'The production features an effective cast led by soprano Maria Luigia Borsi, who gave a stunningly dramatic and well sung performance of the title role, Cio-Cio San...

...Borsi's development of her character across the span of the opera was thoroughly convincing. The portrayal moved from girlish to womanly, starting with naivete but also strong will. Borsi was wonderful in Act III showing Cio-Cio San coming to understand how cruel her fate is, superb in her farewell to her son, and devastating in her death scene. Her nuances of inflection and vocal color were as full of personality as her acting. When given the chance after intermission she showed she could ride orchestral climaxes magnificently.'

Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 17 March 2013

"The beautiful voice of Maria Luigia Borsi, embodying Liù made ​​us tremble with pleasure." Michel Egea, La Provence, 01 August 2012

Maria Luigia Borsi en Liù est parfaite du début à la fin.

Louis Le Classique

'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, with the orchestra already providing glimpses into the white light of heaven.' Rebecca Schmid, Musical America

"...Italian soprano Maria Luigia Borsi gave a strong and well-sung performance, with nice touches such as Un bel di that began almost as though she were another instrument of the orchestra, and built from there. She acted well amid the confines of Ron Daniels' stage version, which had the cast operating in a tightly controlled environment that was distinctly redolent of traditional Japanese tropes of body movement and stylized gesture..." Palm Beach Pulse Greg Stepanich

"In the title role, soprano Maria Luigia Borsi handled her part with technical ease and utmost musicality, making for a compellingly delicate Cio-Cio-San..." Palm Beach Daily News

 "...the Italian soprano Maria Luigia Borsi showed why she's been acclaimed for her work as Cio-Cio-San in other opera houses. She has a powerful, if not huge, voice, with an admirable technique that allowed her to have plenty of firepower when it came to the final pages. She sang well throughout this hugely demanding part...her work was accurate, smooth and compelling. Her Un bel di in Act II was lovely, with a careful, focused performance of the first bars that matched the orchestra almost as though she were in the pit with the musicians, and she unfolded her character's dream-world conviction slowly, precisely and inexorably, ending with a firm grasp of the two final high B-flats. In the Act I love duet, she sang with warmth and tenderness, and when at time she sang about her happiness, she gave the world felice an endearing sweetness. She proved to be a fine actress as well, working within the confines of director Ron Daniels' very clear idea of what kind of story this is. Borsi is distinctly not a modern Butterfly who boldly makes her own choices, and her actions were circumscribed by the tradition out of which a young girl in a rigid imperial society would act. By that I mean that her movements were boxed-in, but deliberately so, and her reading of the character had a sense of inevitible doom about it that added to its exoticism and made the East-West contrast, and the subsequent misunderstanding, more palpable..." Palm Beach Arts Paper

"...Vocally, the evening belonged to Maria Luigia Borsi, making her US 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. It will be good to hear more from her..."

Joe Law, Opera News, July 7th 2010

The opera's other standout was Italian soprano Maria Luigia Borsi as the tragic heroine Desdemona, in her United States debut. It was clear from her affecting performance and breathtaking vocal prowess that the opera world has a new star. After her "Willow Song and "Ave Maria", I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the house [...] She was able to soar into the stratosphere effortlessly and with alluring vocal colour, yet she also had the heft to cry out against her accuser. Her "Willow Song" was mournful and transfixing, and she delivered her lines with purity of tone and touching beauty... Janelle Gelfrand, Cincinnati Enquirer, 8 July 2010

This was a very special occasion indeed...Two moments really stood out as true highlights : Catalani’s Chanson groënlandaise – a setting in Italian of words by Jules Verne – is a big operatic aria of a song (Catalani used it later in his opera La Wally) ending with a jubilant top B, and Puccini’s Sogno d'Or, a lullaby of exquisite tenderness in which Maria Luigia displayed the most perfect pianissimo...This is an evening which will live long in the memories of those of us lucky enough to have been at the Wigmore Hall on Sunday. Seen and Heard International, January 2010

...Borsi [...] brought welcome subtlety of phrasing and admirable dynamic variety to each song.. Opera Now, March/April 2010