Susanna
Also making an auspicious debut was the Susanna of this FIGARO, sung with pointed grace and lyricism by Lisette Oropesa. As Countess Almaviva's strong-willed servant who must battle the advances of the Count while preparing to marry Figaro, Oropesa brings out the nuances of character with clarity, whether she is flirting with her intended or standing her ground against the Count. Her voice also rings true with clear tone and supple beauty, especially in her playful rendition of "Deh vieni, non tardar."
I was even more taken with Oropesa, the bright-voiced, very musical singer who played the chambermaid Susanna. Her sharpwitted and beautifully sung portrayal was a smooth fit with John Relyea's amused and amusing manservant, Figaro.
Lisette Oropesa, who made everyone fall in love with her right from the outset in her company debut. Nothing in the evening surpassed her rendition of “Deh vieni, non tardar” in Act IV, in which she spun strands of magic in the evening air.
Lisette Oropesa sang the role of Susanna with a sweet sound as pure as a silver bell.
Le Nozze di Figaro
As the center of most everything that happens in the opera, a Susanna must convey wit, intelligence and spark. Oropesa does this convincingly, as well as affectingly singing Susanna’s great aria, Deh vieni, non tardar.
If there was a leader in the pack, it was Lisette Oropesa, whose Susanna was a potent combination of charm and beautifully articulated wit, with telling touches of peasant common sense.
His Susanna was the attractive American soprano Lisette Oropesa, who deftly captured the sparkle and intelligence of that lovely character. Oropeso is graceful beyond telling, moving like a dancer, shining in every scene.
Soprano Lisette Oropesa was a superb Susanna, singing with both delicacy and quick-witted allure. Her duet with the Count at the beginning of Act 3, in which Susanna pretends to be willing to accept his advances, was a particular high point.
Lisette Oropesa is a natural on stage. Her lovely, light soprano fit Susanna perfectly. Hers is the standard to which all opera acting should aspire.
As Susanna, Lisette Oropesa pulls of the the notable aria “Venite, inginocchiatevi “ (“Come, kneel down before me”) perfectly. However, Oropesa’s best moments come through her mastery of the physical humor so prevalent in the play. She executes slapstick with the skill of Charlie Chaplin and keeps the audience laughing so hard that the music occasionally feels like lagniappe. Kudos must be given the blocking in the work.
But it is the women who are truly at the heart of this production: Lisette Oropesa’s quick-thinking, loyal Susanna steals the show, aided by the heartsick Countess, in her efforts to maneuver through a world ruled by the passions and suspicions of men.
Lisette Oropesa (who shares Madeline Kahn’s birthday) sings Susanna with sweet vibrance and spunky stage presence. I admired Oropesa in The Enchanted Island at the Met two seasons ago, and here, with superior dramatic material, she’s winning.
Soprano Lisette Oropesa returned home to sing the role of Susanna, bringing an alluring lyricism to the stage. Her rendition of "Deh vieni, non tardar" was especially sweet. Oropesa also is a fine comic actress, capable of raising the buffoonery of it all a notch or two.
Ms. Oropesa’s last-minute elevation turns out to be a more interesting story than a pregnant Susanna. She proved a vocally and physically agile Susanna, with an attractively silky, flexible timbre. Her fine comic instincts and cheerfully bright sound put her in command of the stage during much of the first two acts. But she conveyed emotional depth too, most notably in her moving, dark-hued account of “Deh vieni, non tardar” in the final act.
As his fiancée, Susanna, Lisette Oropesa was a dynamo: her singing had a bell-like purity and enviable agility; her stage presence was magnetic.
Oropesa is immediately engaging and she demonstrates impressive control of her voice, most notable in Susanna’s playful aria “Deh vieni, non tardar.”
Regarding Ms. Oropesa, congratulations are in order for one of the brighter, better-informed renditions of Susanna we’ve had the privilege to hear. In many respects, “Figaro” is more Susanna’s opera than it is a starring vehicle for the title character, given the amount of beautiful and challenging music Mozart gives her to sing.
Ms. Oropesa made this notable role her very own, deftly and intelligently adapting to every negative plot twist with a fine sense of theater and with a bright, sunny soprano that matched the positive attitude of Mr. McKinny’s Figaro.
Lisette Oropesa may not have had the same size of voice as others on the big Kennedy Center stage, but her Susanna was effervescent and charming. In her duets, both with Figaro in Act I and gorgeously with the Countess in the second half of the production, the voices blended beautifully. More important to this audience member, she acted the part with such verisimilitude that I was rooting for her all the way.
Soprano Lisette Oropesa creates a very young, but wise beyond her years, Suzanna. She resists the usual “smartest girl in the class” smugness that many purveyors of the role affect. We see her evaluate, and then approve, the ideas as the conspirators hatch the harebrained scheme to give the Count his comeuppance. Her aria Deh Vieni, Non Tardar is exquisite.
Lisette Oropesa is an up-and-coming soprano who has established an excellent reputation for singing with luminous tones and precise coloratura. Her Susanna was flirty, saucy and passionate.
Lisette Oropesa, also from the Metropolitan Opera, employs her clear and appealing soprano to the myriad emotions of the complex young woman – cajoling, frustration, jealousy and ultimate satisfaction. In her touching final aria “Deh vieni non tardar (At last the moment is near)” one can almost hear her becoming tired of the subterfuge and simply wishing to be married peacefully to Figaro.
Singing from the heart, the entire ensemble was at its thespian best. Bass-baritones Sly and Pisaroni, both tall and handsome, engaged in convincing combat, and sopranos Sierra and Oropesa were beauteous and appealing.
Lisette Oropesa was irresistible as Susanna, burbling to and fro in a lovely voice.
The combination of his (John Relyea) big but expressive bass-baritone and her (Lisette Oropesa) lithe, silvery soprano was enchanting. Moving with the elegance of a ballerina, Oropesa flitted easily between outraged innocence and wily cynicism.
Lisette Oropesa is a charming Susanna. Her voice has a gorgeous delicate quality to it but still has volume. Her "Deh vieni, non tardar" was unstrained and she managed to do a perfect martial arts flip of Figaro when she loses her temper with him later in the act.
As Susanna, Figaro’s bride-to-be, Louisiana-born and -raised Lisette Oropesa was taking on one of the most demanding roles in the soprano repertoire. Being in nearly every scene of a long opera can pose a serious challenge to a singer, but Oropesa rose to it. In her arias as well as in duets and ensemble pieces, Oropesa offered a fine display of vocal versatility, from the lilting coloratura of a young woman in love to the confusion and anger of the object of the lascivious intentions of her overlord, Count Almaviva.
His Susanna, Lisette Oropesa, makes an incandescent debut. I still can’t get her limpid, astutely phrased “Deh vieni” out of my head. That Letter Duet, “Sull’aria” with the Countess, could hardly be better sung.
I was thoroughly impressed with Lisette Oropesa's Susanna. She had great stage presence, comic flair, good timing in her stage movements, vivid chemistry with both her Figaro and Countess Almaviva, and sang beautifully this Mozart music that suits her voice so well. She sang naturally throughout the evening, with never a strained note. What a charming Susanna!