Alcina

Oropesa's shattering aria Ah, mio cor is a highlight.

—  Cheryl Markosky  •  London Theatre

As Alcina, Lisette Oropesa was announced as battling a heavy cold but she was still in commanding form, especially in the showpiece laments of Ah! mio cor and Mi restano le lagrime.

—  Neil Fisher  •  The Times

Despite her cold, Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa was still the vocal star of the show. She was brilliant as Alcina, using her narcissism to bewitch and manipulate. Oropesa has a luminescent tone, control and technique that allow her to pivot between seductiveness and the anger of ‘Ah! Ruggeiro crudel’. If there were any vocal frailties, they were not noticeable after the first couple of minutes, and her high notes were incandescent.

—  Adrian York  •  London Unattached

The superb soprano Lisette Oropesa, whose voice sounded over-heavy for the part of Alcina in the cooler original, here fits better at the centre of this musical picture. Despite having a cold on press night, she was still chillingly precise in her tortured Ah mio cor, with strings jabbing the orchestral lines in pain. Her final lament, Mi restano le lagrime, was still regrettably shorn of its visionary few central bars in the major key, but her overall command was compelling.

—  Nicholas Kenyon  •  The Telegraph

Leading a strong cast, most of whom were reprising their roles, was Lisette Oropesa as the eponymous sorceress. It was announced that she had been accosted by a cold, but it had clearly been wrestled into submission because she was in excellent form. One would expect a witch-queen, an early-adopter of Coco Chanel’s dress-code, to be the centre of attention and Oropesa’s tone, phrasing and articulation matched that expectation.

—  Christopher Woodley  •  Bachtrack

… she’s imperious in the role, her soprano gleaming and athletic as she strides across the stage in her Louboutins.

—  Erica Jeal  •  The Guardian

Oropesa, dressed in a sleek, black evening gown, slinks around the stage like Cruella de Ville via Prada. Her coloratura technique is magnificent to behold and, attached to her magnetic presence, exquisitely captures Alcina's manipulative nature, her cruel menace and her final heartbreak.

—  Franco Milazzo  •  Broadway World

Lisette Oropesa…is just as stunning in the title role now as before. Her glistening soprano combines with superlative stage presence to suggest someone who is as alluring as she is also vulnerable.

—  Sam Smith  •  Opera Online

Lisette Oropesa triumphs as the enchantress Alcina, heading an impressive cast.

In the second act alone, we are treated to an affecting Verdi prati by D'Angelo and a splendid Ah! Mio cor from Oropesa, the latter aria greeted with wild audience applause.

—  Inge Kjemtrup  •  The Stage

Lisette Oropesa took the title role, sassy and demanding, a sort of cheerful arrogance. Oropesa's soprano gleamed as she sailed through her arias. She dazzled with some brilliant coloratura, trills superb as ever, often with one eye on her audience; but also moulded elegant lines in Ah! Mio cor! and Mi restano le lagrime, moments of rare introspection as Alcina realised that not everything was hers by default.

—  Francis Muzzu  •  Opera Now