Isabel Leonard Performs the Greats at Carnegie Hall
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 12 February 2026 15:52
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Isabel Leonard (R) and accompanist John Arida. Photo by Chris Lee
At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Thursday, January 15th, I had the privilege to attend a splendid concert—presented by Carnegie Hall—of mostly popular songs performed by the incomparably beautiful mezzo-soprano, Isabel Leonard, with accompanist John Arida on piano.
The singer—who entered the stage wearing a fabulous, sparkling, golden gown—started with Aaron Copland’s “Why Do They Shut Me Out of Heaven?” from the 1950 collection, Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. Her next selection was one of the highlights of the evening: “I’ll Be Seeing You,” from 1938, with music composed by Sammy Fain. Another classic was the following song, “My Ship,” with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, from the 1941 musical, Lady in the Dark. She performed another from the Copland and Dickinson set—“Heart, We Will Forget Him!”—before one more of the most memorable from the recital: “The Way You Look Tonight,” composed by Jerome Kern and with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, which is from the unforgettable 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical film, Swing Time, which was directed by George Stevens in the strongest and most consistent phase of his long career.
The bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green then joined Leonard onstage for a delightful duet: Irving Berlin’s “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)” from his 1946 musical, Annie Get Your Gun. Green went on to perform several songs on his own: Copland’s “The Boatmen’s Dance” from Old American Songs, Set I, from 1950; “I, Too” from Three Dream Portraits (1950) by Margaret Bonds, to a text by Langston Hughes; two more from Copland’s Old American Songs, Set 1, including “The Dodger” as well as the exquisite Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts,” which the composer immortally employed in his great ballet score for Martha Graham, Appalachian Spring; and, finally, another Hughes setting, the 1942 “Songs to the Dark Virgin” by Florence Price. Another vocalist, the Broadway star Jordan Donica—who played Freddy Eynsford-Hill in Lincoln Center Theater’s stellar production of My Fair Lady with Laura Benanti—joined the pair to perform “New York, New York” from Leonard Bernstein’s 1944 On the Town, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
The second half of the event was stronger, beginning with another highlight of the evening: “Many a New Day” by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, from their 1943 musical, Oklahoma!, here beautifully sung by Leonard, who wore a shimmering red gown for this part of the program. Another of the best moments was the next selection, the Rodgers & Hammerstein duet, “If I Loved You,” from the 1945 Carousel, sung by Leonard and Danica. The latter went on to effectively perform several excellent songs on his own: “Dis Flower” from the 1943 show Carmen Jones, with music by Georges Bizet from his great opera, Carmen, arranged by Robert Russell Bennett, and lyrics by Hammerstein; “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” from the 1947 Brigadoon, with a score by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; “Where Is the Life That Late I Led?” from Cole Porter’s 1948 Kiss Me, Kate; and, lastly, “Some Enchanted Evening” by Rodgers & Hammerstein from their 1949 musical, South Pacific.
Leonard then returned for the remainder of the program proper and started with two Bernstein numbers: “I’m a Person Too,” from his 1943 I Hate Music: A Cycle of Five Kid Songs, and another song from On the Town, “Lonely Town.” She then performed “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” with music by Weill and lyrics by Ogden Nash, from their 1943 One Touch of Venus. She concluded her set with another sterling rendition: “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston, from the 1949 film, Cinderella. Donica and Green then joined her for another pleasure: “Some Other Time” from On the Town. Enthusiastic applause elicited three encores from the artists, beginning with “Sisters” from Berlin’s White Christmas, sung by Donica and Green. Leonard then gloriously sang “When You Wish Upon a Star” from the film Pinocchio and Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow,” with lyrics by Yip Harburg, from the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, concluding a marvelous evening.