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Reviews

Carmen at Santa Fe Opera

08 Aug 2022 / in Reviews

“In her second “Carmen” production since her pandemic-delayed role debut, New York mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, dressed in contemporary fashion, projected a sophisticated, self-assured woman. That self-assurance translated into an effective vocal performance, especially Leonard’s singing of Carmen’s major arias – the Habanera, the Seguidilla and the chanson bohemienne at Lillas Pastia’s tavern. Always an engaging […]

“Songbird” at Glimmerglass

01 Aug 2021 / in Reviews

“Leonard was at the top of her game from the start. In an early song, “I Will Always Love You,” her lustrous voice left the audience spellbound.” Daily Gazette “Leonard plays a young actress forced to choose between financial security and true love. For quite a while she kept in check her honest emotions and […]

L’Enfant et les sortilèges in Cincinnati

16 Feb 2020 / in Reviews

“In the one-act opera, the excellent American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard took on her Grammy-winning role of The Child, a 6-year-old in backwards ballcap and short pants. Leonard fully inhabited her role, delivering tantrums defiantly and interacting remarkably with both the actual and the animated characters while onstage for the entire work. Despite the antics, listeners […]

Vulture: The Best Classical-Music Performances of 2019

17 Dec 2019 / in Reviews

Vulture 1. Dialogues des Carmélites With Isabel Leonard as the snowy-souled Blanche and Karita Mattila as the raging prioress, the return of Poulenc’s (almost) all-nun opera would have been pretty transcendent even without any additional virtues. But Yannick Nézét-Séguin’s presence on the podium made it downright celestial.

Werther at the Royal Opera House

19 Sep 2019 / in Reviews

“It’s Leonard, though, in this overdue house debut, who anchors the action. Hers is a fallible, youthful Charlotte – flattered by attention, playful right up until truth and duty reassert themselves and she must reject Werther for the reliable Albert. Dark and thickly painted throughout the range, hers is an attractive voice, flowering into full […]