Rachel Willis-Sorensen (photo by Olivia Kahler)
“Strauss is like a secret,” says Willis-Sørensen, a tall, blonde, glamourous yet down-to-earth superstar who speaks with refreshing candor about her voice and the beauty and poignancy that lies within Four Last Songs. (She recorded the songs for her 2023 album for Sony Classical.) “You have to get to know the piece well enough that you think you understand what it’s doing, and it will still surprise you.”
Born in Provo, Utah, Willis-Sørensen grew up in Richland, Wash. Thinking back to her childhood, she recalls family sing-a-longs accompanying herself on ukuleles built by her father and hopping off of the living room couch to sing and dance to TV commercials. “As the first person in my family with an interest in classical music, I was an anomaly,” says Willis-Sørensen. After a short-lived dream to play violin with an orchestra, her operatic voice emerged, and in 2008, Willis-Sørensen made her professional debut in Aida as the High Priestess at the Utah Opera Festival. She joined the HGO Studio the following season.
In interviews, Willis-Sørensen will dutifully, if reluctantly, describe herself as “an opulent lyric soprano,” but finds the labels directors and critics use to describe various voice types a bit wanting. “I just try to sing really beautifully. That’s my jam!” says Willis-Sørensen. “I have a big enough voice to be heard over the orchestra, but I also like to sing with as much finesse as I’m allowed.”
The order of Four Last Songs fell into place after Strauss had first composed “Frühling (“Spring”), “September,” and “Beim Schlafengehen” (“Going to Sleep”) to poetry by Hermann Hesse. “Im Abendrot” (“In the Glow of Evening” or “At Sunset”), with words by Joseph von Eichendorff, came later. Strauss’s publisher at Boosey & Hawkes determined the now-familiar ordering, and published the songs posthumously in one continuous score in 1950. Despite the recurring themes of time passing and mortality, Willis-Sørensen finds Four Last Songs very life-affirming, albeit in ways the listener might not expect. “The more I sing them, the more I find in them that’s worthwhile,” she says.
When not on tour or in the recording studio, Willis-Sørensen’s home base is Denmark, in a countryside town just outside of Copenhagen, where she lives with her daughter, 10, and twin sons, 8. (Willis-Sørensen’s ex-husband is Danish.) “They come to me whenever they have school vacations, and I come to them whenever I am between contracts, which unfortunately, is not as often as I’d like,” says Willis-Sørensen. Having recently turned 40, Willis-Sørensen is happy to share her wealth of experience with emerging classical singers, often in the form of short, humorous videos on Instagram. If there is one overriding message she has to share it’s that technique should never overshadow the singer’s real job, which is to emote.
“If people notice the singing too much, then I haven’t done my job,” says Willis-Sørensen. “The thing I’m trying to do is make people feel . . . and that comes more from my expression of the soul that is inside me, rather than the sound color of my voice.”
(photo by Lukas Beck)
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Októ will have a lively bar like the one at Doris Metropolitan, pictured here. (photo by Kirsten Gilliam)
Októ will take over the former restaurant space, The Chelsea, and the new concept will feature elevated, Greek-inspired cuisine with a lively bar ambiance; the latter is something unique to all Sof Hospitality’s concepts.
“This is something, of course, we are really excited about,” said co-owner Itai Ben Eli. “As a restaurant group, we have extensive experience traveling around the world. Right now, we’re working on conceptualizing the menu and narrowing it down to our must-haves based on the rich, Mediterranean culture.”
Guests can expect the menu to reflect influences from across the Mediterranean and the Levant. The bar program will be equally as important featuring eclectic spirits that can only be found at Októ.
Itai Ben Eli and Itamar Levy were nominated as “outstanding restaurateurs” by the James Beard Foundation earlier this year. They are proud to call Houston home, and attribute much of their success to their loyal clientele and their hard-working staff. With great success in their fine-dining concept, Doris Metropolitan, and Hamsa, they will certainly be bringing their dynamic energy to Októ.
Yotam Dolev (photo by Kirsten Gilliam)
Hai Avnaim (photo by Shane Dante)
“There's a growing demand for more personal, intimate and exceptionally executed dining experiences,” Ben Eli notes. “Októ is more than a restaurant; it's a culinary destination where quality meets intimacy, and every detail is carefully considered to provide a memorable dining experience in the heart of Houston.”
Collaborating on the menu are Sof chefs Yotam Dolev and Hai Avnaim — both highly skilled and global travelers who view Októ as a creative outlet for the culinary craft. The menu will be innovative and nutritious, featuring approximately a dozen dishes. Offerings will change seasonally and draw inspiration from the culinary traditions of Greece, Italy and Spain. Like other Sof Hospitality concepts, the menu is designed for sharing, fostering a communal dining experience. The bar menu includes both classic and new craft cocktails and a producer-driven, curated wine list.
Lindsay Madrigal of LM Designs designed the 4,200-square-foot space. With a scenic bar, a stunning setting, and a lively atmosphere, the vision is the kind of restaurant you might stumble upon in Mykonos or Barcelona.
A pivotal aspect of the aesthetic composition lies in the incorporation of an expansive kitchen with large windows all seamlessly integrated with a sizable bar. Anticipate dim lighting with moody colorways throughout the space and sliding glass doors that open to an expansive patio.
Operating exclusively for dinner, Októ is designed to be approachable and open later than the typical hours in the area. The group aims to attract not just dinner guests, but also after dinner night owls like industry workers.
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