Isabel Leonard's is a world-beating Elvira, her cherry ripe mezzo and supple phrasing perfect for a moving “Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata”, sung as she uncovers a bedsheet to reveal the Don curled up with her maid. Her resigned look at yet another betrayal will haunt me for days.
But there’s nothing quite like a letter scene to bring out the best in a singer-actress and Leonard was superlative. That middle-range mezzo ... was used for all it was worth... [and] Leonard used everything at her disposal to dominate the stage.
I feel especially compelled to praise Tracy Cantin as the maid Berta: so great was her finesse and projection that when I first looked closely at the program after the performance, I was stunned to read that she is still only in the Lyric’s training program (the Ryan Opera Center) – certainly a name to watch from now on!