Lisette Oropesa (born on September 29, 1983, in New Orleans) is an American soprano, who was raised in Baton Rouge, where she studied at Louisiana State University. Her parents are both emigrants from Cuba, and her mother, Rebeca Oropesa (née Ulloa), is a soprano who was heard in productions at Loyola University of the South (Sister Genevieve in Suor Angelica, and Venus in Venus and Adonis) and LSU (Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi), before she decided on raising a family.
Lisette Oropesa was in the National Council Grand Finals Concert, at the Metropolitan Opera, in 2005, and was then part of the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program until 2008. She made her Met debut in a small role in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's production of Idomeneo (conducted by James Levine), on September 28, 2006, then sang the First Lay-Sister in their new production of Suor Angelica.
As substitute, she sang her first leading role at that house, Susanna in Sir Jonathan Miller's production of Le nozze di Figaro (opposite Erwin Schrott's Figaro), on October 2, 2007, which was reckoned a great success.[1]
In the 2007-08 season, Miss Oropesa was seen in the Met's Hänsel und Gretel, as the Dew Fairy, and, in the 2008-09 season, as the role of Lisette in La rondine, opposite Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, and Samuel Ramey, in Nicolas Joël's production.[2] She also sang the role of the Rhinemaiden, Woglinde, in the Met's 2009 Der Ring des Nibelungen, and additionally sang the off-stage role of the Woodbird in Siegfried. On September 27, 2010, she reprised her Rhinemaiden in the Met's season-opening production of Das Rheingold, and, in May 2011, sang the part of the god Amor in Mark Morris's production of Orfeo ed Euridice. On December 31, 2011, she created the role of Miranda in the Met's pastiche, The Enchanted Island (opposite Plácido Domingo), conducted by William Christie.
Elsewhere, the soprano has appeared with the Welsh National Opera (Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Il turco in Italia), Tanglewood Music Festival (Constanze), Ravinia Festival (Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by James Conlon), Opera New Jersey (Lucia di Lammermoor), Arizona Opera (Gilda in Rigoletto), and the New Orleans Opera Association (Rigoletto and Les pêcheurs de perles).
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