Isabel Leonard made her Glyndebourne Festival debut this summer to rave reviews as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. This opera has special meaning to the Glyndebourne Festival as it was their first opera performed in 1934. Ms. Leonard’s performance has garnered reviews such as, “In a nicely balanced cast, my favourite is Isabel Leonard’s Cherubino – a stage animal with charisma written all over her” by the Financial Times and “The standout performance is the lovable Cherubino of Isabel Leonard: she not only looked the part, but the women-playing-a-man-playing-a-woman sequence [...] is a hoot of comic timing” by ClassicalSource.com. Musicalcriticism.com calls her mezzo “rich, idiosyncratic and hugely promising”, The Telegraph calls her performance “outstanding” and the Wall Street Journal said Cherubino’s “randiness” was “gloriously conveyed by Isabel Leonard”. This new production is directed by Michael Grandage, conducted by Robin Ticciati and will be broadcast live on Friday, the 17th of August, 2012 at 6:00pm (BST) in cinemas and online.

Excerpts from Isabel’s performance as Cherubino: