Praised for her “silvery, ethereal-sounding Sophie” by Opera magazine and “lovely vocal delicacy” in The Telegraph, Madison Leonard returns to the roles or Gilda in Rigoletto and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Dallas Opera and Central City Opera, respectively, in the 2022-23 season. She also makes roles debuts as Leïla in Les pêcheurs des perles with Austin Opera and Marie in La fille du régiment with Austin Opera. Future engagements include her return to Garsington Opera. Last season, she returned to Austin Opera and made her debut with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Chrisann Brennan in Bates’ The [R]evolution of Steve Jobs. She also sang excerpts of the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in concert with the Sacramento Philharmonic and joined Utah Opera as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. She made an acclaimed role and company debut as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier with Garsington Opera.  She maintains a close relationship with Seattle Opera at which she has sung previous performances of Gilda in Rigoletto and Chrisann Brennan in The [R]evolution of Steve Jobs as well as Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Frasquita in Carmen. Her performance of Gilda in Rigoletto with Austin Opera was named one of the Top Ten Joys in Dance and Classical Music by the Austin Chronicle. Her first performances of Marzelline in Fidelio with North Carolina Opera fell prey to the COVID-19 pandemic, as did her first Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with North Carolina Opera and the title role of Emmeline with Tulsa Opera in the season prior.  With Wolf Trap Opera, she debuted: Ilia in Idomeneo and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette following previous performances as Madeline in Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher and the Daughter in Glass’ The Juniper Tree. She is a former Cafritz Young Artist of Washington National Opera, at which she sang Morgana in Alcina, the High Priestess in Aida, the Rose in Portman’s The Little Prince, and Little Zegner Sister in Mazzoli’s Proving Up. Other recent highlights for the soprano include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Inland Northwest Opera, Adele in Die Fledermaus with Opera Idaho, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Amarillo Opera. On the concert stage, she has twice joined the National Symphony Orchestra: her debut with Gianandrea Noseda conducting Stravinsky’s Pulcinella as part of the SHIFT Festival followed by an immediate return soloist in Vaughan William’s Symphony No. 3 (A Pastoral Symphony) under the baton of Sir Mark Elder. She is a frequent guest of the Florida Orchestra and has joined institution for Orff’s Carmina Burana, Haydn’s Creation, further performances of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, and a concert of opera favorites. She sang her first performances Fauré’s Requiem with the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, D.C., joined the New York Festival of Song for a program of music from the British Isles at Caramoor and Merkin Hall in New York City, and offered a solo recital at Washington Adventist University. Ms. Leonard is a 2018 winner of the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, at which she sang arias from Rigoletto and Hänsel und Gretel with Bertrand de Billy conducting. She is a previous first place winner of the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. Additionally, she received the Women’s Voice Fellowship from the Luminarts Cultural Foundation and scholarships from the Lynn Harvey Foundation and the Musicians Club of Women. The soprano earned her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and her Bachelor of Arts from Pepperdine University. She is a former participant of the Merola Opera Program in association with San Francisco Opera at which she sang Monica in Menotti’s The Medium and a former young artist of Des Moines Metro Opera.