Reviews

Most of the premiere run's main cast returned, led by the inimitable Lisette Oropesa. Hers was a fully realized portrayal even on the occasion of her role debut, and she continues to rock the part, visibly delighting in playing the strutting, capricious sorceress. Vocally, Handel's writing fits her like a glove, too: the raging runs of Ma quando tornerai were, expectably, tossed off with fiery ease, the sharply punctuated, tortured phrases of Ah, mio cor sung with heartrending emotion, the act-closing, devastating Ah! Ruggiero crudel … Ombre pallide rendered with a suitably lachrymose tone and grave, sharply dramatic sense of phrasing. (Di, cor mio could have used a touch more creamy tone and a less fluttery vibrato, but who am I to nitpick?)

—  Orsolya Gyárfás  •  Parterre Box

Soprano Lisette Oropesa as Alcina was magnificently two-faced, camp and tragic; Ah! mio cor! was heartbroken gold and got the biggest ovation of the night.

—  Lev Bratishenko  •  Opera Canada

…this delicious production, directed by Richard Jones, with a cast led by the magnificent Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa, shows how brilliant it can be.

…her voice control is the best in the business. Not only did she display no sign of her ailments from the start, but she became even better as her confidence grew throughout the performance.

—  William Hartston  •  Daily Express

Her voice needed no Strepsil to sweeten it. Dì, cor mio, quanto t'amai, her big Act One aria, established a voice of disarming tenderness…

Ah, mio cor! Schernito sei counterposes the rising pulse of the orchestral strings with Oropesa's beautifully phrased realisation that Ruggiero's love is waning, and her incredulous fury.

—  Barry Gardiner  •  PoliticsHome

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

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

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

… 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'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

Lisette Oropesa sang Liù. She displayed secure and rich, velvety lower and middle registers, from which she soared effortlessly to the generously blooming high notes. … meticulous study and knowing from experience exactly how to place the voice at every moment, was still in evidence throughout, but combined now with more of what came across as spontaneity.

—  Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe  •  Seen and Heard International

In her debut as Liù, Lisette Oropesa's singing is perfectly poised, the slave girl's demeanour marked less by servility than by a beautiful serenity glowing in the voice.

—  Chidozie Obasi  •  The Glass Magazine

La star americana ha colpito l'arena con la bellezza della propria voce e se spesso si dice che Liù canti troppo poco nell'ultimo capolavoro pucciniano, ebbene con Oropesa si è avuta l'impressione che la giovane schiava cantasse moltissimo! Il peculiare vibrato che la rappresenta scaturisce direttamente dal timbro della sua voce e appare sempre naturalmente drammatico e in grado di evidenziare le qualità del registro medio-basso. A ciò, si aggiunge una tecnica a dir poco sopraffina, che consente al soprano di arricchire la sua performance con "mezzevoci" celestiali e genuinamente commoventi (è stato il caso della bellissima resa di Signore, ascolta!).

—  Gabriele D'Aprile  •  Il Giornale della Musica

Decisamente più entusiasmante la Liù di Lisette Oropesa, che ha debuttato nel ruolo proprio in Arena in questa stagione. Sebbene all’inizio la voce fatichi un po’ a emergere nella scena di piazza, la sua performance colpisce per il fraseggio ben curato, la pulizia della linea di canto e l’immedesimazione totale nel personaggio che la porta a rifinire ogni suo intervento.

—  Martino Pinali  •  Opera Click

Lisette Oropesa è una Liù di sorgiva musicalità. Signore, ascolta! si distende con squisita dolcezza, il fraseggio è curato senza ombra di leziosità e il pianissimo conclusivo pare dissolversi nell’aria. Ancora più intensa è Tu che di gel sei cinta, attaccata con dolorosa tragicità e progressivamente trasfigurata in un’offerta d’amore.

—  Fabio Larovere  •  Connessi all'Opera

Signore, ascolta! canta Liù, ovvero Lisette Oropesa, nel suo debutto nel ruolo, ciò che le consente di mettere in luce la nitida bellezza della sua voce, naturale e accurata insieme: è il primo, vero applauso a scena aperta della serata riservato a un solista.

Fra le voci soliste ne è gratificata soprattutto Lisette Liù Oropesa.

—  Riccardo Brazzale  •  Le Salon Musical

Zum mächtvollen Begrüßungschor ihrer Druiden schreitet sie mit der Würde einer Oberpriesterin die Olavinlinna-Innenhoftreppe herunter, ihre ersten Worte an den Chor (und ihr Publikum) sind schlank und dabei raumfüllend, klar, mit natürlicher Autorität. Den folgenden großen Norma-Hit Casta Diva legt sie nicht staatstragend-langsam an, sondern emotional und dennoch schlicht: Norma kommt ihrer rituellen Pflicht ohne Pomp nach. Das gelingt Oropesa so grandios, dass ihr das finnische Publikum fast italienisch wird und sie – das ist hier untypisch – in die Schlussakkorde der Arie hinein feiert.

—  Stephan Knies  •  Opernwelt

It requires a soprano at the peak of her powers and believable as a high priestess and young mother at the same time. So, at 42, Oropesa is perfect. This is one of the most vocally challenging roles in opera, but Oropesa has the range and agility to make those demands sound an entirely natural consequence of the libretto.

—  Simon Mundy  •  The Independent

Algunos preferirán mayor calidez y densidad de timbre pero lo cierto es que, también en esta oportunidad, Oropesa compensó cualquier reparo con un fraseo de superlativa convicción dramática y un fiato incomparable en su expansión hacia agudos luminosamente proyectados en 'Casta Diva'. En su dúo final con el asertivo Pollione de John Osborne, Oropesa prefirió ser mostrarse más doliente que vengativa y, algo inusual para una soprano de coloratura negoció esos temibles trémolos de “Adalgisa fia punita” con buen apoyo y clarísima articulación.

—  Agustín Blanco Bazán  •  Mundo Clásico

In Savonlinna konnte das Publikum Oropesas musikalische und technische Belcanto-Kunst nahezu in Bestform genießen. Es ist stets ein Vergnügen, derart sauber ausgeführte Koloraturen, perlende Triller und eine atemberaubende „messa di voce“ zu hören. Selbst nach den sieben Londoner Puritani-Vorstellungen vor wenigen Wochen bleibt die schiere stimmliche Gesundheit von Oropesas Sopran eines der bemerkenswertesten Pfunde, mit dem diese Sängerin wuchern kann.

—  Hugh Canning  •  Oper! Magazin

Jo toista kertaa Savonlinnassa urallaan esiintynyt Lisette Oropesa yksinkertaisesti naulasi koko homman. Ääni soi puhtaasti, kuten bel cantossa kuuluukin, laulu oli voimakasta ja läsnäolo Huikeaa!

—  Eira Kotoneva  •  Uusi Saimaa

Lisette Oropesan taito, äänen kauneus ja lämmin lavasäteily olivat yhdistelmä, joka valloitti Olavinlinnan yleisön hetkessä.

Norman rooliin pystyvät vain muutamat maailmassa, ja keskiviikkona kuulimme yhtä heistä. Luulenpa, että pian Oropesa laulaa tätä nyt debytoimaansa roolia ympäri maailmaa.

—  Riitta-Leena Lempinen-Vesa  •  Itä-Savo

The main reason to see the Royal Opera's new production of I puritani is Lisette Oropesa's performance as Elvira. The poise and sensitivity of her stage presence is matched by a voice of supple, endlessly nuanced sweetness. She's a diva in the old, true sense, unrivalled in the way she balances a melody on its accompaniment, as well as the dewdrop freshness of her high notes and her ability to infuse a falling phrase with a hundred shades of quiet sorrow.

It's Oropesa who carries the night, with her tattered wedding dress and wilted bouquet. The more fragile her sound, the more compelling she becomes, though she's dazzlingly passionate and brilliant when she needs to be, supplying a luminosity that was badly needed in Richard Jones's drab new staging.

—  Richard Bratby  •  The Spectator

The reigning lyric coloratura soprano du jour delivered not only vocally, but also dramatically, showing her impactful stage presence, her sensitive acting, and athletic physicality.

Her soprano soars like a hovercraft through the famously challenging second act mad scene (Qui la voce sua soave/Vien, diletto, e in ciel la luna), her legato utterly exquisite.

—  Philip Eisenbeiss  •  Interlude

Il aura fallu une autre diva, celle de notre temps, en la personne de Lisette Oropesa, qui s’est récemment imposée comme une véritable défenseure du répertoire de Bellini, pour que la maison de Covent Garden reprogramme Les Puritains après trente-quatre ans d’absence.

La soprano Lisette Oropesa brille une fois encore dans le rôle d’Elvira par sa grande agilité technique, une douceur exquise du ton et un jeu d’actrice convaincant, plongeant le spectateur dans les tourments de son esprit fragile.

—  Vojin Jaglicic  •  Olyrix

She is a soprano gifted with remarkable talents. She is lauded as the best lyric coloratura of her generation and on this showing, that is indisputable.

Not just an astonishing voice but a consummate actor also. Oropesa is, unquestionably, a supreme artist.

—  Mike Hardy  •  OperaWire

The RBO's new staging of the English Civil War opera boasts a commanding performance from Lisette Oropesa.

The Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa is the Elvira of the moment. Oropesa has rock-like security of intonation.

—  Fiona Maddocks  •  The Observer

The singing is first rate, with Lisette Oropesa giving an outstanding performance as Elvira… Oropesa rises to the challenge superbly, with her soprano being possessed of a great clarity that paradoxically enables her to offer a ‘dreamy’ sound that conveys her state of mind and total fragility.

—  Sam Smith  •  Opera Online

She does not disappoint. Not only is her coloratura astounding – a fearless command of the stratospheric register coupled with a remarkable range of colour – but in her descent into so-called madness, after being apparently jilted on her wedding day, she offers a persuasive and moving psychological portrait of a woman undergoing a crisis of self-esteem.

—  Barry Millington  •  Evening Standard

What makes her interpretation so compelling is not only the dazzling agility of her voice and wonderful range of tonal nuance, but also her dramatic presence on stage and her insights into this troubled character: with Oropesa, Elvira's long descent into madness was as emotionally powerful as it was musically acrobatic, crowned by a superlative account of Vien diletto, è in ciel la luna in Act Two. This was an immensely rewarding interpretation of an outrageously taxing role, made all the more thrilling thanks to Oropesa's conviction and theatrical instincts.

—  Nigel Simeone  •  Opera Now

What we are here for is the singing, and specifically for Lisette Oropesa's Elvira… the emotional heavy lifting has been left almost exclusively to the American soprano, and Oropesa carries it without apparent strain.

Jones intelligently gives her the space and time to establish Elvira as the production's lodestone.

—  Franco Milazzo  •  Broadway World

Outstanding in the role of Elvira, the bride abandoned at the altar, is Lisette Oropesa, who has championed this opera… In the mad scene she achieves the impossible, the voice untethered by Elvira's state of mind but also full of meaning and flawless.

If you love the human voice, catch this perfect specimen if you can.

—  Claudia Pritchard  •  Critics' Circle

Leading that case is Lisette Oropesa, whose Elvira was magnificent. Few sopranos today combine such effortless technical accomplishment with genuine dramatic intelligence… This wasn't merely dazzling singing; it was a complete performance, making the emotional fragility of Bellini's heroine entirely believable.

Oropesa alone is reason enough to see the production.

—  Keith McDonnell  •  Music OMH

Lisette Oropesa now adds remarkable acting to the star vehicle… Oropesa projects charismatic instability and full upper-reach phrases, the fastish vibrato in the voice suitable for the nervous Elvira… she presses all the right buttons and the dramatic gestures feel real.

—  David Nice  •  The Arts Desk

Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa has staked a claim as the undisputed heavyweight champion of Elviras. The character transforms from a charming ingénue to a haunted wraith… a transcendental performance that to this set of ears shows the influence of Callas… Oropesa, channelling the spirit of Callas, gives us an Elvira for the ages.

—  Adrian York  •  London Unattached

Bellini's elaborately chiselled lines, which portray deep emotional turbulence, are so immaculately managed by Oropesa that she makes life hard for everyone else on stage… it proves that, with the right voices, the expressive world of bel canto opera can still hit home.

—  Nicholas Kenyon  •  The Telegraph

Though the opera is an ensemble piece — few of the principals are spared the demands of Bellini's long-breathed melodies, vocal agility and exposed high notes — you cannot present I puritani without an Elvira who can dazzle. Oropesa fills those large shoes… how nuanced and devastatingly powerful her singing is. The flutter of mania hovers through the soprano's delivery of the central mad scene, signposted by the aria Qui la voce, yet nothing is over-egged.

Still, as it should be, the night belongs to the diva.

—  Neil Fisher  •  The Times

There is a superlative performance by Lisette Oropesa as Elvira, whose coloratura is diamond-like in its purity and brilliance… the trills she produces never feel like mere display. Oropesa makes her feel like a human being as well as a symbol of feminine fragility.

—  Julia Rank  •  London Theatre

Oropesa is in her absolute vocal prime. As the happy bride of Act 1, the coloratura of her polonaise Son vergin vezzosa sparkled with diamantine brilliance; pining for Arturo's return, her range of colours in Qui la voce was wide, sometimes pared to the merest silver thread; and then the ornaments in the second verse of her delirious cabaletta Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna were more florid than the Chelsea Flower Show. This was bel canto singing to crown a new golden age.

—  Mark Pullinger  •  Bachtrack

The artist whose approach is most consistently impressive is soprano Lisette Oropesa, who has achieved outstanding success at this address in such comparable assignments as the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. Like Donizetti’s tragic heroine, Elvira temporarily loses her reason. Oropesa’s technical skills and sheer interpretative imagination make her movingly memorable throughout

—  George Hall  •  The Stage

Woman of the match, though, is Lisette Oropesa. Elvira is fast becoming a signature role for her, and her performance, dazzlingly well sung and consistently dramatically involving, is the best reason for reviving this tricky, fascinating opera.

—  Erica Jeal  •  The Guardian

It is primarily her singing that rescues this woeful new production by the Royal Opera… Oropesa is more in the classic Italianate style with a clear, limpid soprano of bel canto size, giving us singing that is expressive and effortlessly agile. In the mad scene, the heart of the opera, her artistry sparkled.

—  Richard Fairman  •  Financial Times

Oropesa lleva en volandas a la orquesta, mantiene siempre vivo el interés del público y construye un personaje de gran verdad escénica, delicado y creíble. Su línea de canto, exquisita, parece invocar el espíritu de las grandes Violettas que han pasado por este teatro. Estamos, sin duda, ante una de las intérpretes de referencia del papel en la actualidad, un auténtico lujo para las audiencias de Nueva York.

—  Carlos J. López Rayward  •  Opera World

In Oropesa’s final ensemble “Prendi quest e l’imagine,” the soprano sang each moment with the utmost delicacy and sweetness in her voice, all while lying her bed. At the end in “È strano! Gli spasmi del dolore,” Oropesa emphasized each line of text, emoting it with a lightness and the vibrant voice from Act one while slowly standing up with a revived energy. The final “Oh gioia!” was delivered with renewed power. In all the soprano conveyed the devastation of Verdi’s heroine and once again showed the Met audience why she is one of the best sopranos today.

—  Francisco Salazar  •  Opera Wire

Physically and psychologically, Oropesa’s brittle, frivolous courtesan evolves into a woman of enormous compassion, secure in her profound love for Alfredo. The specter of death is a constant presence as Violetta gradually grew wanner and weaker. Vocally, she traversed that same emotional trajectory with equal depths of feeling and artistry. The richness of Oropesa’s sound and legato made for a poignant “Ah, fors’è lui,” unfortunately severed by applause from “Sempre libera.” She captured Violetta’s firm defiance of fate and convention in the emotionally charged runs and effortless high notes, but her deployment of color and dynamics was equally important. The voice gained in substance and gravitas as Violetta’s grasp on love and life loosened, culminating in a heart-wrenching “Addio, del passato,” and one final grasp for life and love in her duet with Alfredo.

—  Rick Perdian  •  New York Classical Review

En Amalia, Lisette Oropesa a remporté un très grand succès. La maîtrise technique impressionne : legato souverain, vocalises précises, trilles impeccables jusque dans le grave – notamment dans le « O caro accento » de la cabalette « Carlo vive », où les soprano les plus illustres n’hésitent pas à les escamoter, même au disque ! Au-delà de la virtuosité, la soprano s’investit pleinement, rendant attachant un personnage dramatiquement mince mais musicalement gratifiant.

—  Stéphane Lelièvre  •  Premiere Loge Opera

Lisette Oropesa has become a magnificent lyric soprano, with a high-quality voice and an extraordinary facility for singing and moving the audience, overcoming any difficulty she may encounter. In my opinion, she and Nadine Sierra occupy the throne of the new generation of sopranos, and it is a privilege to attend their performances. She sang the role of Amalia and triumphed like few others. In the cabaletta ‘Carlo vive’, she brought the house down and had to perform an encore of the second part.

—  José Irurzun  •  Seen and Heard International

A Lisette Oropesa basta la cavatina di Amalia “Venerabile, o padre, è il tuo sembiante..Lo sguardo avea degli angeli”per conquistare il Teatro Real: linea fluida e pulitissima, legato e dizione perfetti, agilità nitide, trilli precisi e rotondi; la voce, poi, appare irrobustita per peso specifico e nella risonanza. Insomma, una lezione di canto, impartita grazie a un bagaglio tecnico così agguerrito che fa apparire semplicissima una scrittura invece piena di insidie. Poi c’è l’interprete, così calata nella parte da tratteggiare un’Amalia raffinata, cesellata, ma reale, palpabile e carnale pur nella scrittura vocale e nei tratti elegiaci che Verdi le assegna. L’aria che apre l’atto II, “Tu del mio Carlo al seno” e la successiva cabaletta “Carlo vive?... Oh caro accento”sono così ben cantante, con accenti di aristocratico coinvolgimento emotivo che infiammano il pubblico del Teatro Real: a fuor di pubblico, dopo lunghi e fragorosissimi applausi, Francesco Lanzillotta e Lisette Oropesa decidono di concedere il bis della caballetta. E da questo momento in poi la sua prova è un crescendo di “ben e bel cantare”, di abbandono lirico e di aderenza psicologica all’evoluzione del personaggio: stasera la regina al Teatro Real è lei, Lisette Oropesa.

—  Luigi Raso  •  L'ape musicale

Grande protagonista della serata il soprano Lisette Oropesa nella parte di Amalia, acclamata da un pubblico che la adora (sin dal Rigoletto del dicembre 2015, quando si rivelò a Madrid, per tornarvi con Lucia di Lammermoor nel giugno 2018 e, più recentemente, con la trionfale Maria Stuarda del dicembre 2024). Elogiarne la rotondità del timbro, la vibrante policromia della linea di canto, la bellezza calligrafica dei trilli, è ormai come portare vasi a Samo … Forse un po’ troppo ardita nel sottolineare lo stile “leggero” delle colorature, Oropesa affronta la cabaletta «Carlo vive? O caro accento» con tale limpida gaiezza da affascinare il pubblico e convincere il direttore a concedere un bis. Non si tratta di una propina qualunque, giacché la tradizione dei bis sopranili è scarsissima nei quarant’anni della riapertura del Teatro; fu proprio Oropesa, il 28 luglio 2020, durante il periodo delle restrizioni sanitarie, a concedere il primo bis solistico con «Addio del passato» dalla Traviata (nel 2018, lo stesso soprano e il resto degli interpreti principali avevano ripetuto il sestetto della Lucia).

—  Michele Curnis  •  GB Opera Magazine

Para servir al papel hemos contado con una gran intérprete, la tan querida en Madrid, Lisette Oropesa que dio una lección de canto tanto en la parte elegiaca, con un legato extraordinario, como en la más espectacular, antes nombrada “Carlo vive…” donde hizo una exhibición de trinos, escalas cromáticas y donde añadió un espectacular sobreagudo al final. Si a esto unimos que Oropesa es una consumada actriz y su entrega al drama fue total, por lo que se comprende que respondiendo a las atronadoras ovaciones que ovaciones que recibió al finalizar dicha aria, nos la regalase de nuevo con un bis.

—  Francisco Villalba  •  Ritmo

Oropesa conveyed Amalia’s nobility and strength of character. Her rich voice has a rare quality: it’s immediately recognizable, thanks to its distinct timbre and natural trills. Her interpretation of its most famous aria “Tu, del mio Carlo” was spot on – initially sad and then brilliantly joyous in the cabaletta “Carlo vive,” with clean coloratura and brilliant high notes. When she finished, there was pandemonium in the theatre. The crowd would not stop their applause and loud cheers until Francesco Lanzillotta gave in and had Oropesa give a bis of the aria’s cabaletta. This time, ornaments were added in the tradition of the great coloraturas, to the delight of the Cuban-American diva’s many fans. Astonishingly, this was Oropesa’s third bis at the Teatro Real following the sextet in “Lucia di Lammermoor” in 2018 and the second in “Addio del passato” in “La traviata” in 2020. Even in this little known opera, miracles can happen!

—  Ossama el Naggar  •  Opera Wire

La Oropesa se la beve con una facilità quasi insolente e tutto l’apparato virtuosistico richiesto: fiati lunghissimi, trilli fenomenali, coloratura sfavillante ma non meccanica. Risultato: bis a furor di madrileni della cabaletta “Carlo vive!”. Rispetto alla produzione della Scala nel ’19, mi sembra che la voce abbia anche guadagnato in sonorità, specie in basso: insomma, un’Amelia fenomenale.

—  Alberto Mattioli  •  La Stampa

Lisette Oropesa logró un triunfo personal rotundo, hasta el punto de bisar la cabaletta de su aria del segundo acto, interpolando un sobreagudo que desató el entusiasmo del público. Su voz, de volumen contenido, pero proyección limpísima, revela una técnica refinada. Dueña de la coloratura y de un trino admirable, se muestra hoy plenamente idónea para Amalia. A ello se suma la evidente corriente de afecto que mantiene con el público madrileño.

—  Ricardo de Cala  •  Scherzo Magazine

En ese contexto de voces curtidas en el repertorio verdiano, el bis de Oropesa no fue un simple añadido festivo. Funcionó como síntesis de la velada. La repetición de la cabaletta dejó al descubierto la esencia de la obra, esa mezcla de ardor juvenil y lirismo apasionado que anticipa al Verdi más maduro.

—  Hoy es Arte  •  Hoy es arte

Las tres condiciones se cumplieron de sobra en esta velada. Destacó, como era de esperar, la soprano Lisette Oropesa, favorita del público del Teatro Real, que se enfrentó a un doble reto. Primero, por las exigencias vocales de un papel escrito para Jenny Lind, célebre en su tiempo por su fabuloso virtuosismo canoro. Y segundo, y algo aún más arriesgado, por la posibilidad de encerrar al personaje en el puro despliegue vocal, sin más. Algo que resulta muy tentador dado que el personaje de Amalia carece, de por sí, de consistencia dramática. Pues bien, Oropesa demostró, una vez más, que todo el repertorio de adornos heredado de las divas del belcantismo puede ser puesto al servicio del drama. Se lo permite una voz argentina, limpia, con una peculiar densidad, y capaz de oscurecerse cuando conviene y, cuando llega el momento, de reflejar en su consistencia toda la fragilidad de la pobre muchacha que acaba asesinada por su amante. Ante la interminable ovación del público, Oropesa bisó la super excitante cabaletta “Carlo vive? O caro acento”, tras una delicada interpretación de la apasionada y elegantísima “Tu del mio Carlo al seno”. Un momento que será recordado en la historia del Real que puede revivirse bajo estas líneas. De hecho, con el triunfo de ayer, Oropesa se ha convertido en la única cantante hasta la fecha que ha ofrecido bises en tres distintas óperas en el Teatro Real, tras Lucia di Lammermoor, en 2018, y La traviata, en 2020.

—  José María Marco  •  Opera Actual

Formidable en la citada aria del sueño del IV acto. Oropesa brilló tanto como pudo hacerlo la célebre Jenny Lindt, que tanto cantó en el primitivo Teatro Real. Especialmente brillante en los trinos, matizando y con una voz que llega a todos lados, hubo de bisar el final de la cabaletta “Carlo, io muoio”, incluso añadiendo un sobreagudo espectacular. Por cierto, se repitieron todas las caballetas y Alaimo bordó una de ellas al variarla en la segunda.

—  Gonzalo Alonso  •  La Razón

Lis­ette Oropesa, per­haps the sav­vi­est bel canto singer of our time, is also an out­stand­ing act­ress. Her Elvira— fra­gile, fero­cious, unmoored—was a musical aurora borealis: lumin­ous, unstable. She refrac­ted emo­tion rather than simply car­ry­ing it, each phrase catch­ing a dif­fer­ent shade of feel­ing— first golden and remote, then burn­ing with an almost reck­less intens­ity. She under­stands, instinct­ively, con­trol at the edge of col­lapse, and she rides that edge with unnerv­ing pre­ci­sion. Col­oratura pas­sages flicker and dart, not as orna­ment but as agit­a­tion, the sound regis­ter­ing Elvira’s unrav­el­ing. And yet there are moments when she stills everything, draws the line into something eer­ily pure, as if time had briefly stopped to accom­mod­ate her grief. It was in these sus­pen­sions— these held breaths—that her per­form­ance lingered.

—  Arya Roshanian  •  New York Review

Lisette Oropesa est une Elvira lumineuse, d’une agilité et d’une musicalité exemplaires, distillant trilles et demi-teintes avec une intelligence du texte admirable. Même affublée d’une idée absurde – dessiner frénétiquement des portraits pendant ses scènes de folie –, elle parvient à émouvoir.

—  David Shengold  •  Opera Magazine

En grande forme, Lisette Oropesa, donne d’Elvira une interprétation encore plus aboutie qu’à Paris la saison passée. « Son vergin vezzosa » met en valeur la fluidité de ses vocalises et la précision de ses trilles impeccables, « O rendetemi la speme » est phrasé avec un timbre éthéré et une infinie délicatesse, enfin la cabalette « Vien diletto » exalte sa maîtrise de la colorature, notamment dans la reprise dont les ornementations jusqu’au mi bémol lui valent une ovation bien méritée.

—  Christian Peter  •  Forum Opéra

Elvira Walton est incarnée par Lisette Oropesa, qui déploie une voix lumineuse au vibrato rapide. Sa colorature, d’une agilité et d’une précision remarquées, s’appuie sur des aigus et suraigus brillants et puissants, toujours parfaitement timbrés. L’engagement théâtral et la finesse expressive de la soprano lui permettent de composer un personnage d’une grande complexité, dont la folie rappelle son interprétation saisissante du rôle-titre de Lucia di Lammermoor au Teatro Real de Madrid en 2018. Elle déploie ainsi toute l’étendue de son art belcantiste, alliant virtuosité technique et profondeur dramatique.

—  Moisés Ordóñez Alarcón  •  Olyrix

Lisette Oropesa’s Elvira was just about perfect – dramatically apt from innocence to madness and back but with an attention to text and dynamics that made the opera come to life as something other than a vocal showcase. The role requires agility, even emission, a handsome tone, ease in coloratura and staying power. All were in evidence and the many exposed high notes were not merely ornamental, they were organic.

—  Robert Levine  •  Opera Now

Lisette Oropesa, reina absoluta Lisette Oropesa fue la gran triunfadora de la noche y el auténtico eje emocional de la representación. Su Elvira estuvo siempre cantada desde el control absoluto de la partitura, construyendo un personaje coherente, expresivo y vocalmente deslumbrante. Su bel canto fue expansivo y cuidado, con líneas de gran belleza, pianissimi redondos y sostenidos con aparente facilidad, y una musicalidad de primerísimo nivel. La voz Oropesa sigue siendo liviana, pero mantiene su complejidad tímbrica, con brillo arriba y madera abajo. La soprano confirmó una vez más que es hoy una de las grandes especialistas del repertorio belliniano, por aunar con arte el virtuosismo técnico y la expresión más íntima.

—  Carlos J. López Rayward  •  Opera World

Que dire du couple Lisette Oropesa/Lawrence Brownlee ? On atteint ici des sommets de technique vocale, dont on admire aussi la prise de risque : dans sa recherche de nuances, la soprano américaine pousse la voix jusqu’à sa limite, et ne se contente pas d’assurer ses aigus.

—  Claire-Marie Caussin  •  Classy Keo

Nun ist es Lisette Oropesa. Obwohl sie schon seit gut einem Jahrzehnt an der Weltspitze singt, hat sie nichts von der Schlankheit. Frische und Jugendlichkeit ihres für Belcanto wie geborenen Soprans verloren. Bei ihr wird technische Sicherheit, die sie bis in die höchsten Höhen nie verlässt (Spitzentöne, die gegebenenfalls Chor- und Orchestermassen übertönen), nicht zur bloßen Virtuosität, sondern steht immer im Dienst des Ausdrucks. Diese Elvira hat von Glück bis Verzweiflung schon alles in der Stimme – dass sie von der Regie her manche Dummheit abliefern muss, erledigt sie wenigstens ohne Peinlichkeit. Auch wenn sie im letzten Akt mit Kurzhaarfrisur und einer Art billigem Sommerkleid da steht (obwohl die Kostüme sonst mehr oder minder historisierend sind), packt sie auch das noch ohne weitere Peinlichkeit. Keine Frage, wenn man die Oper spielt, dann für sie, und wenn sie singt, ist dem Opernfreund das Ambiente mehr oder minder egal.

—  Renate Wagner  •  Online Merker

Hier ist zunächst Lisette Oropesa zu nennen, die die Partie bereits in Paris interpretiert hat und im vergangenen Jahr kurzfristig bei den Winterfestspielen in Erl eingesprungen ist. Schon bei ihrem ersten Auftritt mit Elviras Onkel Giorgio glänzt Oropesa mit sauber angesetzten Höhen und geschmeidigen Linien. Wenn sie dann erfährt, dass ihr Vater der Hochzeit mit Arturo zugestimmt hat, jubiliert sie in den höchsten Tönen mit sauber angesetzten Koloraturen. Beeindruckend gelingt ihr auch die Szene, in der sie über den vermeintlichen Verrat ihres Geliebten dem Wahnsinn verfällt. Hier reißt Oropesa das Publikum stimmlich erneut zu Begeisterungsstürmen hin. Einen weiteren Höhepunkt stellt dann ihre große Wahnsinnsszene im zweiten Akt dar. Hier klingt ihr Sopran in den zerbrechlichen Höhen regelrecht entrückt. Bei der glücklichen Wiedervereinigung mit dem Geliebten Arturo schraubt sie sich dann im folgenden Duett scheinbar mühelos in schwindelerregende Höhen.

—  Thomas Molke  •  Online Musik Magazin

She goes in and out of sanity, from the end of Act I to almost the end of the opera, which is great for the opportunity to offer showpieces for Oropesa—she sounded particularly fine in the latter part of the work—and she took advantage of every one of them.

—  Richard Sasanow  •  Broadway World

In her famed mad scene, Oropesa had to compete with the aforementioned chorus members’ exits and a huge set of distractions. But the soprano was up to the task. From her first, off-stage “O rendetemi la speme,” you could sense her longing for Arturo singing with her long legato lines. Then as she went on stage for “Qui la voce sua soave,” the soprano began her first verse with tender and smooth lines. The “Ah! tu sorridi e asciughi il pianto!,” interlude maintained a delicacy that soon turned to darker tones, especially in her lower notes. In the repeat of the A melody, Oropesa sang with slight accents, particularly on each repeat of “O lasciate, lasciatemi morir,” giving the line a little more aggressiveness. She pushed the melody forward, helping express the character’s ever-growing desperation. In the subsequent, “Vien diletto e in ciel la luna,” Oropesa once again displayed prowess in her coloratura each time rising to exquisite high notes and impeccable fioritura. Her E-Flat that capped off the mad scene resonated with striking power.

—  Francisco Salazar  •  Opera Wire

As Elvira, Lisette Oropesa spun out Bellini’s melodies and flowing lines with the utmost care. ‘Son vergin vezzosa’ was a joyous expression of love captured in fleet, bubbling coloratura and luminous high notes. When Elvira gave voice to her shattered mental state in ‘Qui la voce … Vien, diletto’, Oropesa employed those same vocal skills and musicality to express total despair.

—  Rick Perdian  •  Seen and Heard International

The music, however, was top-notch. Ms. Oropesa’s limpid, flexible soprano brought a heart-tugging vulnerability to Elvira, and her pealing coloratura was both accurate and expressive. She was especially mesmerizing in her extended Act 2 mad scene—“Qui la voce” and “Vien diletto.”

—  Heidi Waleson  •  Wall Street Journal

this is very much Lisette Oropesa’s show. Her Elvira has abundant charm and she uses vocal ornaments in an almost gestural manner that is powerfully expressive. Her mad scene in Act II was riveting, despite the dizzying distractions.

—  Andrew Farach-Colton  •  Financial Times

But the vocal success of this production rests on Oropesa and Brownlee. Oropesa not only negotiates Elvira’s many coloratura runs with stunning ease, but captures the character’s up-and-down emotional states vividly enough to almost make the libretto’s dime-store psychology work.

—  Kenji Fujishima  •  Theater Mania

Oropesa’s has an outward state that swerves from ecstasy to insanity, but with a firmly held core. Even at her most desperate, she manages to retain control, especially over her voice. This holds true regardless of whether she was primly composed in her Puritan garb or refusing for months to take off her wedding dress, a Miss Havisham in the making. Oropesa needed no time to warm up on Wednesday, entering with confidence, precision and agility. Her passaggio, the sometimes perilous transition between vocal registers, was smoothly imperceptible. In one phrase that ended with a chromatic descent, she so clearly articulated each pitch down the scale, it was like listening to someone run their fingers across the keys of a piano.

—  Joshua Barone  •  New York Times

In the demanding role of the heroine Elvira – torn between her love for the Royalist Arturo and her arranged marriage to Riccardo, a Puritan colonel in Cromwell’s army – is soprano Lisette Oropesa. Enduring the torments of love and her perceived betrayal by Arturo, Elvira is mentally unhinged for much of the opera, but Oropesa’s singing remained poised and even throughout. This was especially so in Act 2’s long, technically demanding “mad scene”. The main aria, “Qui la voce sua soave” – in which she alternates between moments of pain and playfulness as she hallucinates about her beloved Arturo’s presence – was a superb display of vocal virtuosity.

—  Susan Stempleski  •  Bachtrack

Oropesa’s tone and technique were ideal for the role. Elvira is a young woman, and that youth and inexperience explain her breakdown as well as can some burning inner psychological flaw. The litheness of her voice, the agility and fluttering vibrato, put the character’s heart on her sleeve, and were a tight fit for the music and drama. Oropesa didn’t layer herself on Elvira, she sang from inside the character, and as dazzling as the vocalization often was, everything felt appropriate and organic. Her voice covered the full range of the part. While her tone in the high tessitura was occasionally inconsistent, this has a minor issue. The sheer athleticism of it was exciting to the audience, though the most impressive thing, constant throughout, was her artistry, the bravura part almost a side effect. The cascading representation of her downward mental spiral in “Oh, vieni al tempio” was effectively understated, and the sense in her singing in Acts II and III, before the reunion with Arturo, was an uncanny balance of a mind adrift shown through precise articulation and intonation.

—  George Grella  •  New York Classical Review

Oropesa’s limpid soprano is pushed to its limits in the heaviest passages of the role but the rest gives her ample opportunity to show off her dazzling coloratura and fluent trill. Where she really shines is in the long, yearning melodies that are Bellini’s hallmark.

—  Kevin Ng  •  The Times