REVIEWS
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"The most artistically satisfying singing of the evening was done by Maria Luigia Borsi (...). Her beautifully pure soprano tones throbbed with emotion in her two arias, and she brought out the devotion and timidity of the character in a manner that was heart-rending. Her most delicate singing carried through the expanses of the Benedum most exquisitely.”
(Turandot: Pittsburgh Opera, 2017)
Pittsburgh in the Round
"The rest of the ensemble also showed their delight in singing Mozart. As Count and Countess Almaviva, Daniel Hällström and Maria Luigia Borsi struck the right tone, as much in their solos as in the many ensembles… the Countess found a way out of her self-pity to set her husband up for a fall. In this Aria, Borsi seemed to find her inner balance, just as her character does, and from then to the end, she never lost an enveloping warmth of her voice."
(Le nozze di Figaro: Gothenburg Opera, 2016)
Bachtrack
"But it was definitely Tosca’s show – Borsi sang and acted the tragic denouement with the commitment of a full staging, overcoming the disconnected presentation to make one almost feel that one had experienced the whole opera by the crash of its closing bars."
(Tosca: concert performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, 2015)
Bachtrack
"Maria Luigia Borsi’s performance was most eloquent from start to finish."
(La Boheme: Atlanta Opera, 2015)
Opera News
"From her entrance (complete with an ecstatic high D-flat), Maria Luigia Borsi commanded the stage."
(Madama Butterfly: Cincinnati Opera, 2014)
Opera News
“Italian soprano, Maria Luigia Borsi rose to the occasion admirably with lush bel canto singing that is rare to hear in Berlin. ‘Senza Mamma’ was quietly devastating...”
(Suor Angelica, Berlin, cond. Hans Graf)
Musical America
"Maria Luigia Borsi's 'Willow Song' was one of those moments that is remembered forever - one in which time is suspended. She sings remarkably...her tone is one of mysterious beauty."
(Otello: Salzburg Festival)
Le Monde
“Vocally, the evening belonged to Maria Luigia Borsi, making her U.S. debut as Desdemona. Borsi has a substantial lyric-soprano voice, commanding sufficient weight and richness for big ensembles such as the concertato near the end of Act III. Particularly important for this role, however, is her ability to scale down her voice to an exquisite thread of sound. Her willow song and Ave Maria in the final act were gorgeously sung and movingly acted.”
(Otello, Cincinnati, cond. Robert Spano)
Opera News
“Maria Luigia Borsi, previously unknown to me, was Desdemona in her only scheduled performance. She was simply superb, with excellent floating high notes and pianissimi as well as engaged acting and deservedly received the biggest ovation from the audience.”
(Otello, Salzburg Festival, cond. Riccardo Muti)
Mostly Opera
“In complete contrast, but no less powerful in it's emotional content, Respighi's 'Il tramonto’ (The Sunset), featured the SCO strings and the remarkable voice of soprano Maria Luigia Borsi. Set to a poem by Percy Shelley, this story of a woman who wakes to find her lover dead could have been written for Borsi. Her sultry voice, beautifully controlled, was a perfect match for the broody viola and cello lines which provide the bedrock for this touching tale of love and loss.”
('Il tramonto’: Scottish Chamber Orchestra, cond. Maurizio Benini)
The Scotsman
“A shining Maria Luigia Borsi, elegant, solid and precise, immune of portamenti that the large orchestration might (wrongly) suggest to most sopranos accustomed to the melodramma verista; Ms. Borsi has visited the repertoire of Mozart and others of belcanto and one hears it as she uses her technique to properly serve the music with taste and competence.”
(Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Santa Cecilia Rome, cond. Lorin Maazel)
Oltrecultura