Rachel Willis-Sørensen to Make Met Debut, Replacing Amanda Majeski in Mozart's LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

American soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen, who last week won First Prize at the prestigious Operalia competition, will make her Met debut as Countess Almaviva in this December's performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Willis-Sørensen will sing the role on December 4, 8, 12, 15, and 20 matinee, replacing the originally announced Amanda Majeski, who now sings the September and October performances of the opera.

Willis-Sørensen, a winner of the 2010 Met National Council Auditions, won the First Prize for Opera, First Prize for Zarzuela, and Birgit Nilsson Prize at this year's Operalia competition. She has sung the Countess with Detroit Opera and will sing the role later this season at Dresden State Opera, where she has performed extensively. In recent seasons, her roles with that company have included numerous Mozart heroines, such as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Elettra in Idomeneo. She has also sung Licenza in Mozart's Il Sogno di Scipione at Gotham Chamber Opera, Donna Anna at Houston Grand Opera, Fiordiligi at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Gutrune in Wagner's Götterdämmerung at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and will sing Fiordiligi at Houston Grand Opera this fall.

The December performances of Le Nozze di Figaro, conducted by Edo de Waart, also star Danielle de Niese as Susanna, Serena Malfi in her Met debut as Cherubino, Mariusz Kwiecien as Count Almaviva, and Erwin Schrott as Figaro. James Levine conducts the first 10 performances of Richard Eyre's new production, with Amanda Majeski in her Met debut as Countess Almaviva, Marlis Petersen as Susanna, Isabel Leonard as Cherubino, Peter Mattei as Count Almaviva, and Ildar Abdrazakov as Figaro, on September 22, 25, 27, October 2, 7, 10, 14, 18 matinee, 22, and 25.

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