Lisette Oropesa talks Met Opera, Carnegie Hall debut, the flute, and her weight loss

American soprano Lisette Oropesa is one of today's most in-demand opera singers. After performing with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra this past summer in Asia, Lisette sits down with David for our season premiere. To kick the conversation off she discusses what goes through her mind as she sings, how she avoids being a tortured musician, and David's faux pas in Tokyo. Reminiscing about her childhood as a flutist and band nerd, Lisette shares why she shifted to become an opera singer and how generous LSU Opera supporters helped prepare her for auditions at the Met early in her career. Lisette candidly talks about her weight loss and running journeys and how they made her a stronger performer. To close it out Lisette excitedly discusses her upcoming recital debut at Carnegie Hall later this month.

American mezzo-soprano and three-time Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato is "perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation" (The New Yorker), but her path to stardom was anything but easy and linear. In this special episode of Speaking Soundly, recorded live at Lincoln Center, Joyce discusses the challenges in her early career and how she moved through them with grit, how her father gave her permission to pursue a life on the stage, and why her heart still belongs in a choir. David and Joyce reflect on meaningful performances in their lives and the power of music to connect us to moments and heal.    • Joyce DiDonato talks early career challeng...  

Three-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the Music and Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain, and Music Director (aka David's boss) at The Metropolitan Opera where he's just the third person to hold this position in the company's long 140-year history. In the episode—recorded backstage at Carnegie Hall—Yannick discusses the primary role of a conductor, his calm and friendly demeanor while on the podium (spoiler: he doesn't know how to be mean!), how he became inspired to conduct at age 10, and why he reclaimed his love for the piano during the pandemic. Yannick shares the importance of taking every opportunity to perform seriously and his deep belief that music can connect and transform anyone who listens.    • Met Opera and Philadelphia Orchestra's Yan...  

The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.

Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman.

Photograph of Lisette Oropesa by Steven Harris.

This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.

Episode copyright © 2023 Artful Narratives Media.