'Made for this': Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen takes on complex role in 'Der Rosenkavalier'

Former Santa Fe Opera apprentice Rachel Willis-Sørensen knew opera was her calling when she sang the role of “La bohème’s” Musetta in front of 2,000 people at the age of 19.

On Saturday, July 20, the soprano will sing the part of the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier.” Performances will continue through Aug. 15.

'Made for this': Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen takes on complex role in 'Der Rosenkavalier'

The Marschallin is an empress, an aristocratic woman whose husband is terminally absent.

“She’s gone fresh out of the cloister,” Willis-Sørensen said. “She was forced to marry (her husband) and given a lot of power.”

Although the Marschallin likes her power, she is lonely.

“He’s always hunting in Croatia,” Willis-Sørensen said. “They have no relationship. She’s so alone; she’s so isolated.”

Soon she begins to take and discard lovers like a predator. Then she meets 17-year-old Octavian.

“She falls in real love,” Willis-Sørensen said. “He’s not jaded. He loves her completely. She knows there’s no future here; she’s just having fun.

“She’s deeply religious and she feels guilty.”

Willis-Sørensen grew up in the Tri-Cities area of Washington, the child of an artistic family. She sang in church and in school choruses. A teacher told her mother she needed lessons or her voice would start to “wobble.”

“I was always disproportionately loud,” she said. “Ultimately, this is how I found my destiny.”

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in music degrees at Brigham Young University. In 2021, she signed a multi-record deal with Sony Classical.

Since then, she has performed at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, the LA Opera, the San Francisco Opera and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Her repertoire ranges from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Richard Wagner.

As for “Der Rosenkavalier,” it helped that Willis-Sørensen speaks fluent German after working in the theater at Dresden, Germany.

“The music is unexpected,” she said. “It’s luscious, it’s quirky. The melodies resolve in unexpected ways. It was difficult to learn. It’s not straightforward tonally; it’s very complex. It has so much visceral charm in it; it’s not overwrought.”

“I knew I was made for this,” Willis-Sørensen said. “I thought, ‘I don’t care what happens, but I’m going to pursue this.’ ”