Press | Reviews
“After the first of two intermissions, Alexandra Hotz captivated hearts with romantic flair in songs by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, singing with impeccable pronunciation, radiance and range, while [Tatjana] Masurenko and pianist Samuel Glicklich added color with commentary and sighs.”
— Laurence Vittes / Seen and Heard International
“The program concluded with soprano Alexandra Rose Hotz’s soul-stirring rendition of Ariel: Five Poems of Sylvia Plath. Hotz prefaced the work by encouraging audience members struggling with mental health to seek professional help, as well as giving context on Plath’s poetry, much of which addresses Plath’s struggles with mental health and foreshadows her suicide at the age of 30.
Hotz’s performance was, in a word, profound.
Embodying the tremendous range of emotions inherent to Plath’s poetry, Hotz’s voice seamlessly alternated from desperate and interrogative, to defiant and challenging, even sprinkling in the wry dark humor Plath embedded in some of her most somber works. Phoebe Kuan on clarinet and Tony Stauffer on piano accompanied Hotz, providing instrumental couplets and eccentric harmony that underlined Plath’s unnerving yet beautiful mastery of words.
Hotz artfully extended her final line out to an ethereal note and then cut off with a choked gasp. After a stunned silence, listeners responded with resounding applause.”
— Daisy Scott / Voice Magazine Santa Barbara
Robert F. Adams / Voice Magazine Santa Barbara
