đ Fall NewsletterBerlin, Munich, New York  Watch the newsletter here!  Hello my friends, and welcome to our Fall 2025 Newsletter!  This lovely time of year usually feels like a fresh start, with companies opening their seasons and exciting new projects.  But because I had such a full summer, it truly feels like the last few miles of a marathon!  But I am grateful for everything we have to finish off our year in beautiful cities like Zurich, Berlin, Munich, my hometown of Baton Rouge, and of course, New York City.  What a dream!  Manon in Zurich was a very successful run and I canât wait to be back in Zurich in future seasons.  Now I will head to Berlin to make my Staatsoper unter den Linden debut in La traviata and Romeo et Juliette, with performances in the month of October.  After that I head to Munich for 3 more shows of La traviata.  On November 23rd there will be a gala evening of arias and songs in my hometown of Baton Rouge, where I will join mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, along with young local talent, in support of OpĂ©ra Louisiane. Then itâs back to the Metropolitan Opera for a new production of Belliniâs glorious work, I puritani.  I cannot wait to open that show on December 31st in New York City.  What a way to end the year ring in 2026!  |
|---|
Upcoming Performances La traviataStaatsoper Unter den Linden Violetta Valery Lisette makes her debut at the Staatsoper Berlin in a production of La traviata, October 17 Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, DE RomĂ©o et JulietteStaatsoper Unter den Linden Juliette The most famous lovers ever: virtually mythical figures, Romeo and Juliette from Shakespeareâs eponymous drama have dominated world literature ever since its premiere in 1597. Among the many musical settings of the work, Charles Gounodâs RomĂ©o et Juliette is one of the most performed. It was a triumphant success already at its premiere as part of the 1867 Paris Exposition. October 26, 29  and  November 01, 06 Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, DE  La traviataBayerische Staatsoper Violetta Valery Men don't fall in love with courtesans! That's the opinion of Alfredo's father after his son moves in with the mortally ill Violetta ValĂ©ry. In her love for Alfredo Violetta even agrees. She leaves him, dies poor, ill â still dreaming of the happiness of true love. One of Verdi's most beloved operas continues to hold the mirror up to society and its hypocritical morality. An exemplary production! See it! November 11, 14, 16 Bayerische Staatsoper MĂŒnchen, DE  Concert with Susan GrahamOpĂ©ra Louisiane Soprano Lisette returns to her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana to perform a one-time charity concert with friend and colleague, Susan Graham. November 23 First Baptist Church Baton Rouge, LA  I PuritaniThe Metropolitan Opera Elvira For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. On New Yearâs Eve, the curtain goes up on the first new Met production of Belliniâs final masterpiece in nearly 50 yearsâa striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur RuciĆski as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elviraâs sympathetic uncle, Giorgio. December 31  and  January 03, 06, 10, 15, 18 Metropolitan Opera New York, NY |
|---|
FeaturesLucia di Lammermoor - To be released Oct 31!Recording 
I am so happy to announce that my new album, Lucia di Lammermoor will be released on Oct 31st this year! đ  Watch the trailer here!  The experience of being Lucia is one that has repeatedly given me a lot of joy. Over the years I have performed the role in 10 productions. But it never feels like the same piece twice, and this is due to the incredible mastery of Donizetti. In our recording, which Iâm so proud of, I had the privilege of working with Maestro Carminati, who was born in Donizettiâs hometown of Bergamo, and led us in a beautiful sweeping interpretation of the score. The gentlemen singing the roles of Edgardo, Enrico, and Raimondo are the brilliant Stefan Pop, Mattia Olivieri, and Riccardo Zanellato. We were able to bond while making this recording because not only did we just sing into microphones and put all our emotions into our voices, we were able to discuss the opera as colleagues, as if we were working on a production. This was very special to me! Knowing whatâs happening onstage, what motivates your character, is of vital importance. Even if youâre in a recording studio, just singing the roles, you are still bringing the story to life through the music. And thatâs why it was such a pleasure to make music with these great colleagues. Lisette wins "Best Female Singer" in The Austrian Music Theatre PrizeAward  This yearâs Austrian Music Theatre prizes have been announced! Iâm very grateful to have been named this yearâs winner for Female in a Lead Role for my performance of OphĂ©lie in HAMLET at the Salzburger Festspiele last year. My gratitude is immense as I have just spent a wonderful summer in Salzburg and canât wait to be back there again! Singing in Austria is a pleasure and a privilege that I look forward to on every occasion. Thank you so much for this incredible honor! A special thank you to my wonderful manager and close friend, Saverio Clemente. These opportunities have been in large part due to his amazing work, his dedication to my career, and his support and friendship. Grazie, Saverio. đ A Regal Triumph: Lisette Oropesa Shines in Salzburger Festspiele's "Maria Stuarda"Review  Lisette Oropesa's portrayal of the doomed Scottish queen in "Maria Stuarda" at the Salzburger Festspiele has received widespread praise from critics. Her voice and acting brought the character to life, making this one of the standout productions of the summer festival season. Critics especially praised Oropesa's singing. "Her high notes are radiant," says Dr. Karlheinz Roschitz from the Kronen Zeitung. Manuel Brug of Welt.de noted her "soft yet determined tone," while Reinhard Kriechbaum of DrehPunktKultur highlighted how Oropesa makes the coloratura feel integral rather than ornamental. Roland H. Dippel of Concerti.de commented on the "slightly bitter undertone" that enriches her high notes, adding emotional complexity to her portrayal. Oropesa infused her interpretation of Maria with real emotional depth. Bernhard Neuhoff of BR Klassik praised her "wonderfully warm and full-bodied" voice, noting that her strength lies more in expression than acrobatics. Elena Deinhammer of Opera Magazine highlighted Oropesa's ability to blend "crystal-clear sound with great softness and sensitivity," maintaining elegance even in the most demanding bel canto passages. Learn more about Lisette's success here! Behind the Voice with Lisette OropesaInterview I recently had the wonderful opportunity to sit down for an interview where we delved into the world of opera beyond just the notes on a page. I believe there's a whole person to discover behind the performer, and I was happy to share my personal approach to this demanding career. Growing up in a musical Cuban-American immigrant household, I was fortunate to have immense encouragement from my family, who valued education and happiness over financial pressure. Though I initially pursued the flute, the overwhelming enthusiasm from voice teachers at university, coupled with my innate vocal gifts inherited from my mother, steered me towards singing. My instrumental training, however, proved invaluable, making me a "smarter singer" with strong musicality. Watch the entire video here.Presto Arts Masterclass - YouTubeEducation  What an absolutely brilliant time at the Art of Voice Festival Masterclass hosted by the wonderful team at Presto Arts! We spent the day diving deep into the art and science of singing, and I was so incredibly impressed by the dedication and talent of every participant, including the focused Chinese students. Todayâs big lesson: Focus is everything. The best way to conserve energy and increase clarity is not to push, but to narrow your focus. As I told one talented singer, the goal is to make the sound more direct, more strongâthe picture is more clear when it's focused, always! Read the rest of the article here Masterclass - St. MoritzEducation  Last day with these beauties!! Thank you for the invitation from Jan Schultsz  and the Engadin Festival. I am so grateful to be here. Itâs been a pleasure to hear and work with six stunning singers these past few days, accompanied by the marvelous Tatiana Korsunskaya on the piano! Lots of difficult and fun repertoire, complete with challenges and opportunities for exploration. I learned so much from each of them! |
|---|
ReviewsEven for the singers, this performance poses the highest demands, which the magnificent ensemble masters brilliantly. Leading the way is Lisette Oropesa in the title role. The delicate American captivates with her powerful voice and her expressive acting. She truly immerses herself in the emotional world of the young princess who was born with the power and claim to three crowns and fled to her stepsister, who takes her captive to secure her throne. Pride and regal bearing, hope and fear, resignation to fate are palpable in her. Her runs and delicate coloratura passages flow effortlessly, her emotional outbursts and humiliated demeanor are powerful. Her soprano reveals many facets, a soft timbre in the silvery highs, and lyrical melodic lines. â Dr. Helmut Pitsch  âąÂ  Opera Online Lisette Oropesa delivers a luminous performance as Maria, her voice soaring with both regal dignity and desperate humanity that marks the pinnacle of Donizetti singing. Having followed her career and gone to as many of her performances as I could since her Don Pasquale at Glyndebourne in 2017, I can say with confidence that this ranks among her finest achievementsâthe emotion, power, and exquisite beauty in her phrasing reaching new heights of artistry. Particularly in her final aria, âDeh! Tu di unâumile preghiera,â she achieves that rare combination of technical mastery and emotional transparency that defines great bel canto performance. Costumed in white against the productionâs stark monochrome palette, she becomes a beacon of doomed nobility, her vocal radiance illuminating every corner of the theatre. She never just sings, she lives it, she shows it to the world and itâs a true joy to be able to be there and witness her incredibly artistry. â Stuart Martin  âąÂ  The Stuart Review Lisette Oropesa confirms herself as one of the leading sopranos of our time. Excellent technique, very long breaths, trills that are true trills. A palette of colors that allows her to outline all aspects of this seemingly simple and trivial character, which in the past was often seen as a silly little doll. Gilda is not like that, and the proof of this is that, despite her father providing her with evidence of the Duke's wicked personality and his cynicism, she still decides to sacrifice her life for the man she loves. "Caro nome" performed without the traditional embellishments to underline the more lyrical aspect that Verdi has reserved for this character, but an extremely high B-flat at the end of "Vendetta" where "there was no mercy for anyone." Adorably staged. The character is absolutely credible. I will listen to her again if all goes well in Naples in October 2026 as Alcina. In the end, she asked me, "Could you hear me?" because she did not have the right perception. I reassured her. She has an incredible vocal projection that made a difference in an acoustically challenging venue like the Arena! â Riccardo Ristori  âąÂ  Lirica Oggi At the heart of the evening was Lisette Oropesa, whose portrayal of Manon confirms her complete artistic maturity in the role. From the first act, her command of the characterâs arc was palpable. She brought a finely shaded interpretation that captured Manonâs evolution from youthful impulsiveness to tragic despair. Oropesaâs voice, always radiant, was imbued with emotional texture throughout. The famous âAdieu, notre petite tableâ was deeply moving, rendered with such intimacy and fragility that the audience seemed to hold its breath. In contrast, the dazzling gavotte in Act III showed her technical brilliance yet impeccably controlled. Her crystalline high notes and refined phrasing, paired with flawless French diction, placed her firmly among the definitive interpreters of the role today. She offered not just a vocally perfect Manon, but one who felt vividly, heartbreakingly real. â Lloyd  âąÂ  Opera Diary Lisette Oropesa IS Manon with every fiber, every facial expression, every gesture, and with a stunning vocal characterization. Her voice shines, burns, knows passion, sadness, mood swings, and possesses immense power, without any forcing. One can feel a deep sensitivity, youthfulness, fearlessness, but also wistfulness and self-blame, and above all, an understanding of and love for this character. She is less of a calculating femme fatale and more simply a young woman on the brink of adulthood, who must pay dearly for her mistakes. â Kaspar Sannemann  âąÂ  Oper Aktuell |
|---|
Reflections My birthday falls in the autumn time and I have always loved that.  This year has truly flown by for me, and Iâm wondering if thatâs part of the aging process, to suddenly start feeling the faster passage of time.  Not that things are slow in the opera world..but I am sometimes amazed that Iâve been singing professionally for 20 years, and I still feel like a young artist!  I do hope that these next years, as I move on toward middle-age, will be as beautiful as these last 20 have been.  I feel like Iâve lived a dozen lives already, and it makes me feel grateful (always) and even amused.  Although this work, this career, does take a lot of energy, focus, time, sacrifice, patience, resilienceâŠgosh it takes a little bit of everythingâŠthe rewards are endless.  In making these newsletters, it gives me joy to look back on the recent past and watch clips of moments in time.  Even though live performance is just an instant and itâs over, never to be repeated again, having the memories captured does help to fill my cup when itâs starting to feel empty.  The show, like all good things, and like the lovely colors in fall, does not and cannot last forever.  But the brilliance of the changing moment is, in fact, the memory that remains. |
|---|
|
|---|
|
|---|
|
|
,format(webp)/https%3A%2F%2Flisetteoropesa.com%2Fmedia%2Fnews%2F2025-lisette-oropesa-brklassik-interview.jpg)
,s,m,a,r,t,,,f,o,r,m,a,t,(,w,e,b,p,),,,s,h,a,r,p,e,n,(,0,.,5,,,0,.,5,,,t,r,u,e,)/https%3A%2F%2Flisetteoropesa.com%2Fmedia%2Fgallery%2F2024%2Fportraits%2F202408-05-portrait-lisette-oropesa.jpg)
