Erich Kleiber
Leigh made her Covent Garden debut as Countess Ceprano in Verdi's "Rigoletto". She first achieved critical notice as Barbarina in "The Marriage of Figaro", soon adding Susanna and Cherubino to her repertoire. She went on to sing Pamina in "The Magic Flute" and the title role in Massenet's "Manon", which she learnt in a week. She sang Sophie in Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier", under Erich Kleiber, and the Marzelline in Beethoven's "Fidelio" under Rudolf Kempe.