“The Act 2 transition into the In-Between will forever be seared into my mind, as Sol Kim Bentley (HER1) seemed to move into a trance-like state before awakening in the afterlife. She didn’t speak and the only sounds were some dissonant cluster chords from the vibraphone, but her impactful facial expressions moved us through her journey out of this life and into something before the next. As she realized that she had left earth, she held her hand out into a beam of light as the picture frames behind her showed swirling clouds of mist. She played with the shadows this light cast, first from her head onto her left hand and more fully from her right hand onto her face. It was as though the substance of her body was being transformed, and she perfectly embodied the experience. A versatile actor, Bentley managed the role of HER1 with ease, whether she was singing, screaming, or speaking her lines.”
– Christopher Hodges, The Boston Music Intelligencer, May 16, 2023
“As HER1, Sol Kim Bentley sang with a bright, zesty soprano that channeled a bubbly, even flirtatious personality. ‘A Beautiful Night,’ with its gentle lilt, reflected her memories about the warm union that brought her a child. Bentley’s character retained her strength even in the opera’s trying moments. Powerful vocal lines maintained her bold defiance in the face of her parents’ condemnation. And when HER1 enters the In-Between — a limbo state after her death — [Kim] Bentley conveyed modulated regret about the past, stopping short of sentimentality.”
– Aaron Keebaugh, The Arts Fuse, May 20, 2023
“As the Daughter, soprano Sol Kim Bentley was ardently sincere … beautifully restrained and heartbreaking in the work’s final scene, singing over the body of her dying father.”
– Kalen Ratzlaff, Opera News, June 2011 (Vol. 75, No. 12)
“As his Daughter, Sol Kim Bentley puts her ample soprano voice to sure dramatic use but is especially touching in maintaining loyalty to her father, notwithstanding his misdeeds and even his indifference to her.”
– George Loomis, Financial Times, March 2, 2011
“Sol Kim Bentley brought a bright, penetrating soprano to the role of the Daughter, and in the final scene she narrowed her sound to a straight tone that sounded like a boy treble’s, making the scene’s weird religious resonances even weirder.”
– Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2011
“The strong cast included Sol Kim Bentley singing with impressive urgency and directness the role of Cardillac’s daughter, whose loyalties are torn between her lover and her father.”
– Jeremy Eichler, The Boston Globe, March 1, 2011
“Sol Kim-Bentley shone in the role of Cardillac’s Daughter, singing with power and passion. The Daughter is the most like ordinary people: among characters who deal only in absolutes, she lingers in uncertainty. Perhaps it is that resemblance to ourselves that makes her all the more moving. Kim-Bentley was especially heartbreaking in the last scene, not just in the purity of her vocal tone but in embodying the character’s absorption in mourning her father.”
– Dana Astmann, Parterre Box, February 28, 2011
“Sol Kim Bentley sounded gorgeous as his Daughter, and acted with a kind of tortured poise.”
– Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review, March 7, 2011
“The two women, The Lady (Janna Baty) and Cardillac’s devoted Daughter (the wonderful singer Sol Kim Bentley), all but hijacked the opera with their exquisite voices and incisive acting.”
– Susan Miron, The Arts Fuse, March 1, 2011
“Sol Kim Bentley was solid as the Daughter, her voice particularly beautiful in the high lyrical singing of the final scene.”
– David Bonetti, BerkshireFineArts.com, March 3, 2011
“… soprano Sol Kim Bentley’s delightful portrayal of a flirtatious pretzel saleswoman …”
– Scott J. Ordway, ArtsEditor, March 2, 2009
“… Sol Kim Bentley as the seductive pretzel girl threatened at times to steal the entire show.”
– Tom Schnauber, The Boston Musical Intelligencer, February 27, 2009
“ … some seductive moves from Sol Kim Bentley as a pretzel-selling hottie …”
– Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review, March 5, 2009