“And making her company debut with remarkable aplomb as Stéphano was Isabel Leonard, a young Julliard graduate who sang with the assurance of one who feels completely at home on the stage, wielding an easy mezzo that went up from an amber-colored lower register to an impressive, soprano like top. It is hard to make a splash in a pants role in a long opera on a night when Anna Netrebko is singing, but Ms. Leonard did.”

The New York Times, Anne Midgette, September 2007

“ Singing Stéphano on this occasion was young Isabel Leonard making her Met debut. She raised eyebrows at the New York Philharmonic last season. And, on Tuesday night, she was full of confidence and spunk. When the crowed roared for her at the end she seemed genuinely touched maybe a little surprised.”
Jay Nordlinger, New York Sun, September 2007