An Evening with the Royal Ballet and Opera at the Embassy

An evening with the Royal Ballet and Opera at the Embassy

The Spanish Embassy in London hosted a tribute to Lisette on September 16, 2026, the night after she opened the Royal Ballet and Opera’s revival of Handel’s Alcina. Ambassador Emma Aparici Vázquez de Parga welcomed Royal Ballet and Opera Chief Executive Sir Alex Beard, Director of Opera Oliver Mears, and guests to the Embassy residence for an evening celebrating the cultural ties between Spain and the Royal Ballet and Opera.

On Lisette’s performance as Alcina, and on what she has come to mean to Spain:

“Your performance last night was spellbinding, a masterclass in technical perfection, vocal brilliance and deep emotional truth. And what I felt is that beyond singing as Alcina, you were inhabiting her. … Dear Lisette, as a Spanish citizen – we were just talking about it – since 2019, I can assure you that you make us feel an overwhelming wave of national pride. You remind us of the transformative universal power of opera, and we’re so proud that a piece of our shared cultural soul is shining so brightly right here at the heart of London.”

— Ambassador Emma Aparici Vázquez de Parga

Royal Ballet and Opera Chief Executive Sir Alex Beard called Lisette “one of the most acclaimed operatic sopranos on the current scene,” before Director of Opera Oliver Mears joined her for a wide-ranging conversation about her career and her path from New Orleans to the Metropolitan Opera.

Still sniffling from the cold that had prompted a house announcement before the previous night’s Alcina premiere, Lisette found common ground with her interviewer over running — Mears mentioned he runs too — before he asked how six marathons have shaped her work on stage:

“It’s made me a stronger person on stage. It’s made me a stronger person in my life, a happier person. I have found total joy. I have felt runner’s bliss. It’s phenomenal. It’s fabulous.”

— Lisette Oropesa

The evening closed with a performance from two members of the Royal Ballet and Opera’s Young Artists Programme — mezzo-soprano Angela Simkin and pianist Marta Misztal — who performed Ruggiero’s aria “Mi lusinga il dolce affetto” from Handel’s Alcina.

Read the full article from the Spanish Embassy in London.