NewYork.com

The 2015-2016 season at the Met is kicking off with some epic productions — and smoking hot stars

Once upon a time, everyone knew that opera stars were sexy. Caruso? Callas? They made their admirers swoon. Nowadays, well, swooning is pretty much a lost art, and sometimes it seems like only the opera buffs still remember how very sexy the opera star standouts can be. Who else is so devastatingly able to awaken your passion, wring your heart, uplift your soul and leave you begging for more — in a mere three hours or so? If you need a refresher on just how heartstoppingly hot opera singers can be, here are eight stars from this Metropolitan Opera season who’ll ignite all your senses with their soaring voices — and innate sensuality.

Isabel Leonard

The alluring Manhattanite mezzo soprano is really just a lovely young mom next door — if you’re very very lucky in where you live. The New York Times likened Leonard to Gina Lollobrigida, noting both her sloe eyes and her “taut, well-defined abs,” while her vocal teacher, Edith Bers, described her as having only improved with motherhood. And nice? She’s even done a spot on Sesame Street  — yes, as one of the people in your neighborhood. In it, she explains how to be an opera singer to Ovejita and Murray Monster, and asks the latter to join her in a duet from The Barber of Seville, reprising one of her much-praised roles as the sassy Rosina. Just in case you missed that classic performance, this season you can catch her again starring at the Met as Rosina. Leonard is also taking on a favorite trousers role as the perpetually lovestruck page Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. Either way, you’re bound to be smitten.

Read the entire feature here.