“The night's star turn, though, was by mezzo-soprano Kristen Forrest Leich as Cherubino, the androgynously attractive page besotted with every girl he meets. Leich's expressive, ever-active facial acting was more like that of a film performer than an opera singer. Even when the focus on stage was elsewhere, her Cherubino made eyes at a maid that looked bound to set the girl's dress on fire. Yet flirty smiles and vibrant physicality weren't all there were to the Colorado native's charms. Leich sang the folk-like tones of "Voi Che Sapete" in a subtle, affecting way that eludes many richer voices.”
– The Star-Ledger
Kristen Leich will he heard in 2007-2008 with Deutsche Oper am Rhein singing Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro , Sesto in La clemeza di Tito , Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel , and Meil/Max in the world premier of Giorgio Battistelli’s The Fashion . Also in the season she will make her Brussels debut in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream with the Charlemagne Orchestra. The 2006-2007 season saw her debut at New York City Opera as Dorabella in Cosí fan tutte , Sandman in Hansel & Gretel , and as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly . In January 2006 Miss Leich appeared as Benjamin Younger in Benjamin by John Carbon, which will be released in the fall of 2007 on Zimbel Records. She has enjoyed a surging career since her professional debut in Die Zauberflöte for the Cleveland Opera. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, she continued her studies at The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. As a member of the Gerdine Young Program with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, She debuted in performances of Rigoletto in 2005 , returned in 2006 as The Sandman in Hansel & Gretel and as a principal artist in The Mikado in 2007.