Lisette Oropesa was born September 29, 1983, in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Cuban emigrant parents; she acquired Spanish citizenship in 2019. Originally training as a flutist, she switched to voice at Louisiana State University under Robert Grayson, later joining the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program (graduating 2008) after winning the Met’s National Council Auditions in 2005.

A lyric coloratura soprano, Oropesa is known for roles including Violetta, Gilda, Lucia, Manon, and Konstanze, with the New York Times praising her as ‘a major Violetta.’ She has won the Richard Tucker Award (2019), the Beverly Sills Award (2019), the Franco Abbiati Music Critics Award (2023), and the International Opera Award for Best Female Singer (2024), and was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2023).

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisette_Oropesa