PHOTOS & REVIEWS
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY | MAY-JUNE 2024
DIRECTED BY BRIAN CROWE
“A final word about Eryn LeCroy and Claire Leyden: they are both very fine singers and produce some of the best moments of song in the show.”
- NEW JERSEY STAGE
“Especially strong vocal performances are delivered by Monty’s love interests, Claire Leyden as his hot-blooded paramour Sibella, and Eryn LeCroy as his sweet fiancée, Phoebe D’Ysquith.”
- MORRISTOWN GREEN
“…the voluptuous, social climbing Claire Leyden as bombshell Sibella Hallward. Adjectives such as Delectable, Bliss, and Sin are used to depict her. It must be added that being an astounding actress, as well as a great beauty, definitely helps Sibella’s/Claire’s persona.”
- PHILLY GAY CALENDAR
“The STNJ’s cast is a veritable dream team with their superb acting and musical talents.”
- BROADWAY WORLD
Photos by Avery Brunkus
Photos by Russ Rowland
THE EXTINCTIONIST
WORLD PREMIERE | heartbeat opera | BARUCH PAC NYC | APRIL 2024
Music by dan schlosberg | Libretto by Amanda Quaid | DIRECTED BY SHADI GHAHERI
“Here, one woman (Katherine Henly, tireless in a role with equal demands on her voice and acting skills) is whisked from scene to scene, like a latter-day Wozzeck. Her relationships crumble around her insistence on seizing control where she can, by not bringing a baby into a doomed world and accelerating its destruction. This is to the dismay of her partner (Philip Stoddard) and her best friend (a shape-shifting and likable Claire Leyden), and to the frustration of her doctor (a warm but firm Eliam Ramos).”
- Joshua Barone, THE NEW YORK TIMES
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
2ND NATIONAL TOUR | NETWORKS | 2021-2022
DIRECTED BY MATT LENZ
“Of special mention is Claire Leyden as Charlie’s mom, Mrs. Bucket… her portrayal of a young working widow smiling through a daily pain is genuinely beautiful, and her one solo song, ‘If Your Father Were Here,’ is hands down the emotional centerpiece of the entire night.”
- Oklahoma City Free Press
Photo by Jeremy Daniel
THE EXTINCTIONIST
Workshop | heartbeat opera | PS21 Chatham | May 2021
Music by dan schlosberg | Libretto by Amanda Quaid
“In the more conventional role of the Woman's Friend, Claire Leyden supplied a liquid, attractive lyricism befitting music apt for a Marzelline or Ännchen, plus clear enunciation and a natural gift for the stage.”
- David Shengold, OPERA NEWS
MADELEINE
Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE!, New york city | March 2020
Directed by Alyce Mott, Conducted by Jestin Pieper
“In the title role, soprano Claire Leyden was every inch the star, and projected a nicely human fallibility in a character who is not entirely sympathetic. Her lyric soprano is a major instrument, sweet of tone yet able to swell with dramatic force when necessary.
- Eric Myers, OPERA NEWS
“In Claire Leyden we had a delightful Madeleine, a real actress with star-quality looks and voice, especially her pearly, well-projected top notes. If New York had a Volksoper, she’d be prominent there.”
- David Shengold, OPERA Magazine
“Leyden brought splendid conviction to the part of the lonely and increasingly angry heroine, in addition to lustrous vocal sheen from her opening offstage cadenza to her final poignant moments in front of her mother’s portrait. Her singing of “A Perfect Day,” the sole traditional aria in the piece (and one demanded by Met star Frances Alda), was exquisite. It is a demanding part, as Madeleine is almost never offstage, but Leyden never flagged.”
- Harry Forbes, Operetta Research Center
“Claire Leyden sings the title role, with a luxuriously sizable soprano, blazing high notes, and a dramatic range that covers the seductive and the outrageous sides of the heroine.”
- John Yohalem, Parterre Box
Photos by Jill Levine
Photos by Russ Rowland and Andy Boyle
DER FREISCHÜTZ
HEARTBEAT OPERA, new york city | DECEMBER 2019
DIRECTED BY LOUISA PROSKE AND CHLOE TREAT, CONDUCTED BY DANIEL SCHLOSBERG
“Soprano Claire Leyden motivated absolutely every move and utterance to a degree rare in opera.”
- David Shengold, Gay City News
“Here was a rare presentation of the work that would define 19th-century German opera, made topical in a way that both respected Weber and stretched him.”
- Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, Fredericksburg, va | May-July 2019
Directed by Catherine flye, music direction by joe walsh, produced by patrick a’hearn
“Mabel! Let us put a star by Claire Leyden’s name. Not only is this lovely actress ideal for light operetta, her classically trained soprano has a crystalline purity that I rarely hear on professional stages anywhere.”
- Maggie Lawrence, Culpeper Times
“The coloratura soprano of Mabel (Claire Leyden) is meltingly perfect (Poor Wandering One) and she is gorgeous, as well.”
- Sara Dudley Brown, The Zebra
“Leyden showcases a brilliant vocal range with her aria, “Poor Wandering One!” and receives enthusiastic feedback from the audience as she draws out her notes–longer than I even thought a person’s lungs were capable!”
- Julie L. Exline, DC Metro Theater Arts
“The ridiculous plot, progressing with the sheer joy of Gilbert’s cleverest lyrical routines and wordplay, is enhanced by some of Sullivan’s most soaring romantic melodies. This is evidenced poignantly with the entrance of Mabel (the lovely Claire Leyden), and her delightfully delivered coloratura offer to rescue Frederic from his uncivilized past (“Poor wandering one”)… Leyden’s powerful soprano is a pleasure.”
- Emily Jennings, Culpeper Star-Exponent
Photos by Suzanne Carr Rossi
