“Laura Hynes took off in flight for the high notes, with an almost disconcerting ease, then brought us back down to earth with her by a descent of flawless purity.”
-Cyril Brun, Resmusica.com
“She cornered the market on fireworks and high notes.”
-The New York Times
“She is exuberant, full of personality, completely engaged and richly expressive.”
-Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer
“Corigliano’s reimagining has been beautifully realized here by soprano Laura Hynes and Calgary’s Land’s End Ensemble under Karl Hirzer. …This 2024 Naxos release is highly enjoyable and immensely satisfying.”
-Andrew Scott, The WholeNote
“Each of the seven Dylan songs has a different relationship to the text, depending on the nature of the Dylan lyrics. Soprano Laura Hynes strikes just the right tone here; she doesn’t affect rock or folk flavors, but she also has an attractive directness.”
-James Manheim, AllMusic
“Corigliano’s song-cycle begins with a mysterious, atmospheric opening prelude that bursts into an animated, dancelike middle section to the words from ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. ‘Clothes line’ recalls Samuel Barber in its wistful lyricism, with soprano Laura Hynes’s understated declamatory style working well. Hynes adopts a greater dynamic range and more dramatic expression during the middle portion of the song-cycle, especially in ‘Blowin’ in the wind’ and ‘Masters of war’. Full of yet-to-be-realised promise and potential, ‘Chimes of freedom’ sees Corigliano drawing in much the same way as American singer-songwriters have done from natural speech rhythms, inflections and patterns. These connections form even closer alliances in the postlude, ‘Forever young’, where Hynes’s largely unaccompanied vocal line looks to the folk like simplicity of Dylan’s own songwriting style. The pared-down version on this recording for voice and sextet serves to focus the listener’s attention on Corigliano’s subtle use of wordplay associations and word-painting…”
-Pwyll ap Siôn, Gramophone
“This is the first recording of the chamber music version in very sonorous and intensely expressive interpretations.”
-Remy Franck, Pizzicato
“Laura Hynes offers a heartbreaking interpretation of Pamina, between despair and elation”
-Jean-Christophe Care, Montpellier press
“..we find all the graces of the world in Laura Hynes’ delicate Pamina”
-J. V., Midi Libre
“Laura Hynes’ lovely, clear soprano has personality.”
-Barbara Zuck, Columbus Dispatch
“Her delicious Sister Constance was proof of an astounding mastery.”
-Richard Martet, Opéra Magazine
“The American Laura Hynes was a Constance approached from the interior (without the superficial mannerisms we often run into), whose charming lyricism was complimented by flawless diction. ”
– Betrand Bolognesi
“Constance was Laura Hynes, a merry little finch with a smiling voice full of joy.”
-Benito Pelegrin
“The role of Constance fell to a young American, Laura Hynes, whose quality of French diction could be desired of many of our French compatriots. She lent a mixture of ingenuity and the required gravity to the character as well as a full voice whose timbre is of an exquisite naturalness. Someone to follow!”
-Maurice Salles, Forum Opera
“The work includes four soloists, all of whom had voices remarkably apt for this kind of music. These included soprano Laura Hynes, whose clarity of tone and sense of character set the bar very high.”
-Kenneth DeLong, Calgary Herald (Händel’s Alexander’s Feast)
“The young soloists – also blending well in ensemble singing – were captivating in the various solo parts with an amazing richness of expressivity, depth of feeling and flexibility, as well as a striking technical security – like the soprano Laura Hynes with her astonishing high notes.”
-Frankfurter Neue Presse
“Hynes’ flexible voice was heard to fine effect here, and her singing was technically assured and expressive throughout.”
-Kenneth DeLong, Calgary Herald (Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle)
“I congratulate you again on an exquisite program, brilliantly and most impressively done. The highest compliment I can imagine is to tell you that Carolyn would have loved it and been your fan for life as am I.”
-Dominick Argento, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer