Manon Lescaut

Most importantly, the chemistry between singers lit a match that didn’t burn out until standing ovations were long over. Arias stood out just enough to punctuate the narrative with moments of reflection. Most notably, Oropesa sang Act II’s famous ‘Goodbye, our little table&rsqu…

Seen and Heard International
Oct. 11, 2019
Daniele Sahr

Manon

But musically this Manon shines. Lisette Oropesa makes a truly touching title figure, especially in the plaintive parts. 

Financial Times
Sept. 26, 2019
John Rockwell

Manon is her finest role to date, her clear, flexible soprano perfectly suited to Massenet’s blend of text-driven lyricism with the occasional burst of coloratura. From her breathless first entry full of wide-eyed charm to her final desperate gasp in the middle of Thomas’s endless hi…

Limelight Magazine
Oct. 23, 2019
Clive Paget

Lisette Oropesa, making her role debut as Manon, sang with an elegance and style that was perfect for a heroine with little control over her fate. Her French diction was incisive and clear, and her high notes soared into a long and sustained arc. As much as she thrilled with her beautiful singin…

Bachtrack
Sept. 26, 2019
Ako Imamura

Manon pimpante et espiègle, Lisette Oropesa chante et interprète le rôle-titre avec une aisance déconcertante. Évoluant avec légèreté sur le plateau, la soprano déroule son chant avec naturel, d’un médium coloré &a…

Olyrix
Oct. 29, 2019
Jeanne Auffret

The role almost seems to have been written just for Lisette Oropesa, whose performance combined overwhelming charisma and movie star looks.Her flexible light soprano…

Arts ATL
Oct. 30, 2019
James L. Paulk

Still, the performers made this Wednesday evening something special. All the principal singers were, as of the previous week, new to their roles at the Met; and for Lisette Oropesa, as the lovably fallible heroine, it was an actual role debut. I’d never have guessed it from the performance…

Opera Canada
Oct. 4, 2019
Patrick Dillon

It was the towering performance of Lisette Oropesa as Manon [last seen in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots at the Paris Opera, see Robert's review] though that swept all before. It’s a rare thing to vocally and physically convince us of this story’s verisimilitude – and on a screen th…

Planet Hugill
Oct. 30, 2019
Planet Hugill

La Manon de Lisette Oropesa destacó por la naturalidad de la proyección y la eficacia dramática que supo imprimir al personaje. La técnica de la soprano cubanoamericana está muy por encima de las dificultades vocales de la heroína de Massenet. Ello…

Opera World
Oct. 21, 2019
Carlos J Lopez

Lisette Oropesa enfin est la grande triomphatrice de la soirée, Elle fait sien le personnage de Manon avec une aisance désarmante. Son apparition timide au premier acte, avec son regard innocent, évoque la jeune Adjani dans L’Ecole des femmes. Elle chante « Je su…

Forum Opera
Oct. 27, 2019
Christian Peter

Lisette Oropesa gave a performance as Manon that confirmed she is fully ready for leading roles at the Met. Her voice has grown in size and color since the days when she primarily appeared in soubrette parts: she has developed into a formidable lyric soprano, her voice fill…

New York Classical Review
Sept. 25, 2019
Eric C. Simpson

Speaking of Lisette Oropesa, she had a major success in her first Met “Manon.” The title role is a mammoth undertaking and has proven a touchstone role for many famed divas of the past. Moreover, Pelly’s production requires a singer who can also dominate as an actress, navigati…

Opera Wire
Sept. 25, 2019
David Salazar

Lisette Oropesa, where have you been all my life?

Of course, I've heard her before--she's appeared 100 times or so at the Met so one could hardly miss her--but never in a showpiece like the title role of Jules Massenet's MANON, opposite tenor Michael Fabiano's Chevalier des Grieux, on th…

Broadway World
Sept. 26, 2019
Richard Sasanow

Lisette Oropesa's performance in Massenet's opera at the Met is alone worth the price of admission.

Ms. Oropesa slips into the title role as if it were custom couture. In her first aria, “Je…

New York Times
Sept. 25, 2019
Joshua Barone