Reviews
As TOSCA
Highlight was North American soprano Kelly Cae Hogan as Floria Tosca who, with her beloved “Vissi d’arte” and other beautiful and difficult music, carried the evening. Act II is memorable, and Hogan handles a gamut of emotions. This is a role that few sopranos can do and she carried it off. It was, of course, Tosca’s opera, and Hogan handled it with confidence, aplomb and beautiful singing. Puerto Rico Daily Sun
As Senta in Der fliegende Holländer
Kelly Cae Hogan fascinates in the role of Senta; with unbelievable vocal power her clear soprano increasingly astounds with impeccable high notes through the end of the opera. Schweriner Volkszeitung
Outstanding in this production is actress Kelly Cae Hogan as Senta. She portrays a suffering and also triumphant Senta, with a large voice that demands attention, made all the more believable for being genuine. Lübecker Nachtrichten
American soprano Kelly Cae Hogan offers an outstanding musical portrayal of Senta through her well-crafted dramatic intensity, strong vocal nuances and stirring sensitivity. Ostsee Zeitung
With Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
SSO soars in emotional performance with soprano Kelly Cae Hogan: Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915”, sung with the most pure expression and lyricism, fits Hogan’s voice perfectly. The darker, lower-fundamental-based tone provided a perfect compliment to the rich and varied orchestration. Her upper register was never pinched – she sang through the line, and her diction was superb.
Hogan gave a controlled yet passionate performance of Wagner’s Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde), providing soaring articulation of the taut phrasing that is part of Wagner’s uncustomarily succinct setting… it was affecting and heartrending.. Syracuse Post Standard
As Norma
Kelly Cae Hogan masters the dreaded title part (of which Lilli Lehmann once said, “it is easier to sing all three Brünnhildes, one after the other, than to sing one Norma”) at an exceptionally high level. Her dramatic soprano is the center of the performance, a shining demonstration of technical spotlessness. Nordsee-Zeitung
Photo by Jörg Landsberg©
In Bremen a fresh voice of the after-Callas generation was discovered on the stage in Kelly Cae Hogan, who from the first, impressed with technical sovereignty that was admirable to the end. Relying on the cushion of a secure middle voice, neither the extreme coloratura passages nor the highest reaches gave her the smallest difficulty. In addition, her emotional expression had much to offer, she made the part deeply her own. She gives the role, not an exhibitionist drama as Callas did, but rather a more reserved interpretation that was hugely successful. Weser Kurier
The Bremen Theater has achieved in the casting of the title part a lucky catch: Kelly Cae Hogan who has already aroused enthusiasm as Salome, is a first-class Norma. She does justice to the part at every moment: drawing a portrait full of emotion, authority, lust for revenge, and surrender. Her voice is more plush and warm than those of her famous predecessors in the role. This makes her scruples in hesitating to kill the children even more plausible. But in her decision to exercise her revenge, she is quite a domineering priestess. Hogan’s soprano combines lyricism and steel-like penetrating power ideally (especially in the final scene). Nordwest-Zeitung
Photo by Jörg Landsberg©
As Turandot
From her first entrance as Turandot, at the very back of the spacious, multi-level stage, Kelly Cae Hogan impressed with a vocal power which did not decrease, even as she sang the subsequent riddle-scene lying flat on her belly. Still the American soprano unveiled more vocally radiant power through the conclusion of the riddles, where she overtrumped not only Calaf, but also the combined orchestras and massive chorus. The debut of Kelly Cae Hogan was vocally outstanding and also extremely convincing.
Kieler Nachrichten
As Gerhilde in Die Walküre
When Gerhilde started to sing, I turned to the friend next to me and said, “Who’s that?” She was the soprano Kelly Cae Hogan, making her Met debut. We must hear more of her. New York Sun Gerhilde excerpt
As Salome
Metropolitan Opera soprano Hogan delivered a fetching and frightening Salome… the fickle seductiveness, the rage at rejection, and the self-centered insanity of a young girl, with the potency and subtlety of a mature and experienced vocalist. The closing soliloquy with the head of Jokanaan was breathtaking. Classical Voice of North Carolina
Kelly Cae Hogan gives Salome much nuance, her delivery soft, demanding, cajoling or powerful in her attack, always mindful of the text, she maintains through the end the reserves and expansiveness to deliver the ecstasy of the final monologue with bravura. Weser Kurier
The new season at Bremer Theater could not have started better. Richard Strauss’ lascivious, biblically erotic opera Salome provided a true storm of enthusiasm… The shining star is the New Yorker Kelly Cae Hogan as the innocently charming and conniving Salome, who with her beautiful soprano voice stirs and thrills. BildPhoto by Jörg Landsberg©
Kelly Cae Hogan has the vocal capacity to express this tremendous music with almost unearthly beautiful sounds. With controlled ecstasy this outstanding Salome is able to master the precipices of her role and shapes Strauss-typical endless phrases. Kreiszeitung
In an outstanding portrayal, Kelly Cae Hogan sang Salome with the Isolde-voice demanded by Strauss, mastering the murderous requirements with a vocal thrust that never tires. Die Welt
Photo by Jörg Landsberg©
Kelly Cae Hogan had all the physical requirements and a voice strong enough for the many climactic moments. She was fully committed to the character, from the dance’s coy unveillings to the erotic kissing of Jokanaan’s frighteningly realistic bloody head. The News & Observer (Raleigh-Durham)
Salome was admirably sung by the lovely Kelly Cae Hogan whose powerful voice carried the drama. OPERA NOW
Commanding performance by Hogan in the title role (Salome). Hogan played the young girl almost as an ingenue, singing potently but without the withering, too-mature-for-her-age venom that many sopranos put into the role. Hogan combined passion, rage, rejection and incipient madness — and did it all with remarkable subtlety. The Kansas City Star
Physically and vocally, Hogan’s Salome was a woman whose all-eclipsing embrace of beauty left her unmoored from ethics, from sanity, on a voyage beyond all notions of good, evil, right or wrong. Independent Weekly (Raleigh-Durham)
Hogan’s voice (as Salome) was agile and powerful enough to easily surmount the enlarged Strauss orchestra. Her considerable gift for characterization was satisfying as well. Post-Standard (Syracuse)
As Abigaille in Nabucco
Impressive how Kelly Hogan assayed the dizzying heights and treacherous depths of the murderous role of Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco with radiant bravura and vocal precision, employing her dramatic soprano with great ease. Weser Kurier (Bremen, Germany)
As Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly
Hogan’s large voice, focused and silvery, encompassed both thrilling high notes and quiet touches of vulnerability. Register Guard (Eugene, Oregon)Un bel di
As Tosca
There was no power shortage for Kelly Cae Hogan (Tosca). Vocally Hogan and Lambrinos (Scarpia) ignited sparks with their sparring. Hogan also dug significantly into her soul in ‘Vissi d’arte.’ Newark Star Ledger
Soprano Kelly Cae Hogan enthralling as Tosca. She has a beautiful voice: big, richly resonant, with great range and elegant tone quality. And she knows how to modulate it to reflect the meaning of the music she is singing…’Vissi d’arte’ was powerful, beautiful, and heart-rending. Her stage persona is magnetic. From her first entrance she was Floria Tosca Asbury Park Press
Kelly Cae Hogan exhibited a clear, dark timbre in the middle and lower registers that rose with focused intensity to a rich, full high C. Hogan is a deeply resourceful artist who used her dramatic vocal gifts wisely, allowing the phrases to rise and fall in beautiful, expressive arches. The News, Port St. Lucie, Florida
As Leonora in Il Trovatore
Blessed with a large, warm soprano, Kelly Cae Hogan encompassed the varied moods of Leonora with finely tuned emotional shadings and pianissimos. The highlight of the evening was Leonora’s grand scena, “D’amor sull’ali rosee,” a lengthy scene which demands lyrical singing and vocal agility, both of which Hogan accomplished beautifully. Register Guard (Eugene, Oregon)
The opera world is hereby put on notice that a new Leonora has definitively arrived in the person of Kelly Cae Hogan: WOW! Classical New Jersey
Soprano Kelly Cae Hogan brought a beautiful, polished vocal to her role as Leonora, as well as a sympathetic stage presence and touching musical insights. The Tampa Tribune
In the Act I aria, Tacea la notte placida, the coloratura flourishes were elegant. In the tender act IV, D’amor sull’all rosee, she evoked the sorrow of her situation and sang with the most elegant pianissimo high notes. St. Petersburg Times
As Norma
Hogan possesses all the beauty and fire that make a great Norma, and from first to last she commanded the stage in what will be remembered as one of the year’s finest performances. Newark Star Ledger
Kelly Cae Hogan’s Norma was impressive from the moment she set foot on stage. She understood the character and clearly had the voice to portray the conflicted woman. She displayed all the agility and power one could want from the character. The high coloratura acrobatics were in place, as were the lower register passionate lines. Classical New Jersey