In Review
Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor
Madison Opera
"Anchoring this production is soprano Jeni Houser, who gives an exceptional performance here. Her Lucia has a silvery, ethereal quality, like she’s already got one foot in the next world. From her early arias to the show-stopping, legendary mad scene, Houser climbs octaves like a girl climbing a tree — gravity-defying, graceful, impressively in control."
Capital Times
"With flowing blonde locks and a willowy silhouette, Houser was a delicate, fragile Lucia, her clear, elegant voice climbing and descending scales effortlessly as her passions swelled."
Opera Magazine
Viv, Companionship
Fort Worth Opera
Frantzi, Die Weiden
Wiener Staatsoper
Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Central City Opera
Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos
Austin Opera
Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Cincinnati Opera
Soprano soloist, Carmina Burana
Atlanta Ballet
Johanna, Sweeney Todd
Mill City Summer Opera
Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro
On Site Opera
Olympia, Les contes d'Hoffmann
Madison Opera
Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Minnesota Opera
Olympia, The Magic Victrola
Lyric Opera of Chicago
"...standouts included Leslie’s evil twin (literally), Viv, played by Jeni Houser. Her secure, confident soprano and over-the-top acting were just right."
Theater Jones
"Soprano Jeni Houser sneered in character as Leslie’s not-so-identical twin Viv, but delivered a smoothly lyrical musical performance."
Texas Classical Review
"...the slanted sisters Fritzi and Frantzi (brilliant with crystal clear color and crystalline height: Katrina Galka and Jeni Houser)"
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
"...brilliant in the highest heights"
Die Deutsche Bühne
"At both vocal extremes, this production was rewarded with the focused, expressive high soprano of Jeni Houser's Queen of the Night, nailing her killer Act II showpiece, and by the deep resonance and likable presence of veteran Kevin Langan's Sarastro."
Opera News
"Though there are many great performances in the piece, this production belongs to Jeni Houser as Zerbinetta. When she arrives, it’s as if she has wandered in from another production, and she brings such a thrilling vitality to the proceedings that keeps the action moving and the audience rapt. From her styling to her attitude, she seems to take her notes from Bettie Page, and Houser’s sassy spirit and outrageous, naughty demeanor is such a departure from what we’ve seen in opera before, especially when her English dialog mixes with the traditional German of the opera-within-an-opera itself. Even when she’s not taking center stage, her mannerism and stance never waiver; she’s living out this character at every moment."
Austin Arts Watch
"The singing was marvelous, especially Jeni Houser as the Queen of the Night, who elicited audible gasps from the audience as she impressively hit the oh-so-rare high F in both of her arias."
Broadway World
"In the midst of all that eye candy, the soloists still managed to hold their own. The finest performances came from Swiss soprano Kim-Lillian Strebel as Pamina, Jeni Houser as the Queen of the Night, and Rodion Pogossov [...] Ms. Houser dispatched the coloratura passages in the Queen’s two arias with assurance."
Opera Lively
"Soprano Jeni Houser was superb as The Queen of the Night – although, in reality, we never saw more than her head. Suspended as a giant, eight-legged spider – a Freudian nightmare if there ever was one – she sent bolts of lightning to stun Tamino in her first aria. In her sensational 'Revenge Aria,' the soprano hurled vocal pyrotechnics up to high F while her animated self hurled red daggers at Pamina, caught in her web. The scene, both visually and vocally, earned the evening’s biggest ovation."
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Soprano Jeni Houser's superb voice calls to the seminarian like a siren"
ArtsATL
"Jeni Houser, luminous in voice and visage"
MN Artists
"Hanging stage right was a cage from which a fresh-voiced Jeni Houser delivered Johanna's febrile 'Green Finch and Linnet Bird'"
Star Tribune
“Jeni Houser’s sparkling performance as Portugal’s Susanna, funny and human with nary a trace of forced cuteness, suggests she could have a triumph in Mozart’s richer realization of the character. Though she flung out the brittle roulades of her elaborate last act aria with nonchalant ease, the soprano’s musicality and charm made me long to hear the simple, golden phrases of “Deh vieni non tardar” in the Figaro we all know and love.”
Observer
“Jeni Houser as Susanna was the star of the show here, she was specific in her acting and found all of Susanna’s high notes with ease. She, along with the rest of the cast, also really seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves; important when the audience is so entwined with the singers.”
Schleppy Nabuccos
“And talk about immersive opera — it’s quite dramatic when, say, the hearty baritone Jesse Blumberg, as Figaro, and the bright-voiced soprano Jeni Houser, as Susanna, exchange full-voiced phrases just inches away from you as they dash around that kitchen.”
The New York Times
"Soprano Jeni Houser was a bright, pert Susanna, smarter than her intended and possessed of an inner flame that made her his perfect match. Their scenes together, tender at first and later occasionally violent (at one point she knees her would-be hubs in the crotch) had real fire and chemistry that was made even more intense in the close quarters. The very physical final act was a tour-de-force for both singers as they foiled Almaviva and (at least temporarily) saved his marriage."
Superconductor Classical Opera
“Here, coloratura soprano Jeni Houser is fabulous as the doll, Olympia [...]”
The Isthmus
“The star of the show, for me, was coloratura soprano Jeni Houser as Olympia, the doll. Her vocal pyrotechnics were sensational. She would be a wonderful Zerbinetta, and I would enjoy seeing her tackle Baby Doe. She is a very funny physical comic actress, and she was simply wonderful.”
The Well-Tempered Ear
“Houser handily steals Act I with her slow blink, stiff movements [...] and extraordinary soprano.”
The Capital Times
“As for the leading ladies, if you don’t have an Olympia who can just nail stratospheric pitches that would give the Queen of the Night pause—and sing beautifully enough to make us believe anyone could fall in love with her despite her robotic nature—then Act I is doomed. Never fear: Jeni Houser nails it, and continues to add to her growing number of fervent local fans.”
What Greg Says
“The first is Olympia, sung brilliantly by Jeni Houser.”
Channel 3000
“Jeni Houser, acting without benefit of her body—here replaced by a screen-filling, knife-throwing arachnid—conjured the complexity of the Queen of the Night [...]. In “O zitt’re nicht,” Houser was commanding and duplicitous, yet also vulnerable. She has a bright future above the staff.”
Opera News
“Jeni Houser made a fierce Queen of the Night, singing those daunting high notes with impressive ease and accuracy.”
Star Tribune
“Or Jeni Houser pouring passion and power into the Queen of the Night's venomous vows of revenge, impressing with a range that not only nailed the stratospheric high notes that are part of opera legend, but proved full-bodied in her lower range.”
Pioneer Press
“Houser immediately made a splash with her first aria, "O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn." Her vocal acrobatics in her character's celebrated title aria were absolutely exquisite [...]”
Duluth News Tribune
“Jeni Houser delivered Olympia's Doll Song from the side of the stage. Houser, who had been enlisted at the eleventh hour from Madison Opera in Wisconsin, sang sweetly, her top notes securely placed.”
Chicago Tribune
“Jeni Houser, who swept down from Madison (Wis.) Opera, winningly sang from stage left.”
Chicago Sun-Times
Mabel, The Pirates of Penzance
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Concert
Glimmerglass Festival
“Performers Houser and Shadday draw on the full melodramatic gestural palette to make this an afternoon favorite, and Houser in particular communicates delicious expression in the merest tilt of her torso and the flickering of her fingertips.”
DC Theatre Scene