Press
Mike Tellin, Cleveland Classical, February 2019
U.S. Premiere of "Newer Every Day: Songs for Kiri" by Jake Heggie (Orchestral Version)
“Although Jake Heggie is widely known for his operas such as Dead Man Walking and Moby-Dick, he is equally skillful at composing for that more intimate art form [Art Song]. And the terrific soprano Ann Moss proved herself to be an insightful interpreter of his music. ... Moss dramatically evoked the serenity of “Silence,” and the playfulness of “I’m nobody! Who are You?” She appropriately laughed in “Fame,” and found melancholy in “That I did always love.” “Goodnight” brought the lovely premiere to a close.”
Blair Jackson, Classical Guitar Magazine, April 2019
Folksongs Volume VI by Benjamin Britten, with David Tanenbaum
“Moss’ soaring voice filled every inch of the beautiful old church and Tanenbaum was brilliant playing Britten’s interesting and at times unusual guitar lines;”
Photo by Matthew Washburn
Rebecca Wishnia, San Francisco Classical Voice, March 2019
you’ll drown dear U. S. Premiere, by Sivan Eldar, with Eco Ensemble
“The speakers pop with watery blips, ones that blur with the guttural sounds Moss feeds into the mic. Her whispers morph into luxurious, almost rapturous singing.”
Mike Telin, CD Review: Cleveland Classical, December 2018
Requiem Songs by David Conte, Arsis Audio
“‘Everyone Sang’ concludes with the emotionally dramatic ‘Requiem Songs’ for soprano, violin, harp, and string orchestra. Ann Moss’s long, fluid lines are exquisite in ‘Exaudi.’ She easily negotiates the musical leaps and mood changes in ‘Dies Irae,’ and gives a sense of hope to ‘In Paradisum.’ Whether the music is lyrical or virtuosic, violinist Kay Stern is outstanding, along with harpist Douglas Rioth and the SFCM String Orchestra, conducted by Eric Dudley. ‘Requiem Songs’ brings the album to a sublime conclusion.”
Scott Cmiel, San Francisco Classical Voice, February 2018
A Celebration of the Music of Dušan Bogdanović (Crow, 1990)
“Moss sang a deeply expressive line, seeming to moan, as she told us how water wanted to live, went to the sun, trees, flowers, womb, but always came weeping back. ... All four musicians performed admirably, soprano Ann Moss was stunning. The work is undoubtedly a masterpiece.”
Mike Tellin, Cleveland Classical, February 2019
Cleveland Opera Theater: A Look Back at the '19 {NOW} Festival
“It not often that we get to hear vocalists perform unaccompanied works, but doing so is one of Moss’s new adventures. Singing with a full palette of colors, dynamics, and sounds, her performance of Vartan Aghababian’s “An Amethyst Remembrance” (2003), set to the poetry of Dickinson, was stunning. ... Moss brought a full range of emotions to the world premiere of David Howell’s “…What’s happening?” (2018) for unaccompanied coloratura soprano.”
Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice, April 2019
Folksongs Volume VI by Benjamin Britten, with David Tanenbaum
“Moss’s fresh, sweet but sinewy soprano told the songs’ stories clearly and compellingly.”
Nicholas Jones, San Francisco Classical Voice, December 2018
The Gift of the Magi (Della) by David Conte, Solo Opera
“The role of Della was beautifully sung by soprano Ann Moss, with clear, silvery tones and passionate sweetness. Her Della, at first glance shallow and vain, gradually revealed a more conflicted inner life, at once proud of her beauty and hesitant about its effects on her husband, and in the end surprisingly strong-minded.”
Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice, November 2018
A Joni Mitchell Tribute Lights Up the Back Room in Berkeley
“One reason it works for me” says Moss, “is that Joni’s music fits my voice very well. It allows me to use more of my instrument than does most pop music sung by women. What I also find essential is the phrasing, the cadence of her lyric. You realize how many words she fits into a phrase, and yet it seems effortless, inevitable.”
Queen of the Night with UC Santa Cruz Opera Theater in 2018
Mark Rudio, San Francisco Classical Voice, January 2015
Full Fathom Five world premiere, Noe Valley Chamber Music
“[Composer Liam] Wade gave the singer plenty of room to display her strengths, using her crystalline voice and exquisite phrasing to reach soaring heights before vanishing into gossamer-thin whispers.”
Benjamin Frandzel, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2014
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble - Sung and Strummed
“Moss commanded the work’s [Ghostfires by John Anthony Lennon] expansive range and demanding, melismatic vocal writing. She traveled deep into the poems’ solitary, multihued emotional world, and made vivid the text’s imagery.”
Mahler Symphony No. 2 with UCBSO
John Marcher, A Beast in the Jungle, November 2013
CURRENTS CD Release Celebration, Old First Concerts
“Moss is one of those artists with a Midas touch- the kind who can make anything in her orbit comply to her artistic vision. […] No, she’s not really going to sing that, I thought to myself, just before she did. What followed was pure gold […] one of those moments concertgoers live for - when something unexpectedly grabs you by the throat, causes tears to well in your eyes, and reminds you of why people want to hear live music performed in the first place: in the hopes of experiencing something this fucking great.”
“Inside Skywalker Sound” by Jeff Kaliss, SFCV, June 2013
Jake Heggie, Composer
“She has this magic quality that somehow makes composers want to write for her, because not only does she perform [their songs], she invests in them, physically, emotionally, personally. I think she’s a transformative artist, because she can cross genres so easily. She’s not only comfortable in classics and Baroque music, but she also is expert at new music. Nothing scares her, and she’ll talk fearlessly with any composer about how they’ve written something and give them alternatives, which most singers won’t do.”
Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang, San Francisco Lyric Opera
John Marcher, A Beast in the Jungle, 2012
David Lang - The Little Match Girl Passion, San Francisco Lyric Opera
Moss’s voice is one of sheer beauty- I would listen to her all day, given the chance.”
Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2010
Noe Valley Chamber Music / CMASH - In Her Words
“Moss, the sole vocalist, and present throughout the program, right away deployed the brightness and vibrancy of her instrument, handsomely accompanied by pianist Steven Bailey … both Moss and Bailey displayed their command of a demanding breadth of dynamics … Wade’s setting of three dream studies by Lisa DeSiro provided Moss with the sort of dramatic material to which her striking Piaf-like physical presence and her secure, high-ranged singing voice are both extremely well-suited. Delivering hypoglycemic grunts and cries and at one point channeling Frieda from the Peanuts comic strip [in Cathy Berberian’s Stripsody], Moss confirmed that her speaking voice is as clear and engaging as her singing, and that she can effectively tickle an audience’s funny bone.”
Jeff Dunn, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2009
CMASH - New American Chamber Music II
"Soprano Ann Moss fearlessly sang the entire program. To say the least, Moss was an impressive performer. She was best in the extremely high part of her wide range, some notes of which carried a Birgit Nilsson–like thrill. She was a good actor, and strove to engage the audience. … Moss carried her beautiful, melodic to melismatic lines with powerful expression, resulting in an enthusiastic audience reception at the conclusion.”.“
Joseph Sargent, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2009
Haydn - Mass in Time of War, Oakland Symphony Chorus under Lynne Morrow
"The exultant Kyrie featured soprano Ann Moss in an appealingly buoyant rendering of several solo passages. Her sweetly crystalline sound contrasted pleasingly with the rich, velvety tone of mezzo-soprano Bonnie Brooks in their brief duos..”
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2008
Ravel - L’enfant et les sortilèges, Berkeley Opera under Jonathan Khuner
"Singing the role of Fire, Nightingale and, especially, the Princess, Ann Moss produced a wonderfully pure, affecting sound.”
Anna Carol Dudley, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2008
Kuhnau - Magnificat under Paul Flight
“Soprano Ann Moss gave a splendid performance of Et exaltavit spiritus meus (My spirit hath rejoiced), ably accompanied by oboist Jessica Boelter.”
As Blondchen with Brian Thorsett as Pedrillo, Berkeley Opera
Olivia Stapp, Berkeley Daily Planet, 2007
Mozart - The Seraglio, Berkeley Opera under George Thomson
“As Blondchen, Ann Moss sang and acted with verve: her agility and high voice impressive.”
Jason Victor Serinus, Opera News, 2006
Verdi - Falstaff, Berkeley Opera under Jonathan Khuner
“Ann Moss’s Nannetta, her singing illuminated by beautifully pure floated high notes, visibly brightened the stage.”
Rebekah Ahrendt, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2006
Bach - St. Matthew Passion
"In the duet So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen (So is my Jesus now captured), the ethereal soprano of Ann Moss and the corporeal alto of Paul Flight perfectly embodied the spiritual and physical struggles of Jesus.”
Michael Zwiebach, San Francisco Classical Voice, 2006
Verdi - Falstaff, Berkeley Opera under Jonathan Khuner
“As Nannetta, Ann Moss had quite a fine voice, singing with pure, luminous tone.”
Georgia Rowe: Classical Notes, 2006
Verdi - Falstaff, Berkeley Opera under Jonathan Khuner
“There were several bright performances in the supporting roles; Ann Moss and Andrew Truett created a real sense of chemistry as the opera’s young lovers.”