L A U R A B O H N
s o p r a n o
". . . an amazing blend of vocal splendor and physical virtuosity" - San Francisco Chronicle
" The great Bohn " - Trouw
"impressive" - Opera
The Duchess in Powder her Face
The Duchess in Powder her Face, Nederlandse Reisopera
“Laura Bohn moves and amuses as a single mother in the mini-opera Lullaby”
“Bohn sings Sankaram’s notes with a warm power that brings on a wave of goose bumps…” - Trouw, 2024
"The solo performance Lullaby … has an ideal interpreter in soprano Laura Bohn...
Laura Bohn in Studio Boekman at the National Opera & Ballet manages to portray the external and internal struggles of a mother in a striking and moving way on all fronts, both physically and vocally..."
-Place de l'opera
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“She is both the only character and the narrator: she sings her own part, but also advances the plot with spoken word and reenacted dialogue...The audience listens with bated breath as Laura Bohn, wide-eyed, reenacts a scene outside the bedroom. Calderón sketches recognizable, unsolicited advice from others about raising children and parenting . . . And Bohn delivers his dialogue superbly, with bulging eyes and character voices.”
- Trouw ***
...The beauty of the performance by Laura Bohn, for whom the piece was created, is that it never becomes hysterical, but, however difficult to process at times, it always remains plausible, credible and, moreover, literally understandable. The balance between her texts, her singing, her play and dance with the two instruments is perfect…this is.. a piece of music theatre that fits in our time with questions about the big world we live in and the small world of mother and child. The intense performance makes it a gem." - Place de l'opera/Operamagazine.nl
“An impressive drama ... The long, continuous lyrical vocal lines are virtuosically sung by Laura Bohn, who gives a moving depiction of the character's desperation and, at the same time, her need to radiate calm towards her child.” - Critics choice; Theaterkrant.nl , 2023 (Lullaby, a solo opera)
"…Laura Bohn portrayed the duchess as a fascinating figure who at times evoked pity, then revulsion and even pure fun…" - NRC****, 2024 (Powder her Face)
“… Laura Bohn (Duchess) sang truly excellently Saturday evening …the great Bohn, who at the end was a pitiful figure as the Duchess.. shared the enthusiastic ovation." - Trouw ****, 2024 (Powder her Face)
“The American soprano Laura Bohn, at home in classical repertoire, jazz and musical, portrayed and sang her character with color and passion... she is a true ‘femme fatale’…” - operamagazine.nl, 2024 (Powder her Face)
"Bohn’s rich, sensuous voice gives the Duchess authority, confidence and defiant self-belief..." - Bach Track, 2024 (Powder her Face)
"Nothing but praise for the soloists, especially for Laura Bohn as a beautifully profiled Duchess at the end..." - OpusKlassiek.nl, 2024 (Powder her Face)
“. . . the outstanding soprano Laura Bohn . . .All praise goes to Bohn and Scherzer, who flawlessly showcase Adès’s extremely difficult vocal parts. They switch abruptly from speech to coloratura, both in the highest and lowest registers . . .” - Klassiek van nu, 2024
“In particular, Laura Bohn's powerfully sung Duchess exuded sadness and vulnerability under her steely elegance, managing - even in the opera's famous blow-job aria - to portray a wounded woman bewildered by fate. Bohn moved among the opera's many time periods skillfully, changing wigs and demeanor in full view of the audience, as the fallen woman attempts desperately to give a dignified interview to a beauty magazine and ends up groveling for one more day, not merely at the hotel, but for life itself.”
- Opera News, 2016 (Powder her Face)
The Duchess of Argyll
"Laura Bohn’s Duchess was a figure at once imperious and vulnerable, bringing a frank directness to the role’s more challenging aspects (including the opera’s famous compositional tour-de-force, a musical depiction of an act of fellatio) and rising to full-throated tragedy in her final moments..”
-San Francisco Chronicle, 2016 (Powder her Face)
“As the Duchess, Laura Bohn was the heart of the show. She got the most difficult and the most beautiful music, as well as the only character arc. Bohn’s Duchess moved from ambition and sexual abandon to nostalgia and desperation. Her lush soprano slithered through the space, always immediate and present. The “room service” and interview scenes were particular shows of vocal and dramatic prowess.” - Bachtrack.com, 2016 (Powder her Face)
"sung with infectious pleasure by Laura Bohn" - NRC, 2021 (Hansel and Gretel)
Norma
"… a brilliant tour de force triumph for soprano Laura Bohn as the heroine, a role that demands the tragic classicism and intense, focused range of a Callas playing Medea …"
- Gramophone, 2015 (Certitude and Joy)
"The physicality of the role was perfectly suited to Laura Bohn. She acted and sang like a tigress and fought as if she knew karate. Her Norma was a strong woman who needed no compassion..."
-operamagazine.nl, 2017 (Norma-Before I Die)
"... the brilliant and physically intense soprano Laura Bohn..." - San Francisco Chronicle, 2017 (Seven Deadly Sins)
"Depicting the ambitious strategist with dripping menace, Laura Bohn could let fly with some fine coloratura and carried her weight in the ensembles.
- Boston Musical Intelligencer, 2018 (On Behalf of a Madman - Mozart pastiche)
"It was phenomenally sung by . . . Laura Bohn (Ino) . . ."
- Theaterkrant.nl, 2015 (Semele)
Ino
"Laura Bohn stood out for her intense quality of singing and acting, warm and passionate.
Together their voices offered brilliant colors... "
- operamagazine.nl, 2015 (in Semele with Claron McFadden)
“One cannot imagine a finer portrayal of the Woman than by soprano Laura Bohn, who sang with great beauty, clarity, and empathy…”
- American Record Guide, 2013 (Holodomor)
The Queen of the Night
"Laura Bohn is hilarious as the Queen of the Night who brings everyone to life with her trilling high notes"
- The Trouw, 2014 (DJ Moz'ART)
"Laura Bohn, who demonstrated she has the slapstick humor of ISH easily in hand, brought the songs to another level."
- Theaterkrant.nl, 2014 (DJ Moz'ART)
“On opening night, soprano Laura Bohn gave a thrilling performance as the Governess.
Vocally resplendent and dramatically acute, she sang with fresh tone in her early scenes, gradually shading the voice with a darker, edgier sound as the extent of her predicament came to light.” - Oakland Tribune/San Jose Mercury News, 2013 (The Turn of the Screw)
“Soprano Laura Bohn gave a superb performance as the Governess, probing deeply into the role's layers of heroism and unease while retaining a bright musical surface to everything she sang.”
-San Francisco Chronicle, 2013 (The Turn of the Screw)
The Governess
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“Laura Bohn was truly formidable. . . It seemed as if the whole production was conceived for her.
After singing an aria which was beautiful and compelling in its expressivity she proceeded to dance in duet . . . the high level of her dance was impressive and convincing..what a powerful singer!”
- Voi-Z Kamer Opera Festival, 2011 (MonteverdISH - L'Incoronazione di Poppea)
Nerone
“Soprano Laura Bohn is an absolute sensation as Nero.
Not only does she sing the stars from the heavens but she can act and move as well.
She is literally a bridge between the two worlds of opera and hiphop . . .”
-Theater.nl, 2011 (MonteverdISH - L'Incoronazione di Poppea)
“Laura Bohn . . . sounding eloquent and fervent. . .
Bohn - in a long and gorgeous monologue of Wagnerian intensity - lovingly offers up her children to their heavenly father. You know it’s coming but the power of the scene is unbearably heart wrenching even so.“
- San Francisco Chronicle, 2012 (Certitude and Joy)
Ariel
"The multitalented soprano Laura Bohn (Ariel) is quite the find . . A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater and Manhattan School of Music, with credits that include musical theater as well as opera,
Bohn has no trouble lifting her leg high or climbing a pole while singing an unbroken line . . . she’s totally in her element, and a major delight. "
-San Francisco Classical Voice, 2011 (Caliban Dreams)
“But the star of the evening was Bohn, whose sumptuous vocalism, dramatic resourcefulness and superb comic timing made Ariel the real heart and soul of the piece.”
- San Francisco Chronicle, 2011 (Caliban Dreams)