Lisette interviewed on the Met Opera Radio ahead of I Puritani

On January 9, 2026, Lisette sat down with Met Opera Radio host Debra Lew Harder to discuss the Met's new production of Bellini's I puritani—the company's first in nearly 50 years. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lisette talks about what it means to headline the New Year's Eve gala, her approach to Elvira's famous mad scenes, the art of bel canto technique, working with tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and how she's thoughtfully shaping the next chapter of her career.

Your browser does not support the audio element.

---

Debra Lew Harder: On stage these days and creating quite a buzz is our new production of Bellini's I puritani. It showcases soprano Lisette Oropesa in the role of Elvira, a young Puritan woman in 17th-century England, opposite tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Arturo. The lovers come from opposing sides of the English Civil War, and when Elvira believes that Arturo has abandoned her, she descends into madness. This staging by Charles Edwards, our first new production of this bel canto masterpiece in almost 50 years, premiered on New Year's Eve. I spoke with Lisette Oropesa a few weeks ago while she was still in rehearsals and asked her how she was feeling about headlining the gala.

Lisette Oropesa: You know, I was a young artist here in the early 2000s, and this is now 20 seasons from when I pretty much made my debut at the Met, which was in 2006, in a very small part in Idomeneo. And this is the crown jewel of my career. It's something that I'm very, very humbled to be a part of. Along with my colleagues who are in the production with me, it feels very much like I'm part of a rainbow. I feel like this is all an incredible group effort, and it is such an incredible opera that I'm just blessed to be here.

Debra Lew Harder: Well, with it being a new production, what has the rehearsal process been like?

Lisette Oropesa: Actually, wonderful. Charles Edwards, Charlie, is incredibly prepared. He's probably the most prepared director I've ever worked with. He and I started having meetings about Puritani actually more than a year ago. And Charlie comes with everything already thought out. He's historically informed. He knows about the music. He's memorized the text. He knows the translations. He knows what the character arcs all are. And he's got the traffic already figured out so that we can focus on the layers after the traffic. He built the bodice, if you will, and so we're just adding all the details on top.

Debra Lew Harder: You can get into the artistic depth, which sounds so exciting. And in terms of vocal production, the sets and everything are supporting you?

Lisette Oropesa: Charlie's very cognizant of what voices need, what visually is the most striking, but what's also the most flattering for the singers. Because, I mean, the Met is a large house. Even though the Met has a perfect acoustic, and I will say that to the day that I die, even though the house is big, the acoustic here is perfect. However, all that said, what the backdrop is, what the materials are, what the angles of the set are, make a tremendous difference for the singers. And, you know, I've never been accused—I always say this—I've never been accused of having a big voice. And Puritani is not a light opera. It's bel canto. But it's not light orchestration, at least not all the time. And so to fly over that and without pushing and screaming and losing your voice, you know, you really need efficiency in the way that you're producing your sound. So I do think that Charlie's plan always was about that first.

Debra Lew Harder: What are the things you're especially mindful of when singing bel canto?

Lisette Oropesa: You know, I did a lot of training in bel canto right here at the Met when I was a young artist. And one of the things that my teachers always used to say to me was that bel canto was all about expression. It's not about showing off what your voice can do. Even though I think it might come across that way at times because you go, gosh, all these cadenzas, they're so indulgent. But the cadenzas are written by the composer. That's what Bellini wrote. And so you have to take the time to honor what the composer had in mind as far as showcasing an emotional moment. And so I try to always remember that. It's not about me. It's about Bellini, about the text and about the expression of the moment, the emotion.

And of course, the music is gorgeous. I mean, my God, I actually think Puritani might be Bellini's masterpiece. The melodies are so rich and gorgeous and almost Wagnerian in a sense. Like you get this large scale of phrase that it's like time stops and you almost feel this sense of being suspended by the melody. It's a lot like flowing on a river. It's extraordinary music and you kind of get lost in it. Now, of course, as a singer, you have to maintain control. And I think that's one of the things where my training here was very helpful because, yes, of course, it's all about the music. It's all about the expression. But you do have to hone in what you're doing. But once you've got that figured out, I think it all just becomes this elevated thing. It's incredible.

Debra Lew Harder: I puritani is set during the English Civil War between the Puritans and the Royalists. The plot has a lot of twists and turns. At the heart of it, though, is your character, Elvira. Describe her and her world as you play her.

Lisette Oropesa: Well, in our production, Elvira is an artist. And I love that because the idea would be that in a Puritan society where there's very little extravagance, there's very little beauty just for the sake of beauty, everything is—even their wedding ceremony is not like a pomp and circumstance wedding. It's simply a signing of documents and it's a transaction. And Elvira wants to marry Arturo because she's in love with Arturo and she has this kind of romantic dream of being happy and being in love, like so many women and like so many bel canto heroines you'll find who are almost always constrained by society.

But making her an artist, I think, is a huge statement because it means that she's going against the norms of what society expects of her and putting to canvas her imagination. She's setting free—and who knows who she might inspire with her art. It's kind of like kids who grow up with really strict parents almost always have a rebellious stage at some point. And sometimes it can be really extreme. And so you'll see this girl rebelling from the moment she actually opens her mouth. You'll hear she's already arguing. She's trying to change her destiny. And she does. And she's trying desperately to break free and express herself and say what she wants and have agency over her own life. And so this is why her art is so important.

And we all know—I mean, this is the Met. This is opera. This is art. This is what we do. Art is so important in times of struggle and strife and pain. It's exactly what we turn to.

Debra Lew Harder: Well, the opera is famous for Elvira's multiple mad scenes, but Elvira's first solo finds her sounding quite sane to me. What quality do you want to bring to "Son vergin vezzosa"?

Lisette Oropesa: You know, "Son vergin vezzosa" is this fabulous polonaise that Elvira sings when she's about to get married. And just as far as she's concerned, she's about to get married to the man of her dreams. She's in a fabulous dress and life could not be better. It is all the joy of every bride that's ever been. And she's even being an artist in this moment because she places her wedding veil on Enrichetta—Henrietta—who's the queen, who she doesn't know is the queen, but she places her wedding veil on her in order to get an idea of what it looks like.

Debra Lew Harder: I see. And that's what that aria is. It seems so like—wait, it's a wardrobe check?

Lisette Oropesa: But it's more than that because she's this artist and wants to see an image, which is so fun and sweet and innocent, but also it's the fate of what's going to happen next because now Enrichetta runs away with this veil on.

Debra Lew Harder: At the end of that first act, Elvira does believe her beloved Arturo has betrayed her, and she does start to go mad. "O vieni al tempio" begins with such loveliness. How do you build up to the climax of this aria so that we know that, oh, something's not right?

Lisette Oropesa: The melody starts with one voice and we add voices. We just keep adding layers like a cake. And then it becomes this extraordinary explosion of gorgeousness. And it's never—at least in the "Vieni al tempio" bit—it's never over the top. It's always somehow still within a structure. And so you hear very much, she's very sad, but she's still imagining this wedding she could have had. It's a major key, you know, in Bellini, having this major key moment when she's pretty much devastated, I think doubles on the sadness for us. But it doesn't feel like a pity party. To me, it feels like there's hope there somehow, and that's the genius of Bellini.

Debra Lew Harder: So beautifully constructed and inspired. Well, there is more madness to come. Act Two brings your huge mad scene. Take us through this lengthy mad scene and your approach to "Qui la voce."

Lisette Oropesa: Once again, major key, unlike Lucia's mad scene. Actually, Lucia's mad scene has some keys going up, keys minor, keys major, all throughout her role. But there's a lot of major keys for Elvira. And it doesn't sound off her rocker. It sounds pulled together somehow. Which I think is one of those things that's indicative of at least what I've always been taught in acting class. Mad people don't know that they're mad and don't think that they're mad. They think they're fine. So you don't play mad or insane, whatever word you want to use. You don't play unhinged. You simply see things that aren't there that other people don't see. You feel things in a time that's less logical than what other people might feel.

And again, I just try to keep an authenticity in the expression of the emotion. Because all she wants is for Arturo to return. I mean, she doesn't know if he's dead or what's happened to him. I'm waiting for this wave to finally return to the shore. And I trust that it will. You get the sense in her singing that it will come back. Because if it doesn't, she says, then let me die. She doesn't say it's lost forever, my life is over. She says, come back or I will die or let me die. So there's this sense of, there's a chance. "So you're saying there's a chance," you know, there's a chance. And I love that about Elvira. She somehow has this hope. It's not a "D'amor sull'ali rosee," which is like, life's over, goodbye, everything's done. This is much more innocent in a way, naive almost.

Debra Lew Harder: You know, you talk about understanding the emotion of these big arias and you don't focus on the technique.

Lisette Oropesa: Oh, no, that's not true. I'm 100% focused on the technique.

Debra Lew Harder: Tell me a little bit about the technique of singing that.

Lisette Oropesa: Well, you know, technique is a lot like what I was saying earlier about us having the traffic figured out and building the bodice before we start adding everything else. Bel canto often requires things that are technically extreme.

Debra Lew Harder: Yes. Superhuman, I think, is how we think of it.

Lisette Oropesa: I think that's a great word for it, Debra. Especially for the tenor, to be honest. I mean, his tessitura is really, really, really difficult. But for the soprano as well, I mean, it's high and low. The tessitura doesn't have a home. And by tessitura, that means like, where does the role generally most of the time hang out? At the top of the staff, at the bottom of the staff, and it's a little bit of everything, which is good and bad. Because when you're in a tessitura that keeps you in a general zone, you get comfortable there. When you have to come out of it, you've been hanging out so high all this time to suddenly dip down into something lower. It feels like a major gear change.

Debra Lew Harder: What is the sort of technique or the method that you use to make sure those low notes project?

Lisette Oropesa: Well, I use my chest voice.

Debra Lew Harder: What?!

Lisette Oropesa: I use my chest voice occasionally, and I try to mix it if I need to. Chest voice is one of those things, actually, I learned right here at the Metropolitan Opera from Diana Soviero. She said, "Chest voice, you can visit. You don't have to build a condo down there."

Debra Lew Harder: That's great.

Lisette Oropesa: Because you do need it. It's a register. A lot of people think that chest is vulgar or that chest should be for verismo. But the thing is, there are some notes you literally have no choice. And if I find that chest is the right color, I'll use it. And I'm not afraid of that. But you can abuse it. When you use your chest and you bring it up very high, for example, for dramatic effect, you just need to be thoughtful that that's not your only option, that you can do things in another way if you had to.

So like for me, Debra, technique is a hundred ways to do one thing, not one way to do a hundred things. And so that's one of those things about experience, practice. You just have to do it lots and lots of times. And I'm still figuring things out, Debra. Honestly, I certainly cannot say, oh, I've got it all figured out and I know every single page what I'm going to do. Because then you have the other issue, which is you're a human being. Every day your voice is different. Particularly, I think, if you're a woman, you have your biological truths that make their way into your voice. So I just do my very best. I give what I can on any given day, and that's it.

Debra Lew Harder: Well, by Act III, Arturo is hiding from the Puritan forces. Your reunion duet is thrilling. What is it like to create this big Act III scene with Lawrence Brownlee?

Lisette Oropesa: Oh, he's fabulous. I love listening to him sing. I learn so much from him. Larry never loses the focus of his tone. He's a masterclass in focused singing. I love that about him. He never falls under the temptation of spreading or something, on top of the fact that he's a wonderful person, a wonderful actor, a brilliant musician, thoughtful, speaks perfect Italian. I mean, he's really, really, really brilliant.

And singing this duet with him—now, for me, it's a big dramatic sing that comes after three big acts. So it's when I'm the least fresh. And we've opened one of the cuts in it, so actually we've made it a little longer.

Debra Lew Harder: Wow.

Lisette Oropesa: A little harder for me because I said, oh, the structure. So I have to pace myself carefully, but the orchestration's heavy. It's got high D's. Larry has to sing two of them. So I'm trying—I hate to say—I'm trying to just not sound tired at that bit because it's another unhinged moment for Elvira because now she's been reunited with him. Her hopes and dreams of seeing him again have suddenly come true. The music takes off like a horse race. And I'm like, wait, I'm so tired. What's happening? Why are we going so fast? Slow down. So it's such a challenge, but it is the most cool, fabulous music. So fun. We were in rehearsal today, and we got to that duet, and I was just like dancing. I just wanted to be at a disco. It was so great.

Debra Lew Harder: How does having these ensemble and choral forces around you on stage affect your own singing?

Lisette Oropesa: This is an opera about society. It takes from Greek theater. There's always a group of people commenting on the situation. It's not the same as a little duet where it's just you and this one lover, and it's all about you and this lover. It's about how you and this lover live in this group of people, in this society. The opera's called The Puritans. The opera's not called Elvira, you know, and this is important.

I feel like in bel canto, a lot of times you do have these scenes where the diva or whomever, the tenor, is singing their giant line, their ridiculously difficult phrase, and everybody else is going along underneath. And yes, it serves the purpose of accompanying the singer musically, but it also gives a breathlessness to those that are watching because they're not singing a long phrase. They're a part of it. And actually, the way we're staging it with our chorus, who's brilliant, they've all got a story. Everybody has a backstory, and that's what it's all about.

Debra Lew Harder: That's so great. What are some of your other upcoming projects that you'd like to share with our listeners?

Lisette Oropesa: Well, I'm delighted to sing Violetta at the Met again. The last time I was singing that was March 2020. And Traviata is always an important part for me, something I love to sing, that I will continue to sing. But I am debuting a couple of roles this summer, and one of them is Norma, another big Bellini part, in concert at the Savonlinna Festival in Finland. And I'm also debuting the role of Liù in Turandot at the Arena di Verona.

And I think as the years kind of move on, I'm hoping to add more bel canto parts. Like, I've done Maria Stuarda already by Donizetti. Maybe eventually, if Norma goes well and it feels like I feel comfortable with this, then, you know, in a few years, maybe I'll move on to the other queens. We'll see. My lighter days are behind me. I'm still not a full lyric. But I know that my voice isn't getting lighter. And I still have some on my top, and I want to keep using it, and I want to keep my voice agile as long as possible. And roles like Puritani are great because it's not just being high and light and flighty, but it's also getting a chance to open into the more dramatic aspects of your particular voice. And it's also long, so it tests your endurance quite a bit, actually.

Debra Lew Harder: It really sounds like you are shaping your career and thinking ahead in a really smart way.

Lisette Oropesa: Yeah. You know, I started quite young, singing lighter repertoire, of course, but always training toward bel canto, toward this repertoire that I'm just now singing at age 42. So I'm kind of feeling, okay, I've kind of come into where I thought I was headed, but now where am I headed is my big question. Some sopranos' voices get bigger or get darker, get deeper with age. Some don't. Hormones, like I was saying earlier, hormones can and do affect women's voices. And I don't know exactly what will happen in five years.

And these are actually the hardest years for me to look forward career-wise to what I can and cannot do anymore. Like, for example, I don't have any more Lucias on my calendar, and that's by choice because I feel like my better Lucias are behind me, just in the sense of how long I can maintain the high tessitura that Lucia needs. And the mad scene comes at the end. In Elvira, the mad scene comes in the middle. And I feel like, oh, that feels really good for me. Whereas Lucia, as I was singing it more and more, I was like, gosh, I still have to sing all the high stuff in the mad scene at the end of the night. And if I don't live up there, which I never have, it gets harder and harder for me. So I was like, you know what, I'm going to stop singing Lucia and start singing other things a little bit and kind of pull back on the lighter repertoire and move on to things that are a little bit more where the core of my voice is kind of gravitating toward.