Soprano Anna Leese tells the story of an extraordinary lucky break she had when fresh out of college at the age of 26. She grabbed the attention of the opera world when she stepped in at the last minute to play Musetta in La Boheme at the Royal Opera House in 2006. She had rave reviews. Here are some examples:

".... there was some entertaining new business in the Café Momus, where Anna Leese’s vibrant Musetta teasingly delivered her show-stopping waltz between knocking in billiard balls, cutely fingering the cue tip and giving the bannisters a wistful grope. The young New Zealander stepped in only at the last moment, when Nuccia Focile was injured in rehearsal. But I have rarely seen a substitute seize her chance more exuberantly. With her diamond-clear voice and natural comic timing she seemed born to play this part. Leese is one potential star in the making."
The Times October 25, 2006

"At the last moment Anna Leese – already noted as a student at the Royal College of Music – stepped into the role of Musetta and lit the fuse on a sparkling cameo that briefly set the evening alight."
FT, October 25, 2006

With such a response, it's hardly surprising that her career has really taken off with many more roles at the Royal Opera house and numerous concert performances with Jose Carreras.

The excerpt of Anna singing I have used comes from an album recorded by The Classical Opera Company. If you're interested in getting a copy you can click here to go through to the relevant webpage.

The recording of Quando me'n vo' that I used comes from the Naxos recording of La Boheme. To find out more and buy or download the album, please click here.

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