Press and MEdia
"Songs from the plays (composers unknown) brought the evening’s solo opportunities. Brenna Wells’s high, pure soprano took on the informal directness of a folk singer for “Robin is to the Greenwood Gone” from Hamlet"
- South Florida Classical Review (Seraphic Fire, Music and the Bard)
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"The exquisite soprano voices of Brenna Wells and Molly Quinn adorned the haunting Balulalow by Matthew Culloton, a contemporary Minneapolis composer."
- South Florida Classical Review (Seraphic Fire, Christmas)
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Soprano Brenna Wells in The Inaugural Performance of The Earhart Quartet on October 30, 2016
- Brookings Harbor Friends of Music
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"Soprano Brenna Wells was the fine soloist in the “Pie Jesu,” in which her work in early music gave this familiar piece the kind of purity you hear when a boy treble is the soloist.
- Palm Beach Arts Paper (Seraphic Fire, Faure's Requiem)
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"Brenna Wells’ high soprano and firmly placed intonation, with Laube’s accompaniment, took the full measure of “Pie Jesu,” perhaps the score’s best-known melody.."
- South Florida Classical Review (Seraphic Fire, Faure's Requiem)
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"Members of the choir provided the solo parts, with soprano Brenna Wells standing out for a laser-focused rendition of the 'Pie Jesu'."
- Washington Classical Review (Seraphic Fire, Faure's Requiem)
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"(Patrick) Quigley fielded what may have been his best group of Messiah vocal soloists yet...The contrast between Margaret Lias’ voluminous, operatic mezzo and Brenna Wells’ ethereal high soprano gave variety to “He Shall Feed his Flock."
- South Florida Classical Review (Seraphic Fire, Handel's Messiah)
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"The vocal soloists - soprano Brenna Wells, tenor Stefan Reed and bass David McFerrin - ...proved fine; the Benedictus, with all three, was particularly beautiful."
- Vermont Today (Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Schubert's Mass in G)
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"More hints of opera come later, with a duet between stunning sopranos [Wells and Wilson]. All of the sopranos Abigail Haynes-Lennox, Gitanjali Mathur, Brenna Wellsand Shari Wilson, sang with astonishing, beautiful tones, and Monteverdi gave them parts that would have been quite at home in an opera. They were surprisingly evocative for a church setting. Almost sexual, but not-quite....As always, this collection of singers excels. Sopranos Haynes-Lennox and Wells stood out especially for these perfect, angelic tones..."
- Austin American Statesman (Ensemble VIII, Monteverdi Vespers of 1610)
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"Soprano Brenna Wells rendered her lines in “Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen” with soft, radiant phrases."
- Boston Classical Review (Emmanuel Music, St. John Passion)
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"Sopranos Roberta Anderson and Brenna Wells delivered sweetness in higher ranges."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Emmanuel Music, St. John Passion)
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"Best of all were Jacquelyn Stucker and Brenna Wells, who brought ripe color, and an almost droll tone, to the the delightful duet Flösst mein Heiland ("My savior, does your name instill"). They insured that this particular musical Christmas pageant closed on a high note indeed."
- The Hub Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"There were no poor soloists, and the sopranos were particularly glowing: Sonja DuToit Tengblad in the Scarlatti cantata; Jacquelyn Stucker and her balcony echo, Brenna Wells, in the “Christmas Oratorio.”"
- The Boston Globe (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"Sopranos Jaquelyn Stucker onstage and Brenna Wells in the balcony, with oboist Hammer on the obbligato part, sweetly delivered a classic “echo” duet."
- The Boston Classical Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"One of the highlights of the evening came in “The people will tell of their wisdom,” a radiant duet in which sopranos Margot Rood and Brenna Wells savored Handel’s lustrous harmonies."
- The Boston Globe (Handel and Haydn Society, Vivaldi Gloria program)
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"The Foundling Hospital Anthem was likewise a series of glittering moments...Here Margot Rood joined forces with soprano Brenna Wells for a sparkling duet, "The people will tell of their wisdom,"..."
- The Hub Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Vivaldi Gloria program)
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"The stellar cast of soloists, drawn from H&H’s ranks, featured some of the finest singers in town...The concert closed with Handel’s Foundling Hospital Anthem...Margot Rood and soprano Brenna Wells sang gracefully in the duet 'The people will tell of their wisdom.'"
- Boston Classical Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Vivaldi Gloria program)
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"Brenna Wells gave a beautifully nuanced performance of the Dessus II solo later in the work, singing with a refinement and subtlety that matched the musical style perfectly."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Boston Baroque, French Valentine program)
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"Brenna Wells’s cantillations negotiated sections of misterioso chanting, thematic folksong, and dramatic exclamation—all artfully employed by Agócs. The work is emotionally and thematically palindromic, with the “Amethyst”, “Ruby” and “Topaz” sections leading up the mountain toward the apotheosis in the exact middle of the “Emerald” text. The texture thins out through the final three sections: “Jade” “Opal” and “Sapphire”—the last of which highlighted Wells’s gifts as an early music singer when the texture reduces to a modal chant accompanied only by drums."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Collage New Music, Beautiful Ruckus program)
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"Soprano Brenna Wells and countertenor Martin Near delivered their duet-recitative with chaste reverence...."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"while countertenor Martin Near, stepping in for the ailing Thea Lobo, blended well with soprano Brenna Wells. And the Cantata concluded with a chorale sung with superb grace and subtlety."
- The Hub Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"Before the final chorale, there was a nice duet-recitative with soprano Brenna Wellsand countertenor Martin Near. Their tones blended beautifully...."
- Boston Classical Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Christmas program)
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"..By the time she rehearsed with the group, she felt ready. And then all that was left was the sound check right before the show, which for some members was almost as exciting as the concert itself. “That was the highlight of my day,” said Brenna Wells, another choir member. “Being onstage with the Rolling Stones with no one else around you. They didn’t seem like they were brushing off the sound check, or phoning it in. They gave it their full attention."
Once the concert began, the choir members had to be patient. The Stones played their full set list, and when it was time for an encore, that was the choir’s cue. The members were broken up into two groups, 12 on each side, the men in black pants and black button-down shirts, the women in black dresses, and when the lights came up, they began to sing."
For the full article, please see this link: BU choir joins the Rolling Stones in unlikely pairing
- Boston Globe (Rolling Stones, 50 and Counting Tour)
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"Conductor/composer Nicholas White, the Boston Cecilia, the Lydian String Quartet, Barbara Bruns (organ), and Brenna Wells (soprano), offered challenging music with great interest and excitement....For Henry Purcell’s 1688 “O Sing unto the Lord,” the Lydians took to the stage along with soprano soloist Brenna Wells. We heard a well-realized performance with...sensitive and nuanced collaboration from the Lydian String Quartet, as well as soaring sounds from Wells.
...t he last offering of the night: Charles Villiers Stanford, The Bluebird, op. 119, No. 3 (1910). Wells sang the soprano solo line, the bird flitting above the chorus. The affect of this performance was of a caress. The applause was sustained."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Boston Cecilila, From Earth to Heaven program)
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"[Martin Pearlman] drew remarkable solos from Owen McIntosh... as well as Kamala Soparkar, Brenna Wells, Ulysses Thomas, and particularly the reliable Teresa Wakim..."
"Luckily most of those solos were nevertheless exquisitely performed, again by Wells, McIntosh, and Thomas, who were joined by Bradford Gleim and Jonas Budris, among others."
- The Hub Review (Boston Baroque, Carissimi's Jephte and Charpentier's Missa, Assumpta est Maria)
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"Brenna Wells’s bright soprano sounded just right in the familiar “I attempt from love’s sickness to fly in vain."
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Handel and Haydn Society, Purcell's Indian Queen)
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"Thursday’s performance provided some of the H&H singers with the chance to shine as soloists, and shine they did. Soprano Brenna Wells struck an angelic presence in both sight and sound in her recitative Fürchtet euch nicht, where the Angel announces Christ’s birth to the shepherds."
- Boston Classical Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach's Christmas Oratorio)
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"Brenna Wells’s bright soprano announcement to the shepherds was unmistakably angelic"
- Boston Musical Intelligencer (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach's Christmas Oratorio)
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"The chorale was likewise in fine form in the choruses (as always) - but this time around was tapped for the solo roles as well. And some of these performances proved variable....Others, of course, have been front and center before, and it shows - there was lovely and dramatic singing, for instance, on hand from soprano Brenna Wellsand alto Mary Gerbi, and the reliable Bradford Gleim's bass proved as rich and resonant as ever."
- The Hub Review (Handel and Haydn Society, Bach's Christmas Oratorio)
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Brenna Wells, soprano, and Katherine Growdon, mezzo-soprano, sang the first duo, Se tu non lasci amore, which is composed somewhere between the styles of opera and oratorio. The singers responded appropriately and brought out this tension in the music....Wells and (Teresa) Wakim joined forces for the duo Quel fior che all’ alba ride, a meditation on the inevitable passage of time, rounding out this set of music on a satisfying and rosy note.
"The program concluded with a return to Handel — his duo Nò, di voi non vo’ fidarmifor sopranos Teresa Wakim and Brenna Wells, with Sarah Freiberg on Baroque cello and Pearlman on harpsichord. Wakim and Wells gave a spirited reading, at times matching vocal timbres and at others highlighting the differences between the two vocal lines. The result was a moving performance by talented musicians — a fitting conclusion and apt summary of the concert as a whole."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Boston Baroque's New Directions Chamber Series, Baroque and Modern Program)
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"Boston Baroque’s rendering of Handel vocal duets were charming in their own right. (Katherine) Growdon joined soprano Brenna Wells in Se tu non lasci amore, where the voices melded with the continuo, played by Freiberg (cello) and Peter Sykes (harpsichord)....Wells and Wakim teamed up for a spirited rendering of Quel fior che all’ alba ride, a piece that Handel reworked into His Yoke is Easy and He Shall Purify in Messiah."
- Boston Classical Review (Boston Baroque's New Directions Chamber Series,Baroque and Modern Program)
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"The singing of sopranos Teresa Wakim and Brenna Wells was such a pleasure to listen to. Both as soloists and duelists, the purity and tone of their voices capture the delight and emotion (and there was a lot of emotion in the Baroque world) of the pieces chosen for this concert. Gossipy, heartbroken, light-hearted and hopeful, how do you sing all those emotions in six songs? By being damnably good, that’s how. The audience didn’t want to applaud, because it took us all out of the moment, and none of us wanted that."
- The Rainy Day Magazine (L'Académie’s program Rumor Has It)
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"All of the vocal soloists were seemingly short on years yet long on experience, a dynamic combination. Their performances were clean and polished, demonstrating admirably clear diction of the German text. Also memorable was the Duet Aria in Part III, featuring soprano (and very angelic-appearing Angel) Brenna Wells and baritone David McFerrin. The gossamer, sweet tones of Wells were complemented by McFerrin’s resonant voice. The result was an engaging performance in which both artists shone."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Harvard Radcliffe Chorus's performance of Bach'sChristmas Oratorio Parts 1-3)
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"The singers offered strong performances as soloists, as well as stellar ensemble performances... In the second half of the work, the duets between Rosélie and Amaranthe (Brenna Wells and Carrie Henneman Shaw, respectively), following Flore’s declaration that all would share the prize, served as perhaps the most charming vocal ensembles on the program."
- The Boston Muscial Intelligencer (BEMF Production of Charpentier's La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs)
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"Of course the ensemble of talented musicians and vocalists BEMF has by now attracted had a lot to do with the success of the production, too...with subtle solo turns from Jason McStoots, Michael Kelly and Brenna Wells".
- The Hub Review (BEMF Production of Charpentier's La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs)
- The Hub Review (BEMF Production of Charpentier's La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs)
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"Soprano Brenna Wells made a convincing diva as Music, with Teresa Wakim’s boisterous interjections and sly timing earning laughs as the chatty Conversation. Both sopranos blended seamlessly in duet and demonstrated clear diction throughout..."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (L'Académie's production of Charpentier's Les Plaisirs de Versailles)
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"The concert opened with Sigismondo d’India’s Lamento d’Olimipia, sung by Brenna Wells, who was accompanied by Liddell and Walhout. Wells was expressive and engaging; she exhibited a strong understanding of the Baroque lament style, including declamation, decorum, and pacing.....Wells performed two more solo selections, each displaying the same skill and captivating “readings” of the text. For d’India’s setting of an anonymous text on the subject of love’s arrows, Wells and Canavin displayed impressive dexterity while creating a very pleasing ensemble......Countertenor Martin Near was later joined by Wells in the concert’s closing number...The duo performed the work in a highly engaging fashion, offering a pleasing close to the evening’s “impromptu” program."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Exsultemus' Recital Program in place of Vecchi's Night Games of Siena)
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"Christophers chose to assign these solos to members of the chorale (as is often done), which showcased some individual singers well.....and a sparkling duet for H&H mainstays Brenna Wells and Teresa Wakim"
- The Hub Review (H&H's production of Handel's Israel in Egypt)
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"Certain soloists and duets stood out in this section, including an impressive display of vocal technique and elegance between sopranos Teresa Wakim and Brenna Wells in the duet, “The Lord is my strength"".
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (H&H's production of Handel's Israel in Egypt)
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"the consort witches were a wonderful noisy duo and the staging was effectively autumnal, charged and sometimes humorous. "
- Stylus Fine Arts Review (BEMF Production of Dido and Aeneas, Brenna Wells as First Witch)
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"The two sopranos, Teresa Wakim and Brenna Wells, provided a beautiful duet in 'The Lord is my strength and my song'; their voices wonderfully matched and blending exceptionally well."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (Back Bay Chorale's Israel in Egypt)
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"Soprano Brenna Wells, mezzo-soprano Emily Marvosh, low tenor Michael Barrett, and high baritone Sumner Thompson all sang individually with clear voices, excellent diction, and dramatic expression."
- The Boston Musical Intelligencer (L'Académie: (S)He's just not that into you: Love Songs)
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"Bostonist was also rather charmed by Brenna Wells, who sang three times, and each piece was like a very small, tart pastry, gone in a couple bites. We've never been big on Prudence, but Wells' delivery of "As is it plenty" (W.H. Auden set to music by Benjamin Britten) nearly made us reconsider."
- The Bostonist (Opera Boston, Opera Underground, "Seven Virtues" show)
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"The opening "Sing Ye to the Lord," from Israel in Egypt, featured ethereal top notes from soloist Brenna Wells"
- The Hub Review (Boston Secession, Handel in the Strand)
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"The program also included star turns by Ms. Hargis, Marek Rzepka, Ms. Snaidas and Brenna Wells, the soloists in a Mattheson wedding serenade, 'Die Keushe Liebe.'"
- The New York Times (BEMF Orchestra Concert)
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"…high soprano Brenna Wells sang with admirable brightness”
- The Boston Globe (BEMF Orchestra Concert)
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"My ear was constantly beguiled: Brenna J. Wells, a delicate blonde sparrow, and Lawrence Jones, a willowy tenor became flowing silver (she) and gold (he) separately and together. Their physical slightness is deceiving: Ms. Wells performed her trills with unforced ease and demonstrated a few high notes in Dolby-like volume...it is to their credit that they sounded as fresh at the end of the evening as they did in the beginning."
- The Theatre Mirror (Vox Consort's Production of Handel's Acis and Galatea)
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"The (Acis and Galatea) cast was excellent...soprano Brenna Wells (Galatea) sang neatly and affectingly"
-The Boston Globe (Vox Consort's Production of Handel's Acis and Galatea)
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"The supporting cast was youthful, lively, engaging, and uncommonly persuasive: soprano Brenna Wells, mezzo Dianna Daly Betit, and, especially fine, tenor Charles Blandy and baritones Dana Whiteside and Philip Candilis…"
- The Boston Globe (Chorus Pro Musica's production of Verdi's La Traviata)