“Leah Crocetto (Elisabetta) and Jamie Barton (Eboli) gave searing accounts of their characters’ dramatic conflicts and intense emotions, expressed in explosions on passionate singing.”

Opera Now

“Soprano Leah Crocetto has the ideal voice for the piece, as she did in Don Carlo … she hurled her voice magisterially over the chorus when necessary, but floated soft high notes with the same ease. In the concluding “Libera me,” her volcanic chest voice seared. She met all of Verdi’s demands in this cruel showpiece, from the high notes that were like a punch in the solar plexus to a shimmering pianissimo B-flat.”

Charles T. Downey – Washington Classical Review

“… for the sheer vocal beauty and power-on-demand, soprano Leah Crocetto’s Elisabeth makes the night. If you can’t see the tragedy, at least you can hear it in her majestic sound.”

Kate Wingfield – Metro Weekly

“As Queen Elisabeth, Leah Crocetto, a dominating soprano, is bright and clear…”

Mike Paarlberg – Washington City Paper

“As Elisabeth of Valois, Soprano Leah Crocetto superbly portrays a woman torn between true love for someone she can never have and submission to her powerful royal husband. Ms. Crocetto’s gorgeous soprano is sweetly comforting in the aria she sings to her departing lady-in-waiting (Aria: “Oh ma chere compagne”/ “Non pianger, mia compagna”).”

David Friscic – DC Metro Theater Arts

“Crocetto explored her nuanced legato throughout and even expressed the pain and anguish of Elisabetta with a sublime crescendo up to the high A with ample breath support … The final aria was singing of hypnotic nature, Crocetto luring the listener in with plush sound and exquisite connected lines. We felt a wide gamut of emotions, from her pleading and insecurity to a growing sense of resolve in the aria’s repetition of its first section.”

David Salazar – Operawire

“In the leading roles, Russell Thomas (Don Carlo) and Leah Crocetto (Elisabeth of Valois) are convincing in their dramatization as well as their vocal abilities. Thomas’ tenor is warm and nimble while Crocetto’s soprano shows restraint and measure in knowing when to unleash – making those moments quite effective.”

Brett Dodson – MD Theatre Guide

“Crocetto’s soprano, turning more towards the spinto category, had just the right combination of ethereal beauty and spine-tingling power; the former was manifest in both the sad first act aria and the gorgeous duet with Carlo in the last act, and the latter at the top of ensembles. Her reluctant queen was an ideal combination of saintly reserve and elegant authority.”

Charles T. Downey – Washington Classical Review

“Soprano Leah Crocetto’s Elisabeth was sung with style and technique, and she conveyed the queen’s youth and vulnerability.”

Philip Kennicott – Washington Post