Mezzo Isabel Leonard balancing singing and being a mother

NEW YORK (AP) — Isabel Leonard is balancing life as a 37-year-old single mother and a sought-after mezzo-soprano.

After starring in three productions at the Metropolitan Opera this season, the native New Yorker sings at Carnegie Hall on Monday night in an all-French program for new music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin's first concert leading the Met Orchestra.

Growing up in Manhattan, Leonard wanted to be a ballerina.

She received outstanding reviews in Mozart, Rossini and other composers of the central repertory and has made an impact in contemporary operas that included "Marnie," Thomas Ades' "The Tempest" and Jennifer Higdon's "Cold Mountain."