Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera
That was not even all of the great singing. Every role was terrific, and one of the very finest musical passages was soprano Leah Hawkins, singing the Strawberry Woman's song. Barely a minute and a half of music, she stopped the show.
On opening night, the competition for the most raucous ovations was intense, and not limited to top-billed artists. Leah Hawkins, a member of the Met's young artist program, turned the Strawberry Woman's cry into a two-minute revelation.
Two other standouts were alumni of the Washington National Opera's young-artist program.... And soprano Leah Hawkins, currently a member of the Met's Lindemann program, made a small piece of performance art out of the cameo role of a fruit seller, the Strawberry Woman.
...while Lindemann Young Artist Leah Hawkins turned the Strawberry Woman's tiny vignette into a literal show-stopping moment.
...He and his female opposite number, Leah Hawkins as a sumptuous-voiced Strawberry Woman, won deserved applause for their Act 2 solos.
Queen of Spades at the Metropolitan Opera
Smaller roles were given prominence by such bright talents as Leah Hawkins…
Excellent casting of the supporting roles added to the depth of the performance. As Masha, soprano Leah Hawkins was only on stage for a minute or so, but her soprano commanded attention.
A spotlight must be placed on Leah Hawkins in the very brief role of Masha. Most of the time, these roles don't really register much of an impact due to their brevity, but Hawkins' warm and shiny timbre provided a nice complement to Davidsen's more reserved and darkened tone in their brief exchange.
While their parts were small, Leah Hawkins as Lisa's maid Masha…were both impressive in their attractive singing.
…with Leah Hawkins a warm, winning Masha.
7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS at Bayerische Staatsoper
American soprano Leah Hawkins a moving Otello "Ave Maria"…
It is not easy for you to sing against the sedate memory of Maria Callas that evening; Leah Hawkins as Desdemona and…certainly make one sit up and take notice.
"The singers on stage--all remarkable, though special mention should be made of Hawkins's plush sound..."
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7 Deaths of Maria Callas
Vier Letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) with Apollo Orchestra
Soprano Leah Hawkins, a DCYA member, was the soloist. With a generous, rich voice, as strong on the bottom as it is on top, she soared easily over the orchestra in big moments...In “September,” where the soloist sings of the fading of summer, Hawkins had a chance to sing softly with a quiet string accompaniment and she floated through the passage beautifully.
A Space Odyssey with Philadelphia Orchestra
Nolan Williams Jr. had big forces at his disposal for Hold Fast to Dreams: the Mann Festival Choir drawn from local groups, two excellent soloists — soprano Leah Hawkins...
Champion at Washington National Opera
Vocally and dramatically impressive was the young soprano Leah Hawkins, a member of WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz program, who pulled off two wildly contrasting characters: the vindictive Cousin Blanche, raising and punishing the child Emile, and Emile's wife, Sadie.
…but the most brilliant interpretation fell to the young soprano Leah Hawkins, now a participant in the Domingo-Cafritz program for young singers, who gave life to Cousin Blanche and Sadie Griffith.
...and his wedding with Sadie (well-sung by Leah Hawkins).
Elsewhere in the cast, soprano Leah Hawkins (a WNO young artist) brought a strong presence and gorgeous sound to both Griffith’s wife and his disciplinarian childhood mother figure.
In the brief but key role of Griffith’s wife (yes, he was bi- as well as gay), soprano Leah Hawkins turns in a memorable performance.
Porgy and Bess with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Leah Hawkins, as Serena, impressed mightily with her plush tone and impeccable phrasing in the wrenching "My Man's Gone Now."
...and Leah Hawkins (Serena), who combined pathos with a gleaming sound.
Proving Up at Washington National Opera
Leah Hawkins brought dignity and pathos to the role of the worried, increasingly pessimistic mother. The soprano used her sumptuous voice vividly, nowhere more so than in the opera's bleakest line, "God, you are a rumor; God, you are smoke," rising to a long-held C-sharp of shattering impact.
Mazzoli’s vocal writing, too, is admirable, allowing the words to be clearly expressed and showing off singers such as Leah Hawkins, who has developed her rich voice admirably in her time at WNO.
The cast of singers from the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program formed an excellent, cohesive ensemble...and powerhouse soprano Leah Hawkins, the best part of the National Symphony Orchestra’s revival of Leonard Bernstein’s Songfest last fall...Mazzoli gave the most searing vocal writing to Ma Zegner, and Hawkins responded with dramatic weight in her stark aria “I’ll never hate the weeds,” and maternal tenderness in other places. Her wailed high notes in the final scene, as her spirit was finally broken, were shattering, and she brought an unassailable air of dignity to this character trying to hold what was left of her family together.
Soprano Leah Hawkins has a commanding presence as the family's matriarch, tired and bent over from the back-breaking labor of homestead life, mourning her lost daughters, and desperate to protect her remaining children, all while constantly praying for rain. Hawkins voice is powerful and beautiful, and she infuses it with the overwhelming sadness of a mother who is losing faith that this life was the right choice for her family.
Suor Angelica at Metropolitan Opera
Best of the solo nuns were...and Leah Hawkins, in her company debut as one of the Alms sisters.
Songfest with National Symphony Orchestra
But there were some fine solo moments by singers who have, in their months and years with the program, been audibly finding their voices...Leah Hawkins sang well in the tough and perhaps overemotional section dealing with race, a juxtaposition of Langston Hughes's "I, Too, Sing America" and June Jordan's "Okay, 'Negroes.'"
The high point of this work was the paired, seething anger of baritone and soprano Leah Hawkins in “I, Too, Sing America / Okay ‘Negroes’,” sung to poetry by Langston Hughes and June Jordan, respectively. Hawkins, in particular, was an elemental force of sneering derision. Her voice was just as rich and powerful on her own in “Music I Heard With You,” by Conrad Aiken, but with a tender side caressing the phrases of this softer piece.
The Dictator's Wife at Washington National Opera
...one of the protesters (the outstanding singer Leah Hawkins)...
Leah Hawkins made a rich, stirring sound as a down-and-out mother prepared to sell her children.
Leah Hawkins is a beautiful singer...
Aida at the Metropolitan Opera
Leah Hawkins showed a soprano of immense weight and dark power, delivering the Priestess’s rapt prayer from off stage.
During those many Aïdas in the late 90s I wondered if any who heard Radvanovsky's Priestess imagined she'd eventually become an important Verdian? I had a similar thought last evening when an arresting offstage Leah Hawkins compelled me to pay special attention during a scene I usually can't wait to be over.
