“Mr. Hymel's principal attributes are a strong, flexible tenor and an attractive warm timbre. He began with German works - Beethoven's "Adelaide," two Strauss songs and a Lehar aria - and projected them with a current of heroic steeliness (lightened somewhat in the Lehar). But it was hard not to feel that for Mr. Hymel, the real business at hand was the Italian repertory in the second half. In a group of sentimental songs (including "Torna a Surriento") as well as "Mamma, quel vino è generoso" from Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana, Mr. Hymel sounded entirely at home, delivering both the subtle decoration and the heart-on-the-sleeve emotion that drives the Italian style.”
Allan Kozinn, New York Times