Critic Emily Langer of The Washington Post wrote that, "Neway was a rare type of singer — one with the classical training and raw vocal strength to meet the demands of opera as well as the acting talent and appeal required to succeed in musical theater.
"[1] She is particularly remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of several contemporary American operas, most notably Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul.
What began as a hobby turned into a passion and following her graduation from Notre Dame she entered the Mannes College of Music, where she earned a degree in vocal performance.
[3] In April 1944 she was the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Norman Dello Joio's The Mystic Trumpeter with conductor Robert Shaw and the Collegiate Chorale at Town Hall.
In 1948, she returned to Broadway to portray the Female Chorus in the United States premiere of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, at the Ziegfeld Theatre.
[14] Among the many other productions she appeared in with the NYCO were: Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana (as Santuzza, conducted by Julius Rudel), Alban Berg's Wozzeck (as Marie, directed by Theodore Komisarjevsky), Menotti's The Consul (as Magda), Amahl and the Night Visitors (as the Mother), and The Medium (as Mme Flora), Bucci's Tale for a Deaf Ear (as Laura Gates),[15] Carlisle Floyd's Wuthering Heights (as Nellie, opposite Phyllis Curtin as Catherine); Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw (as the Governess, with Richard Cassilly as Peter Quint), and Richard Strauss's Salome (as Herodias), among others.
[5] In 1955, she sang in the world premiere of Raffaello de Banfield's Una lettera d'amore di Lord Byron in New Orleans, with Astrid Varnay.
In 1957 she portrayed Madame de Croissy for NBC Opera Theatre's production of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, with Rosemary Kuhlmann as Mother Marie, Elaine Malbin as Blanche, and Leontyne Price as Mme Lidoine.
[16] Neway notably portrayed Miriam in the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's The Scarf at the very first Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy on June 20, 1958.
[18] In June 1959, Neway returned to the Spoleto Festival to portray Geraldine in the world premiere of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge (which she recorded in 1960).