Claudia’s reviews are in:
John S. Wilson for the New York Times says "Claudia Hommel, a singer and actress who performs in both theater and cabaret, brings a sense of theater with her when she goes into cabaret...Miss Hommel's voice can be strong and soaring, and she uses it to excellent dramatic effect in her lusty Spanish and French songs."
Dorothy Andries for Pioneer Press:
“For a few hours, we were in Paris, transported by a marvelous cabaret show at the Ravinia Festival starring the remarkable singer Claudia Hommel. An excellent actress, she can set a mood with a turn of her head or the look in her eyes.”
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North Shore Magazine recommends Claudia for private parties. “She is at once sexy and sophisticated, stunning in an Audrey Hepburn sort of way.” More
Neil Tesser for the Chicago Reader is enchanted. “Claudia Hommel plays the role of chanteuse-boulevardiere to the hilt. Her glassy tone and blithe celebrations of life make her a latter-day female counterpart to Maurice Chevalier, the quintessential French entertainer And she offers an unspoken guarantee that you'll think you paid for the evening in euros.” More
Ed Vincent for Oak Park Journal
“The sweet voice of Claudia Hommel will make you want to buy chocolates and dance along the Seine, to travel to Paris sooner than you had planned, or to relax in comfort and feel as though you have just returned from France.”
Art Hilgart for “Broadway Revisited” on National Public Radio
“Those who remember Germaine Montero and Juliette Greco will be rewarded by this recital, as will those who have no memories of those mid-century chanteuses. Paris born Claudia was raised in America and is now a Chicagoan, fortunate because these performances also feature violin virtuoso John Frigo. Along with accordion and rhythm section they perform a bilingual bi-national program ranging from the serious to the jazzy, with Parisian touches. The lighter numbers are especially felicitous.”
Joe Hannan for New York Native: "A soprano with bright, silvery voice and sharp, clear diction, Hommel sang with great verve, savoring each poetic nuance."
Paul Edson for Detroit Center News: "Petite Claudia Hommel was the evocation of every French chanteuse from those painted by Toulouse-Lautrec through Yvette Guilbert and on to Edith Piaf."
In theatrical roles:
Backstage: "With her poise, brilliant accent and delicate Dresden doll features, Hommel brought the late auteur [Margaret Mitchell] back to life."
Paul Edson for Detroit Monitor reviewing a musicalized version of Spoon River Anthology: "Adapting to the many different characters, Miss Hommel, who is possessed of a beautiful voice, is an especially talented performer."
Ann Arbor News: "Claudia Hommel is almost unbearably believable as a sweet yet wounded soul who's never quite come to believe that she deserves to be loved." George Bulanda for Detroit News: "What's really likable about this production is the way the actresses play off of one another Claudia Hommel has got the right idea portraying Artie We get the sense that there's an intelligent, sensitive woman beneath the many layers of insecurities. (Lee Blessing's Eleemosynary in which Claudia played mother to Elizabeth Berkley's Echo)
John Guinn for Detroit Free Press : Miss Hommel's Serpina was effectively saucy. (La Serva Padrona at Grand Circus Exchange)
Lawrence DeVine for Detroit Free Press: "Miss Hommel is very funny in her dopey candor. Jay Carr writes, for Detroit News: "She deepens, engages our sympathy."(Don Nigro's The Curate's As You Like It)