Götterdämmerung

Bayreuth, 2022

“And another spectacular cast change: Because Stephen Gould fell ill and his cover Andreas Schager was also ill, Clay Hilley was flown in from vacation in Apulia the day before the premiere. As Siegfried, vocally bright, penetrating and with astonishing ease, he finds his way around.”
— https://www.merkur.de/kultur/wagner-totalschaden-goetterdaemmerung-bei-den-bayreuther-festspielen-zr-91710064.html

“Hilley was an excellent Siegfried and saved the show as they say.”
— https://www.operamagazine.nl/recensies/60093/gotterdammerung-bayreuth-in-de-bioscoop/

“In ‘Götterdämmerung,” Clay Hilley was a last-minute replacement as Siegfried, and he would have been impressive even under less dramatic circumstances.”
— New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/arts/music/bayreuth-ring-review.html

“Tenor Clay Hilley—an acclaimed Heldentenor on mainland Europe—made his house debut as the Drum Major. It is a role that can too often descend into mere thuggery—vocally and physically—but Hilley treads a line between a certain preening charm and more naked coercion of Marie. This is reflected in singing that balances sheen and long legato lines with its underlying power and focus.” 
– https://operawire.com/royal-opera-house-2022-23-review-wozzeck/

Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021

“Once more, Clay Hilley led the charge as Siegfried. If anything, he sounded fresher and more confident than he had earlier in the week in Siegfried, turning out a magnificently full-throttle performance that showed off his shockingly full Heldentenor to the hilt.”
– Opera News (online version), A.J. Goldmann December 2021

 “In the men's category, we have to salute the beautiful performance of Clay Hilley's Siegfried. He has the physicality of the character and the stamina too. Hilley is a dashing Siegfried, thundering as one pleases and knowing how to find all the necessary power in the key moments.”
— https://www.forumopera.com/spectacle/gotterdammerung-berlin-deutsche-oper-une-fin-de-ring-pour-tout-rattraper/

“The Deutsche Oper Berlin can count itself lucky which gifted singers, all of them excellent in acting, convincing in facial expressions and gestures, stood by its side for this premiere series of "Götterdämmerung": Clay Hilley was a particularly positive surprise in his role as Siegfried, for Hilley's name has been little known in the Wagner tenor scene, which is not exactly lush. With his youthfully bright voice,…almost lyrical and melodious, equally filling the large stage, he created a sympathetic Siegfried.”
— https://opernmagazin.de/ein-weltenende-mit-cliffhanger-stefan-herheims-goetterdaemmerung-an-der-deutschen-oper-berlin/

"The American heroic tenor Clay Hilley was definitely responsible for the loosening up moments, embodying Siegfried in a playful Herheim manner as a naive hautrauf…he performed the evening with immense enthusiasm and a powerfully firm tenor voice with a pleasant vibrato.
— https://bachtrack.com/kritik-goetterdaemmerung-herheim-runnicles-stemme-hilley-deutsche-oper-berlin-oktober-2021

 “…a Siegfried singer as one has not been able to experience him for a long time: with flawless diction, unadulterated color, powerful but also delicate tones, the American tenor Clay Hilley is just as convincing with his ability for self-irony as he is with the effortlessly sustained high Cs.”
—  https://www.nmz.de/online/noch-unabgeschlossen-goetterdaemmerung-an-der-deutschen-oper-berlin?fbclid=IwAR03tfR0bFwTYVdQFMSpKnmHpOhLDaxhaW4ZiljahDGPXgvJ0EOJs49iNWQ

“As Siegfried, Clay Hilley gave the impression of being completely untroubled by the role’s demands. Although he proved himself capable of full-bodied room-filling notes, his performance was notable for its restraint, and his refusal to claim the full attention of the audience with his every utterance resulted in a nicely balanced first act. As with Ms Stemme, Mr Hilley’s performance seemed to grow more powerful as the evening progressed, and by the time of his excellent scene with the Rhinemaidens, one was sorry that his time on stage was drawing to an end.”

— https://www.mundoclasico.com/articulo/35851/Coming-to-Rest

“As Siegfried, young Clay Hilley has sung his way into the front rank of Heldentenöre with a future. The way he plays himself more and more freely and even increases vocally is impressive. This also applies to his sovereign handling of the occasionally exhibited Siegfried cliché.”
— https://www.concerti.de/oper/deutsche-oper-berlin-goetterdaemmerung/

“His high C smashed into space with relish at the beginning of the 3rd act. Remarkable!”
— https://onlinemerker.com/berlin-deutsche-oper-goetterdaemmerung-premiere-kurzbericht/

“ Musically, besides Nina Stemme, it is above all the young Siegfried Clay Hilley who impresses. No parodic teasing of the costuming can harm his playfulness, and the long evening does nothing to diminish his vocal freshness; on the contrary: in the third act, he steps up his game once again and seems completely liberated - sheer joy!”
— https://www.die-deutsche-buehne.de/kritiken/der-weltenbrand-ein-tischfeuerwerk/

“For how long Clay Hilley will go through the Ring and end up looking and sounding as fresh as he did remains to be seen and heard: Siegfried has rarely seemed so easy to sing, and there was some beautiful phrasing and strongly held top notes.”
  — https://seenandheard-international.com/2022/05/at-the-end-of-stefan-herheims-new-berlin-ring-gotterdammerung-wipes-the-slate-clean