Isabel Leonard, mezzo
Brian Zeger, piano

ISABEL LEONARD

American singer Isabel Leonard is already making waves in the classical music world.  During the 2006-07 Season, Ms. Leonard makes her New York Philharmonic debut in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges, conducted by Lorin Maazel, and reprises her roles in Valencia, Spain, in the newly completed Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía.  In February 2007, Ms. Leonard makes her American professional stage debut as Stephano in Atlanta Opera’s production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.  Balancing a professional and academic career, Ms. Leonard is also be a member of The Juilliard Opera Center, where she appears in their productions of Orphée aux Enfers and La finta giardiniera.

In Summer 2006, Ms. Leonard made her European and professional stage debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni with the Opera National de Bordeaux and her American orchestral debut in The Three-Cornered Hat with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the 2006 Tanglewood Festival, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

Last season, Isabel Leonard performed with Barbara Bonney in recital at Alice Tully Hall, as presented by The Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society.  As a Marilyn Horne Foundation Award Recipient at the prestigious Music Academy of the West, the Foundation presented her in solo recital as part of their On Wings of Song series in New York City in December.

A recent graduate of The Juilliard School, Isabel Leonard sang the title role in the Juilliard Opera Theater production of Cavalli’s La calistoand the role of Masha in Wargo’s The Music Shop.  In Summer 2005, Ms. Leonard was the soloist in Symphony No. 4 by Gustav Mahler at the Aspen Music Festival.

In previous seasons, Ms. Leonard has participated in a masterclass with Maestro James Levine through the Marilyn Horne Foundation at Carnegie Hall’s newly restored Zankel Hall; with the New York Philharmonic in Bernstein’s Candide under the direction of Lonny Price; the roles of female cat/squirrel in L’Enfant et les Sortileges and covered Marenka in The Bartered Bride.

Ms. Leonard is a recipient of a 2006 Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Award.

Ms. Leonard is a native New Yorker and received both her Bachelor and Masters of Music at the Juilliard School, and studies with Edith Bers.  She has also studied with Marilyn Horne, Brian Zeger, Warren Jones, and Margo Garrett.