Lisette Oropesa (born September 29, 1983) is an American operatic soprano of Cuban ancestry.[1] Her repertoire includes works from Gluck, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner, Verdi, Bizet, Massenet, Bellini and Puccini. With her lyric coloratura soprano voice,[2] she has performed roles in her native Spanish and English, as well as German, French and Italian. She is particularly noted in the roles of Susanna, Gilda, Konstanze, Lucia and Manon.
Oropesa is a vegan, and runner/marathoner who has been featured in Runner's World Magazine.[3] In 2014, she co-contributed to Running, Eating, Thinking: A Vegan Anthology[4] by Martin Rowe, where she talked about her weight loss journey and how she now follows a plant-based diet.
In 2015, she was a contributor to Master Singers: Advice from the Stage which includes interviews with opera singers about "analysis and awareness of their technique, art, interpretation and stagecraft".[5]
She originally studied to be a flautist before her mother, a music teacher and former operatic soprano,[2] suggested she audition for the voice faculty at the Louisiana State University School of Music.[6] She joined the voice program under the guidance of Robert Grayson[7] who was the chair of the Voice/Opera at the LSU School of Music.[8]
As substitute, she sang her first leading role at the Metropolitan Opera, appearing as Susanna in five performances of Sir Jonathan Miller's production of The Marriage of Figaro opposite Erwin Schrott's Figaro in October 2007.[9]
Work at the Met
Oropesa in 2011
In the 2007–08 season, Oropesa was seen in the Met's Hansel and Gretel as the Dew Fairy and, in the 2008–09 season, in the role of Lisette in La rondine.[10] She also sang the role of the Rhinemaiden, Woglinde, in the Met's 2009 Der Ring des Nibelungen, and additionally sang the off-stage role of the Woodbird in Siegfried.[11]
The end of the 2012–13 season culminated with her singing as Gilda in Rigoletto and as the Waldvogel in Siegfried where she was well received in both productions: "Her pure, smooth soprano and alert presence were both endearing"[16] "...including the bright yellow Forest Bird, beautifully sung from offstage by Lisette Oropesa".[17]
The end of 2013 saw an opening of a new production of Falstaff at the Met, conducted by Levine. According to The New York Times, "[with the role of Nannetta], the winning soprano Lisette Oropesa, sings with effortless grace and lyrical bloom".[18]
In 2014, she starred alongside Jonas Kaufmann and Sophie Koch in the new production of Werther directed by Richard Eyre. The New York Times noted that "The bright-voiced, impressive soprano Lisette Oropesa is a sunny, winning Sophie."[19]
At the beginning of 2016, Oropesa gave her first NYC solo recital with the Park Avenue Armory. According to Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times, she "gave a rewarding performance" and "brought uncommon freshness to this music".[20]
Oropesa returned to the Met in late 2017 as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel in which "she was fully committed to arguably the most demanding of roles in this particular opera".[21]
In 2019, she debuted in the title role of Manon, which was hailed by The New York Times: "Lisette Oropesa's performance in Massenet's opera at the Met is alone worth the price of admission."[22]
In 2020, she returned to the Met for her second title role of the season, Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata. Her performance was praised in The New York Times: "...combining exquisite singing, youthful allure, affecting vulnerability and, by the end, bleak intensity, Ms. Oropesa emerged on Wednesday as a major Violetta".[23] On March 1, she hosted the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and gave a donation of $25,000, ensuring each contestant received $20,000 and raising the prize money for the first time in over 20 years.[24] She was subsequently named National Advisor to the MONC for her contributions.[25]
In April and May 2012, Oropesa appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera as Konstanze in a production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail set on the Orient Express in the Pasha's private train car.[33] In October 2012, she again performed the role of Lucia with the Arizona Opera.[34] In November, she performed the role of Cleopatra in Michigan Opera Theatre's Giulio Cesare.[35][36]
In 2013, she sang the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute at the Florida Grand Opera and reviews were universally positive: "Oropesa was beyond fantastic in her portrayal of Pamina."[37] "Her aria 'Ach, ich fühl's', sung as she believes Tamino no longer loves her, was genuinely moving ..."[38] In the summer, Oropesa sang The Marriage of Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera: "Nothing in the evening surpassed her rendition of "Deh vieni, non tardar" in act 4, in which she spun strands of magic in the evening air" noted critic James Keller.[39] Later in 2013, she sang the role of Amalia at the Washington Concert Opera for Verdi's I Masnadieri in which she "achieved total triumph as Amalia, the trill-filled part created for Jenny Lind."[40] She was also called in as a last minute replacement for Nannetta in San Francisco Opera's Falstaff.[41]
In 2015, she started the year at the Paris Opera as Konstanze. According to one review, she sang "Marten aller Arten" with "incisive accents and passionate acting".[49] Her next performance was at the Concertgebouw where she received a standing ovation for her rendition of "Caro Nome" in a recorded radio performance of Rigoletto.[50][51] She returned home to New Orleans to again sing Susanna. According to The New Orleans Advocate, she "offered a fine display of vocal versatility, from the lilting coloratura of a young woman in love to the confusion and anger of the object of the lascivious intentions of her overlord, Count Almaviva".[52] She then went on debut in La fille du régiment at the Pittsburgh Opera. "Oropesa's Marie lacked neither virtuosity nor personality. With solid high notes, accurate coloratura and an endless supply of golden-age trills (I stopped counting after five), this endearing artist ran a vocal marathon that might have paralleled the physical feat she was preparing to run in Pittsburgh Marathon the next morning".[53] Her next engagement was with the San Francisco Opera in The Marriage of Figaro. A review wrote, "Oropesa is a charming Susanna. Her voice has a gorgeous delicate quality to it but still has volume. Her "Deh vieni, non tardar" was unstrained and she managed to do a perfect martial arts flip of Figaro when she loses her temper with him later in the act".[54] She went onto another extremely successful debut in La traviata at the Philadelphia Opera "Oropesa manifested secure technical chops—trills, staccati, pinpoint dynamics and—most impressively—a long, sustained line that allowed her to hold the audience breathless in both "Dite alla giovine" and the party scene ensembles".[55] In November, she was brought in for nearly back to back performances of Rigoletto and Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Bavarian State Opera due to cancellations.[56] She then finished the year with a performance of Rigoletto with the Teatro Real in Madrid in which she was a "Triumph".[57]
In 2017, she started her year at the Lausanne Opera, performing her first Ophélie in Hamlet. Jacques Schmitt from ResMusica wrote, "She does not have the stratospheric highs that Natalie Dessay had (who will ever have them?). She does not have her theatrical madness either. And yet, with "her" Ophélie, she offers a voice and theatrical character that is overwhelming with love, despair, ingenuity and authenticity as it is rare to see and hear."[65] She then went to Washington, D.C., to perform in recital, which was highly praised. "The evening opened with "Ragion nell'alma siede," an aria from Haydn's opera Il mondo della luna. It was a gutsy move, and Oropesa easily filled the smaller venue with sound. The accuracy during runs was striking, as were the highest notes, all produced with facility. Her tone turned especially limpid on the little cadenza."[66] This performance was recorded on video and was released to YouTube, culminating into the creation of her first album titled Within/Without. Next, she was in Munich for a performance of Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Bavarian State Opera, making it her fourth year in a row of performing this role there. She then went on to perform a new production of Rigoletto at the Dutch National Opera directed by Damiano Michieletto, in this well-reviewed production, she was noted as being "Slender and graceful, soprano Lisette Oropesa was simply world-class as Gilda, with flawless emission and generous top notes, crystalline up to high E. The long trill at the end of "Caro nome" would have traced a perfect zigzag on a pitch visualiser. Even more stunning than her bravura was the melting glow at the centre of her voice, her morbidezza (softness)."[67] Shortly after, she stepped in for two performances of Rigoletto at the Paris Opera, filling in for an ailing singer.[68] She was reported to have received a standing ovation for her interpretation. She spent the summer debuting the role of Norina in Don Pasquale at Glyndebourne where she received accolades in the role.[69] She was next heard in Paris for a concert of Falstaff with the Orchestre de Paris where she announced it would be the last performance of Nannetta she will sing.[70] She then went on to debut at the Royal Opera House in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. She was given universally rave reviews for her interpretation. "Lucia is her first Royal Opera role, and the Cuban-American soprano is sensationally good."[71]
In 2018, Oropesa returned to the Bavarian State Opera to perform her signature role as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail for the fourth year in a row. Next, she gave a recital for the Tucson Desert Song Festival[72] where she performed a brand new recital set and released her first music video "Adieux de l'hôtesse arabe", a Georges Bizet composition based on a poem by Victor Hugo.[73] From this recital, Oropesa digitally released her second album entitled, "Aux filles du désert".[74] Next, she performed in a new production of Orfeo ed Euridice by John Neumeier and the Joffrey Ballet at the Los Angeles Opera.[75] Oropesa "moved across the stage like a phantom presence" according to LA Weekly.[76] She once again returned to the Los Angeles Opera to perform her signature role as Gilda in Rigoletto, "Her "Caro nome" was a veritable how-to manual on holding an audience enraptured".[77] Oropesa then went to the Teatro Real in Madrid to perform in Lucia di Lammermoor where she received "enormous" standing ovations for her interpretation of the role.[78][79] During the summer, she debuted at the Rossini Opera Festival in Rossini's Adina which was also a role debut for her. She was "Considered by many to be this year's revelation of the ROF.".[80] The day before her second performance of Adina, she sang her first ever solo concert with orchestra with the Philharmonic Gioachino Rossini. Her concert was hailed as "One of the most memorable concerts in the 39 year history of the Rossini Opera Festival."[81] In September, Oropesa replaced Diana Damrau, who withdrew due to illness, as Marguerite de Valois at the Paris Opera in the company's new production of Les Huguenots[82] where she "comprehensively conquered the hearts of the Paris audience."[83] The day after her final performance of Les Huguenots, she premiered another new role of Adina in L'elisir d'amore with a "Timbre ardent, projection homogène sur toute la tessiture, vocalises agiles, aigus scintillants."[84] She then opened the season at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in a new production of Rigoletto.[85] For her performance she was hailed as being "perfetta la Gilda".[86]
In 2019, Oropesa returned to her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana to give a concert with Paul Groves called "A Starry Night with Lisette Oropesa" which was recorded for broadcast on Louisiana Public Broadcasting.[87] She then went to Barcelona to perform in Rodelinda. She was lauded for her performances with "sylistic mastery",[88] "technique without weaknesses",[89] and "spectacular coloratura."[90] She went on singing in a concert version of Robert le Diable at La Monnaie in Brussels.[91][92] She then returned to the United States to perform in Don Pasquale with the Pittsburgh Opera to great acclaim, having a voice "So sublimely expressive that they stand out like a Michelangelo fresco in a black and white film."[93] In June, Oropesa made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a new production of I masnadieri with an "Excellent debut for someone who has long been a guarantee throughout the world"[94] In November, Oropesa returned to the Washington Concert Opera to perform Hamlet where she "melded dramatic sensitivity with a clean, pearly soprano."[95]
In 2020, Oropesa was set to debut the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the Paris Opera; however, six of her performances were cancelled due to the ongoing 2019–20 French pension reform strike.[96] Once she was able to perform, she was rewarded in the press for a "brilliant voice, the treble easy, the vocalizations are perfectly executed and the line of song decorated with subtlety. An accomplished actress..."[97] After the impasse caused by the COVID-19, she returned to the Teatro Real in Madrid to perform the role of Violetta Valéry in La traviata.[98] On July 28, she was the first woman at this theatre to perform a solo encore by performing the traditionally cut second verse of the aria "Addio del passato".[99][100] On August 10, Oropesa announced the signing of a five-year contract with the San Francisco Classical Recording Company along with a Mozart concert aria album with Il Pomo d'Oro.[101] On August 14, she returned to the Arena di Verona to perform in a socially distanced Rossini Concert where she was "a triumph of belcanto as an elegance of the line, in a coloratura of supreme abstraction and captivating precision".[102] Oropesa returned to the Royal Opera House to perform in a benefit livestream concert that marked the reopening of the ROH for the first time in nearly seven months.[103] In October, she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in Die Entführung aus dem Serail in a production by Hans Neuenfels. She was regarded as a "World class Konstanze" by the Kurier.[104] At the Teatro alla Scala she was slated to open the season on December 7 in Lucia di Lammermoor, but the performances were canceled due to lockdowns in Italy.[105] She was invited to perform for the opening of La Scala on December 7 in "A riveder le stelle"[106] where she performed "Regnava nel silenzio" from Lucia di Lammermoor in the original key wearing a Giorgio Armani Privé gown.[107] Her last performances of 2020 were at the Liceu in Barcelona in La traviata.[108]
Her 2021 year started with a performance with the Bilbao Opera in a recital that was an "unmitigated success".[109] In April, she starred in a movie production of La traviata by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma which was viewed by over a million people[110] when it was aired on primetime Rai 3 in Italy. She also performed at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in a bel canto concert performance with Sir Antonio Pappano.[111] On May 7, Oropesa released her first album with orchestra on the Pentatone label, titled, Ombra Compagna,[112]Gramophone wrote, "Oropesa's vocal finesse and dramatic insight make this a debut recital of rare pedigree."[113] On September 13, she opened the season at the Royal Opera House in London with a new production of Rigoletto, which won rave reviews, The Guardian writing "Oropesa makes a matchless Gilda, singing with an extraordinary beauty of tone and understated depth of feeling: this really is one of the truly great performances."[114] In October, Oropesa revived the Richard Eyre production of La traviata at the Royal Opera House. Her performance was "Without a doubt she is one of the finest, most complete Violettas to grace this staging in its almost 30 year history."[115] In November, she went on a five-city, five-country tour of Theodora with Joyce DiDonato and the Il Pomo d'Oro orchestra. At the Teatro alla Scala, she had "overwhelming expressiveness" in the part.[116] In December, she returned to Spain to perform two zarzuela recitals,[117] for which, according to Codalario, "reaped one of the greatest successes we have witnessed at the Teatro de la Zarzuela".[118]
At the start of 2022, Oropesa debuted her first Bellini role, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, at the Teatro alla Scala. She was universally praised with a "miracle of filati and variations, with spotless high notes."[119] She then went on to give two lieder recitals, one in Valencia, Spain and the other in Vienna, Austria. The press saying "And generous and great is also her interpretive level, since the soprano is the owner of an instrument, and of knowledge, typical of the best."[120] She then reprised her role as Konstanze at the Vienna State Opera and also jumped in at the last minute as Gilda there with the Viennese press saying "Her voice, in the softly bedded middle register, hinted at a gentle melancholy reminiscent of operatic times long gone."[121] Lisette then had an anticipated[122] return to the Teatro Real to perform an all French language concert with many of the pieces being from an upcoming album.[123] The critics said "Lisette Oropesa is a very notable artist, who has an abundant and rich lyrical soprano voice that she handles with mastery and skill."[124] She then went on to sing the Lucia mad scene at the Gran Teatre del Liceu's 175th Anniversary Gala where she was greeted with an over three minute ovation for her interpretation. She then returned to the Vienna State Opera to sing as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor where her "technique is astonishing and she was in absolute command."[125] On May 27, her new "La traviata" album was released by Pentatone.[126] At the same time, she was debuting at the Zürich Opera House in Lucia in an "electrifying interpretation".[127] In August, Oropesa returned to the Arena di Verona to perform as La traviata and sing a concert of Carmina Burana where she was in "full control of her instrument".[128] In late August, she debuted at the Salzburg Festival in Lucia di Lammermoor, where it was the first time that Lucia was ever performed there.[129] Later in September, she made a double debut, one for I puritani and one at the Teatro di San Carlo with a "compendium of vocal technique, an essay on bel canto aesthetics".[130] On September 30, she released her 5th album, Rossini & Donizetti: French Bel Canto Arias[131] According to Gramophone, "her sense of line often flawless, text, character and emotions exactingly conveyed".[132] On October 30 she released her 6th album, Handel's Theodora.[133] In November, she returned to the Royal Opera House to debut in Richard Jones'Alcina. She "sang with a high-class, diamantine soprano that never loses its quality".[134]
In 2023, Oropesa sang her first performances of the year at the Bayerische Staatsoper in I masnadieri. Mundo Classical wrote, "Listening to her, one has the impression of being in front of one of the great Italian lyric sopranos of the last century."[135] In February she was awarded "Best Female Opera Singer" by the German magazine OPER![de], the only international opera prize in Germany.[136] On March 8, 2023, Oropesa was awarded the prestigious merit of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French minister of Culture. The distinction was given to her by the president of Centre national de la musique[fr], Jean-Philippe Thiellay[fr].[137] Afterwards, she took on the role of Ophélie in Hamlet at the Opéra national de Paris, which had not been performed there since 1938.[138] Her performance was regarded as "pure soprano, with a bronzed midrange, solar highs, flawless virtuosity and perfectly intelligible diction".[139] On April 2, her performance of Alcina from the Royal Opera House won the Olivier Award for "Best New Opera Production."[140] On April 19, she was awarded the Franco Abbiati Music Critics Award for her performances in Italy in the year 2022.[141] On April 13, Oropesa returned to the Teatro alla Scala to perform in a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, a production which was supposed to open the season in 2020 but was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.[142] Her performance was lauded by critics and "gave a poignant, overwhelming interpretation of Lucia".[143] In June she performed Il turco in Italia at the Teatro Real where she missed her opening night performance due to a flu.[144] When she returned, critics were impressed with her "warm velvety sound"[145] In July, she debuted Roméo et Juliette with the Savonlinna Opera Festival to critical acclaim with a "supple, beautiful voice".[146] In mid July, she interpreted the rarely performed French version of Lucie di Lammermoor with "impressive technical mastery",[147] On July 25, Oropesa interpreted the Star-Spangled Banner during Jill Biden's visit to Paris to celebrate the return of the United States to UNESCO.[148] In October, she returned to the Vienna State Opera to perform in La traviata where she had "flawlessly flowing pianissimo".[149] In November, she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in La fille du régiment. The Chicago Sun Times said she was a "complete natural as Marie".[150] On November 9, her album French Bel Canto Arias won best Recording Solo Recital at the International Opera Awards.[151]
In 2024, she returned to Paris to sing Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at the Palais Garnier where she "triumphs over the evening."[152] She then went to Vienna to debut[153] Mathilde in Guillaume Tell at the Vienna State Opera where she had "coloratura-skilled luminosity and majestic charisma."[154] In Rome, she debuted La sonnambula to great acclaim where her trill was called "the eighth wonder of the world."[155] She won the best "Female Singer of the Year" at the International Opera Awards. [156]
Personal life
In 2008, Oropesa reconnected with her high school boyfriend Steven Harris on Facebook. In October 2012, they married in Tucson, Arizona, during performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Arizona Opera.[157] In 2019, she acquired Spanish citizenship.[158]
Rowe, Martin & Oropesa, Lisette (2014) "Running, Singing and being Vegan" (ed.), Running, Eating, Thinking: A Vegan Anthology. New York: Lantern Books. ISBN978-1-59056-348-9 (paperback)
International Opera Award for Best Solo Recital Album, 2023[168]
International Opera Award for Best Female Singer of the Year, 2024[169]
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↑ van Anken, Lennaert (April 3, 2019). "Oropesa steelt de show in Robert le Diable"[Oropesa steals the show in Robert le diable]. Place de l'Opera (operamagazine.nl) (in Dutch). Retrieved May 9, 2019.
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