La Scala Cancels Gala Season Opener Starring Lisette Oropesa

Soprano Lisette Oropesa has been forced to miss the opportunity to be the first American to sing a title role in the gala season opener at La Scala since the 1950s, Kokomo Tribune reports.

Due to the health crisis, the opera house cancelled its event for the first time. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Oropesa will now be one of more than 20 opera stars set to appear in a broadcast gala event marking the December 7 opening.

"To sing a title in an Italian opera as an American soprano is a pretty big deal," Oropesa said. "It is a rare thing to get that honor, and it is definitely important to me. It is more than that: To get to sing Lucia di Lammermoor in an Italian theater at all is beyond belief. I was really looking forward to that. I hope it happens in the future. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant to be."

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Lisette began her career at the Metropolitan Opera, and has starred in various roles there, including Manon Lescaut in MANON, Violetta Valery in LA TRAVIATA, Nannetta in FALSTAFF, Gretel in HANSEL AND GRETEL, Gilda in RIGOLETTO, and Susanna in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO.

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 Opéra National de Paris. Her most performed role is Gilda in RIGOLETTO, which she has sung at the 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, and Adina in L'ELISIR D'AMORE.

In the U.S., Lisette has appeared at the Met, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Philadelphia Opera, and the Washington National Opera, among others. Lisette's career also includes oratorio, recital, and concert repertoire. She has released two recital albums, titled WITHIN/WITHOUT, and AUX FILLES DU DÉSERT, and has performed recitals in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and more.

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