Cuban-American soprano Lisette Oropesa has become one of her generation’s most sought after lyric coloraturas. Highly praised for her seamless voice, precise coloratura, magnetic stage presence, and innate musicality, she excels in a variety of repertoire from bel canto, Mozart, and French composers. Lisette has been giving consistently lauded performances on the world’s most important operatic stages.
Lisette is an inspirational figure who promotes health and fitness. A mentor and role model to young singers, Lisette gives masterclasses and lectures at universities and young artist programs around the world.
Lisette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Cuban parents, and played the flute for 12 years before she began her studies in vocal performance at Louisiana State University. After winning the Met Opera National Council Auditions, she entered the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She sang her first major role, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, at the Met at the age of 22, and has sung there in over 100 performances in many different roles since, including Manon Lescaut in Manon, Violetta Valery in La traviata, Nannetta in Falstaff, Gretel in Hänsel e Gretel, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro.
A regular at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, she has appeared in I Masnadieri, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, A Riveder Le Stelle and Theodora. She has a strong relationship to Spanish theaters such as the Teatro Real and the Grand Theatre del Liceu where she has sung in La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, and Rodelinda.
She has appeared many times with the Bayerische Staatsoper as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, a role she has also sung at the the Vienna Staatsoper and the Opéra National de Paris. Her most performed role is Gilda in Rigoletto, which she has sung at the Royal Opera House, Dutch National Opera, Teatro dell’opera di Roma, Los Angeles Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, and the Teatro Real. In the U.K., Lisette triumphed as Norina in Don Pasquale at Glyndebourne, and as Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Other roles include Ophélie in Hamlet, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles, Marie in La fille du régiment, Amalia in I Masnadieri, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots.
In the 2022 season, she debuts at the Salzburger Festspiele singing Lucia di Lammermoor in a concert performance, and makes her anticipated house and role debut as Elvira in I puritani at the Teatro di San Carlo in Napoli. She then makes her concert debut in Japan in two bel canto programs. After that, she heads to London for her debut in the title role of Händel’s Alcina, and to the Metropolitan Opera to interpret Gilda in Rigoletto. In 2023 she sings Amalia in I Masnadieri at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Ophélie in a new production of Hamlet at the Opéra de Paris. In the spring she will star in a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, in a highly anticipated run of performances at Teatro alla Scala, and appear at the Teatro Real as Fiorilla in a new production of Il turco in Italia. In the summer of 2023, Lisette returns to Savonlinna, Finland, for her role debut as Juliette in Gounod’s masterpiece Roméo et Juliette and to the Arena di Verona for two performances of La traviata, she debuts at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence singing for the first time Lucie de Lammermoor.
In the 2023 season she sings as Marie in La fille du régiment debuting at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Elvira in Puritani at the Dresdner Philharmonie, Violetta at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare by Handel at the Paris Opera, se debuts as Mathilde in Guillaume Tell at the Wiener Staatsoper and as Amina in La Sonnambula by Bellini, and she is engaged in recitals in Europe and the United States.
Lisette’s recently released several critically acclaimed albums, including Ombra compagna, La traviata and Rossini & Donizetti, French Bel Canto Arias (Pentatone).
She won the Beverly Sills and Richard Tucker awards in 2019 and Oper! Award for Best Female Singer in 2023. In the same year, she has been awarded the title of “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French minister of Culture and the “Premio Abbiati” in Italy.