Patrick D. McCoy – Washington Life Magazine

Juilliard grad and opera star Isabel Leonard recently sat down with Washington Life to chat about her role as Cinderella in the Washington National Opera‘s upcoming production of the Rossini classic, her new recording of “Preludios” and her own fairytale-like rise to fame.

Washington Life: What do you like best about this particular production?

Isabel Leonard: What I love about this production are that the costumes are quite fun. They are not modern, but they have sort of a surreal take on a period costume, which translates to them being somewhat modern. At first glimpse you think it is something of the period, but if you take a closer look, they are very geometric and architectural. The costume designer Joan Guillen has done a very fun job on them.

WL: Talk to us about how you wish to be perceived as an artist, especially when it comes to the classification of your voice.

IL: The truth is that I would like to sing whatever is appropriate for my voice. The things that should matter are: is the role is appropriate for who I am at this stage in my life and career; is the role musically appropriate; and am I singing in a range that fits me? It really is a matter of where the roles fit, how the orchestration is and the size of the ensemble. All of those things have more effect on whether a role is taxing or not with any particular singer. I would love to just be me, whatever that means to anyone.

Read the entire interview here.