TATYANA - THE ATLANTA OPERA
“…Sympathy is reserved for the other characters carelessly trampled in Onegin’s listless path, in particular Tatyana, splendidly portrayed by soprano Raquel González.” Earrelevant.net
MICAELA - NORTH CAROLINA OPERA
“Micaëla has just two main scenes, the aforementioned duet and her Act III aria, "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante," but the right performer can practically steal the show with them. Raquel González is one of those singers, her soaring soprano and good-natured characterization making her an audience favorite.” cvnc.org
ANNA SØRENSEN - WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA
“[Sprink’s] lovely counterpart, Raquel González, brought utter passion and joy to the role Anna Sørensen, imploring Nikolaus not to leave and insisting on joining him at the battlefront. Her unaccompanied Latin hymn at the Christmas Eve service drew the audience in and wrapped us in her shimmering tones.” Maryland Theatre Guide
“Soprano Raquel González, a distinguished alumna of the program, showed ample range and poise as the opera singer Anna Sørensen, first seen in a faux-Mozart opera on the Berlin stage. Later her voice, shimmering and soaring up into the stratosphere, provided the musical climax of Act I in the unaccompanied “Dona nobis pacem” she sings at the conclusion of the soldiers’ Mass.” Washington Classical Review
“The entire ensemble is impressive for this production-especially considering most are still early in their operatic careers. Almost every performer in Silent Night is either a current or recent member of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. While this show is clearly built around the entire ensemble, Mr. McKissick and Ms. González run away with the production almost immediately. As the passionate German opera singers, the couple elicits the most amount of sympathy from their stories and lengthy stretches without either of these performers often go on for just a tad too long.” BroadwayWorld.com
LIU - NEW ORLEANS OPERA
“The four leads (all of whom were making debuts with the company) brought strong voices and dramatic presence to their work…Soprano Raquel Gonzalez, as Liú, had a lovely shimmering quality as the long-suffering heroine. Both her arias were beautifully phrased with a fervent “Tu che di gel sei cinta” that ended with a startlingly depicted suicide.” Opera News
“And, as often happens, a strong supporting character rose above the pack with both singing and acting abilities that elicited the audience’s sympathies. In this instance, it was soprano Raquel Gonzalez as the loyal slave girl Liu, who loves Calaf in vain and gives up her life for his. Like Micaela in “Carmen,” she knows the dangerous path her loved one is treading in pursuit of a seductive rival and unsuccessfully tries to steer him away from her. Gonzalez gave a tearfully stellar performance.” The Advocate
VIOLETTA - SYRACUSE OPERA
"Raquel Gonzalez is flawless as Violetta [Valery], authentically portraying the well-kept woman's shifting emotions and failing health. When the young soprano sings Violetta's Act I aria, "Sempre Libera," her voice glides through the challenging arpeggios, and her high notes rise so effortlessly that she creates the impression she could simply continue on indefinitely up the scale. Despite its being Gonzalez's first time in the role, one of standard opera's most difficult, she shows no hesitancy or uncertainty but, instead, conveys the confidence that comes from abundant talent and deep character study.
This is the third of Verdi's "popular trilogy," and it clearly elevates Violetta to star status, making the courtesan the center of every scene and situation, from the opening party in her lavish apartment to her tragic end. Gonzalez, who enchanted Syracuse audiences last year as Tatyana in "Eugene Onegin," wins their hearts again as Violetta." Syracuse.com
TATYANA - LYRIC OPERA OF KANSAS CITY
“Soprano Raquel González excelled as Tatyana, transformed from dreamy girl (still tucked in by her nanny) to passion-enflamed women [sic] to reserved and respected lady.” The Kansas City Star
“Raquel González, soprano, is a marvel of voice and stage. As a landowner’s daughter, Tatyana, González—a native of Lawrence, Kansas—rides the emotional rollercoaster her unsuspecting character experiences with refined poise, making her climactic moments all the more enchanting. In the Letter Scene, González is nuanced in her gestures, both physical and musical. Her blossoming realization of being in love is well paced, granting the audience a chance to slowly feel the desires with her, and her facial expressions as she struggles with writer’s block are all too familiar. She sings with a full, round sound, but a certain pointed quality at times yields to the innocence of a young Tatyana—a quality that disappears in the third act, only briefly returning as she expresses a renewed love for Onegin with great trepidation. “ kcmetropolis.org
"Kansan soprano Raquel González, who made her Lyric Opera debut as Tatiana, has a full, lustrous voice with a nicely flowing line." Opera News
“The stellar performance of the Kansas City Symphony under the direction Ari Pelto kept me riveted…it didn’t hurt that I was smitten by Raquel González. She was radiant in the role of Tatyana.” therestandstheglass.blogspot.com
“Ms. Gonzalez brings real depth to the character of Tatyana, bringing her ably from girl to woman.” medium.com
MIMI - THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
"The performance boasted a remarkable Mimì in Raquel González. Her complexly shaded lirico-spinto soprano proved an instrument of ideal weight for the role, and she used it to create a portrayal of extraordinary delicacy. Her seamstress never begged for our sympathies, but instead elicited them through her simple, direct manner. She treated "Donde lieta uscì" not as an occasion for grandstanding but as a plain racconto, listing the items she needed to retrieve from Rodolfo's apartment and only letting her passion come through as she sang of the "cuffietta rosa" underneath his pillow. "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" was so unaffected, so thoroughly in the moment, that its ending elicited from the audience empathetic silence rather than applause, as if nobody wanted to break its spell. This was the work of a true artist." Opera News
"I remember seeing Raquel González sing the role of Mimi in Washington National Opera’s production a few years ago. Then she was to me “a little Puerto Rican singer from Lawrence, Kansas” with “milky translucent skin and a voice like the famed singer Mirella Freni.” Her voice, like her performance in the role, has grown even richer and more poignantly beautiful. I believe that González is the simple, working girl, awakened to love by the romantic artistic life Rodolfo and his pals represent. She gets swept up in their carefree lives as they thumb their noses at conventions and the reality of their poverty. To her detriment, for she hasn’t their constitution, she denies the severity of her condition and thinks she will be freed of her tubercular cough by love." DC Theater Scene
"As the tragic heroine Mimi, soprano Raquel González was ideally suited to the role. She had a shimmering, youthful voice that never lost its sweet tone, even while filling the hall during her first aria “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì” when she introduces herself to Rodolfo in his grimy flat. It is important that the audience believe in Mimi as a modest young seamstress with inherent goodness or the role can come off cloying and insincere. She was such a believable Mimi, one sensed the despair Rodolfo must feel having lost her twice....González’s appearance affected a perfect Mimi." Operatoonity.com
"As Mimi, soprano Raquel González was alluring from the start and her voice only becomes more appealing and nuanced as her character’s life force diminishes." Albany Times Union
"Gonzalez's lush soprano, rich and colorful on Puccini's lyrical melodies, gives credence to Mimi's determination to prosper despite illness...Singing Mimi's farewell aria, Gonzalez generates pure emotion, which falls like a veil of sorrow upon the audience." New York Upstate
DESDEMONA - BOSTON YOUTH SYMPHONY
"Soprano Raquel González and O’Neill sang with exceptional intimacy...González and the orchestra achieved a particularly beautiful and moving moment when Desdemona bares her heart and soul to her husband...With a premonition of death, Desdemona sings the famous “Willow Song”, a lament for love gone wrong. González was affecting here, subtly drawing back her tone for each repetition of “salce” (willow)...Desdemona then kneels and prays, beginning and finishing with the “Ave Maria”. The conclusion...is one of Verdi’s finest inspirations, and this rendering could hardly have failed to moisten eyes, with González’s final floated pianissimo high A and string-playing of seraphic purity in the coda...O’Neill, González, and the orchestra made a spine-tingling dramatic and musical crescendo to the horrific killing." The Boston Music Intelligencer
FIRST LADY - THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
"The slapstick trio of the queen's ladies-in-waiting, Raquel Gonzalez, Aleksandra Romano and Claudia Chapa, illuminate the stage with their sensual antics and dazzle with their singing." Syracuse.com
"The Three Ladies of Raquel Gonzalez, Aleksandra Romano, and Claudia Chapa were charming and lusty." Taminophile
"Raquel González, Aleksandra Romano, and Claudia Chapa were beautifully matched as the First, Second and Third Ladies, respectively. Their warm, appealing voices and excellent diction blended well yet each displayed an individual vocal and dramatic personality." Opera Today
MIMI - WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA
"Raquel González, a Puerto Rican singer from Lawrence, Kansas, with her milky translucent skin and a voice like the famed singer Mirella Freni...blew us away with [an] incredible combination of physical and vocal radiance."DC Theater Scene
FIRST LADY - OPERA THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS
"...the Three Ladies in “The Magic Flute,” Raquel González, Summer Hassan, and Corrie Stallings, were so outstanding that for the first time ever, I wished their parts were longer." Washington Post
"The Three Ladies — Raquel González, Summer Hassan and Corrie Stallings — were an unmitigated delight, a zaftig trio with rich voices that blended beautifully, along with attitude to spare." St. Louis Today
TATYANA - THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL
"Raquel González's big, fresh lyrico-spinto soprano was exactly right for Tatiana; its tight vibrato was like youthful yearning itself, made into sound. She was ardent and impetuous in the Letter Scene; touching and noble as the mature heroine...she carried our sympathies from first to last." Opera News
"Raquel González sang Tatyana with a glowing soprano and brought an emotional charge to the Letter Scene and the final encounter with Onegin." Opera Magazine