, adding that "a large part of Strauss is also in a conversational tone, so my knowledge of the German language makes it particularly pleasant for me." Willis-Sørensen considers the "Four Last Songs" (written in 1948) to be "a parable for life" because "musically speaking, you expect a certain harmonic resolution, and then it goes in a different direction, and it becomes even more beautiful because it surprises you. Life is absolutely like that!" A striking contrast occurs in the Capriccio scene, which Willis-Sørensen describes as "whipped cream". "She is cheeky and has a lightness, a bit like a twinkle in her eye". Here the opera's graceful, ultra-feminine heroine, Countess Madeleine, is having a monologue. She is wrestling not only with how the new opera, written by her two admirers - a composer and a poet - should end, but also with which admirer she should choose. Rachel Willis-Sørensen is accompanied by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig - an ensemble that has a long tradition of great Strauss performances - under the direction of Andris Nelsons."