Violetta Valery
To judge from her first attempt at the role (heard Oct. 9), Lisette Oropesa bids fair to be among its great exponents in her generation.
Oropesa manifested secure technical chops—trills, staccati, pinpoint dynamics and—most impressively—a long, sustained line that ...
Through a series of stepped vocal shadings over more than two hours, she embraced Violetta's bubbly spirit, infused it with the pale resignation of the dejected lover, and, ultimately - in following one of Verdi's shrewdest emotional zigs - beautifully navigated the last moments of a euphoric ...
In fact, Ms. Oropesa, the dramatic soprano who stars in the staging at the Academy of Music, brings so much gusto, so much soul to her Violetta, that it is sort of a miracle that the entire stage doesn’t blow up at the end of the three-hour show. Yes, she’s that good, and I’v...
La traviata
It will be remembered as a 'were you there the night' soprano Lisette Oropesa made her debut as Violetta in "La Traviata." At the end, when the curtain closed and came back up on Oropesa standing alone on the stage, the whole Academy audience bounded to its feet, shouting and lustily applaudin...
...and the outstanding Oropesa brings psychological depth and emotional expressiveness to her sympathetic character, ranging from–and equally masterful at–the ebullient bel canto and decorative coloratura of Act I to the scaled-down drama and poignancy of Act III.
It is possible for a lyric singer to be a great Violetta – among recordings, one I treasure is Bidu Sayão from the Met, who imprinted the role with her distinctive prettiness and pathos. It was Sayão I thought of as I heard how easily Oropesa’s voice carried in the la...
