Kelly Cae Hogan

As Brünnhilde in Die Walküre

Better still, as Brünnhilde, soprano Kelly Cae Hogan was a revelation, handling her magnificent, quintessentially Wagnerian part with great power and assurance in a performance that at times was viscerally exciting. Her tragic interplay with Wotan in the opera’s concluding moments was as emotionally moving as any performance of this opera we’ve seen, and not a few hankies were produced—a real rarity in Wagner, at least in this country. The Washington Times

Kelly Cae Hogan’s Brünnhilde thrills with pure, pinging high notes. The Washington Post

Kelly Cae Hogan (as Brünnhilde) can belt it out with the best of them. The Virginian-Pilot

Kelly Cae Hogan, a Gerhilde at the Met, took on the challenges of Brünnhilde bravely and vibrantly. The soprano’s somewhat light tone had an exceptionally warm quality that held firm throughout the registers, regardless of volume. There was no forcing, no evident laboring. The music poured out beautifully and meaningfully in the 2,000-seat hall. Opera News

…the axis of the opera was definitely tilted in favor of Wotan’s complex relationship with Brünnhilde. Here, Kelly Cae Hogan showed remarkable dramatic ability, not to mention considerable vocal gifts. Her voice is powerful and attractive, and her acting ability was also considerable, conveying a feminine sensibility under her breastplate. The Berkshire Review

Brünnhilde, played by Kelly Cae Hogan steals the show. With a voice that raises the hairs on your neck, Hogan executes an amazing performance. Insider’s Passport

As Die Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier

Kelly Cae Hogan brilliant in new Rosenkavalier. (Her Marschallin) is entirely the elegant, demi-monde Grande Dame, who presents vocally both brilliant clarity and the height of blossoming earthy-colored accents to the chatty libretto. Weser Kurier

Together the trio of Nadja Stefanoff (Octavian), Kelly Cae Hogan (Feldmarschallin) and Sara Hershkowitz (Sophie), in moving vocal beauty and structural clarity, blended the complex interweaving of sound with the varied plot developments. Kreiszeitung
Audio excerpt
Trio – Rosenkavalier debut

A pair with important, beautifully produced singing voices and believable stage presence, this playful and tightly-woven team (Hogan and Stefanoff) has real star quality. Die Welt

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

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 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

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©

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

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 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

Photo by Jörg Landsberg©

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. Bild

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 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
Audio excerpt
Gerhilde excerpt

To their credit, the other Valkyries, starting with Kelly Cae Hogan’s Gerhilde, were very well sung. The Washington Post
Her sister Valkyries sounded fresh and robust and along with Kaufmann and Blythe, they were the vocal highlights of the production. The Star Ledger

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)