Triumph at New Orleans Opera

LSU School of Music alum Lisette Oropesa ('06) performed brilliantly in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers" with the New Orleans Opera.  She is carrying her LSU Alumni sweatshirt (below) to her next role as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf.  http://tinyurl.com/4ovu87x

Geaux Tigers!!!

Prof. Terry Patrick Harris, Lisette Oropesa, Prof. Robert Grayson (her professor from LSU)
and Dean Laurence Kaptain

The nation's only musician-owned orchestra, the LPO ranks as a leader in quality and innovation Published: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 5

MENTION OF RELATIONSHIP WITH LSU:

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2011/01/the_nations_only_musician-owne.html

MAESTRO CARLOS MIGUEL PRIETO

Photos by Ted Jackson

Times-Picayune

Times-Picyune Story on LSU alum Lisette Oropesa

http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living-16/1295763661167970.xml&coll=1&style=print Page 1 of 2

Finding Her Voice

Young soprano Lisette Oropesa goes from LSU to the Met, and then comes back home for

'The Pearl Fishers'

Sunday, January 23, 2011

By Chris Waddington

Staff writer

As a 21-year-old music major at LSU, Lisette Oropesa was thinking about graduate school -- not

an international career as an opera diva. Then, to gain a little experience, she entered the 2005

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and topped a field of 1,500 singers from across

the nation.

"My expectations were very modest going into the competition, so I didn't have a chance to get

nervous," Oropesa said. "I just kept winning -- and then I was on the stage of the Met with a full

orchestra for a national broadcast.

"I was so young -- and had never performed at a real opera house. I suppose it would be the

same if a college ballplayer suddenly found himself pitching a game at Yankee stadium."

Oropesa's win earned her berth in the Lindeman Young Artists Development program at the

Metropolitan Opera. It also put the New Orleans-born newcomer in august company. Past

winners of the annual contest include some of today's most prominent singers: Renee Fleming,

Deborah Voigt, Thomas Hampson and Ben Heppner.

"The contest changed my life," said Oropesa, a soprano. "I'm not really famous, but I'm living a

public life in New York, getting mentioned in opera blogs, getting calls from young singers

seeking advice. It's not the life I expected as a girl growing up in Baton Rouge.

"The Met is kind of like Hollywood: lots of glamor and gossip. Fans will wait at the stage door for

hours hoping to get their picture taken with a favorite singer."

In 2011 Oropesa will sing leading roles in houses from San Francisco to Munich, and she

continues her association with the Metropolitan Opera. The 27-year-old soprano will share the

stage with superstars such as Placido Domingo and Susan Graham.

Oropesa also headlines in a production of Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers," staged by the New Orleans

Opera Association on Jan. 28 and 30. It's her debut as Leila, a Ceylonese priestess who

celebrates a forbidden love in grand duets and trilling vocal lines -- and later pleads for her

lover's life in one of the most dramatic scenes in French opera.

"I was apprehensive about taking the role -- my voice is still developing," Oropesa said. "But

when I looked at the score I could see that it would let me show two aspects of my singing -- lots

of florid, light coloratura work at the start, then the lyric power needed to carry over a big

orchestra in the later, dramatic scenes."

If the critics are right, Oropesa shouldn't have any trouble with the part. The Boston Globe called

her a singer of "blistering power and assurance." The New York Times raved about her

Nola.com's Printer-Friendly Page 1/29/11 9:06 AM

http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living-16/1295763661167970.xml&coll=1&style=print Page 2 of 2

"attractively silky, flexible timbre." Opera News took note of her "uncommonly precise coloratura

agility."

Rehearsals for the "The Pearl Fishers" happen to coincide with the 2011 Met Council auditions at

Loyola University. Oropesa plans to be there Sunday. She'll hear a host of young singers from

the Gulf Coast Region -- and expects to give them a pep talk while the judges deliberate.

"Only one winner will advance from this regional audition, but it's an important competition for all

the singers," Oropesa said. "You never know who might be in the audience -- or who is watching

on YouTube. Every time you sing, you have to give 100 percent."

Oropesa didn't sing seriously until she got to LSU.

"I played flute for 12 years and thought that was where I was going, but my Mom, who taught

music in Baton Rouge schools, begged me to audition for the LSU Voice Department," Oropesa

said. "She reminded me that people went nuts if I sang in a talent show or did a solo at church. I

guess she always knew I had something special. She was a trained singer. She would stop me if

I sang along with some rock song on the radio and said I would wreck my voice if did that."

After a semester as a double major, the instrumentalist became a full-time singer.

"I still love the flute -- I sing in a very similar register -- but opera lets me explore my interest in

acting, in literature and languages," Oropesa said. "And, for me, voice feels like the most natural

instrument. It's more personal. My body is my instrument now."

. . . . . . . .

Staff writer Chris Waddington can be reached at cwaddington@timespicayune.com or

504.826.3448. Comment and read more at nola.com/music.

INFOBOX:

The Pearl Fishers

What: The New Orleans Opera Association presents Bizet's story of a Ceylonese priestess and

her forbidden love

Where: Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts

When: 8 p.m. Jan 28, 2:30 p.m. Jan 30. Tickets start at $20. For more information, call 504-529-

3000 or go to neworleansopera.org.

. . . . . . . .

Metropolitan Opera

regional auditions

Where: Roussel Hall, Loyola University

When: Sunday, 1:30 p.m.

Tickets: $10

©2011 timespic

LSU alum Lisette Oropesa ('06) with her Prof. Robert Grayson

More photos from the CMDA reception at the Governor's Mansion

LSU theatre professor Nick Erickson

Sarah Bartolome and Brad Olesen

Barbara and Camp Matens

l. to r. Tom Anderson, Steven Covington, Cristine McMurdo-Wallis , and Laurence Kaptain

l. to r. Robert DiLutis, Joseph Skillen and Brian Shaw

Metro Coucilwoman C. Denise Marcelle and Robert DiLutis

CMDA Faculty Appreciation Reception at Louisiana Governor's Mansion

On Friday, January 21, 2011 the College of Music and Dramatic Arts Faculty were honored at an appreciation reception at the Governor's Mansion. This was in conjunction with the LSU Performing Arts Academy.

l. to r. School of Music Director Willis Delony, Performing Arts Academy Director Robert DiLutis, Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle, Baton Rouge Symphony Executive Director Alan Hopper
and LSU CMDA Dean Laurence Kaptain

Debut of LSU Performing Arts Academy Honors Wind Ensmeble

Robert DiLutis of the LSU Performing Arts Academy sent news that Prof. James Byo held the first ever rehearsal of the new PAA Honors High School Wind Ensemble on Saturday, January 22, 2011. 


More then 35 students strong, this marks a huge increase in the number of students in the PAA.


James Byo has a national reputation for excellence in band and orchestral music education. Another example of exceptional opportunity for the citizens of South Louisiana made possible by the College of Music and Dramatic Arts at LSU.


Bravo Profs. DiLutis and Byo!!! 

Louisiana: State of the Arts

Presentation at Baton Rouge Rotary on January 19, 2011.

Yikes--Prime space at I-10 and Essen in Baton Rouge

Introduced by Chancellor Michael Martin

Great opportunity to explain how the performing arts and creativity support major initiatives, like "The Blue Ocean Initiative," community attachment, and LSU's Flagship 2020.

The College of Music and Dramatic Arts has the intellectual 

assets and creative potential to benefit 

Louisiana's economy, education, and quality of life.

Why not?

LSU's Performing Arts Academy--Open House 01.18.11

The LSU Performing Arts Academy is one of 4 "going forward" initiatives for the LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Coverage in The Advocate

The other initiatives include: Interactive Digital Video Performing Arts Distance Learning, Louisiana State of the Arts, and the Janice H. Pellar Creative Arts Entrepreneurship Project.

Photos by Timothy Little

YAMAHA reps visit LSU

Dr. Pamela Pike of LSU's School of Music is a national leader in the emerging field of piano pedagogy through distance learning. She is working with other institutions in finding ways to enhance learning and creatrivity through the use of YAMAHA's Disclavier piano.

LSU Alum Paul Groves in Opera News

There is a nice article in the latest Opera News magazine (Feb. 2011), a feature article on Paul Groves---with a nice mention of LSU and his Professor Robert Grayson.  

Grove’s solidly supported, breathtakingly dulcet lines are a result of first-class training.  “My teacher at Louisiana State University was Robert Grayson.  Bob is simply a superb musician.  Having sung at the New York City Opera, he was able to teach me not only musicianship and vocal technique but also many practical things about daily life in the professional opera world.”  Opera News, February 2011, page 17.

Robert Grayson 25th Anniversary Concert DVD released

Prof. Grayson's fantastic live concert dvd of the four tenors concert (with Paul Paul Groves, Chad Shelton, Matt  Morgan and Michael Borowitz) at LSU has been released through LPB and is now being distributed.  


Take a look at this link:


http://beta.lpb.org/index.php/pledge/pledge_item/opera_masters_celebrating_robert_grayson

Tiger Band at 2011 Cotton Bowl LSU wins 41-24

Dr. Kenneth Fulton--and his Cotton Bowl dilemma.

School of Music friends Eric Howard, Gene Howard, Dr. James Syler,
and LSU's School of Music Director WIllis Delony

CMDA Dean Laurence Kaptain, Tiger Band Director Roy King and
Guest Conductor/Lt. Governor of Louisiana
The Honorable Jay Dardenne

The Lt. Gov takes his responsibility seriously,
as the State's leader of arts and culture

Tiger Band rockin' at the Cotton Bowl

Traveling with Tiger Band led by Louisiana's finest!

Pregame at the Cotton Bowl

W.F. (Bill) Grimes conducts Randy Newman and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

LSU Prof. of jazz studies is a frequent orchestral "pops" guest conductor--and wonderful representative of the faculty talent at LSU.  http://www.lpomusic.com/?q=node/695

LSU in Houston January 15

Kelli Scott Kelley & Bill Kelley
Edge of the Earth
Saturday, January 15, 2011, 9pm

Former Artist Board members and fixtures of the 90s Houston art scene, Kelli Scott Kelley and Bill Kelley return to the DiverseWorks stage for a multimedia event featuring The Incense Merchants, world-class cellist Dennis Parker, poetry by Jacqueline Dee Parker and the Houston premiere screening of Kelli Scott Kelley's Bird and Squirrel.

Edge of the Earth coincides with and follows the opening reception of Kelli Scott Kelley's Fairytale solo exhibition of mixed-media works at Hooks-Epstein Gallery.