Also, the accompanist, upon hearing the tenor, immediately stops playing the melody. This clip is so short, but it has so much to see, hear and appreciate. :)
I’d like to think her performances from then on were even more amazing since she can now genuinely understand Violetta’s surprise and joy from personal experience.
There is a longer video of this same moment that starts at the beginning of the aria and shows her looking up into the stage eves then turning to the pianist and shrugging her shoulders. She give the impression she was expecting a tenor who had not shown up. All the more special that the opera student filled in.
Did anyone notice that the pianist was playing the tenors part until Liu started singing and he then just played the bass notes and let Liu sing the upper tenor part. Pretty cool that he just switched it. This was totally awesome. Yes it was a risk on Liu's part, but what the heck - he went for it and worked out. You only live once, right??
I immidietly check the whole performance for this spesific song.... And yup... Its still on script.... This time a genuine one since it was unexpected ahh its so GOOD.... XD
Damn. Imagine thinking it's just going to be an encore but instead you performed the whole scene with someone and it also fits the context of the scene
You can tell how much she loved this moment. She was surprised but you can tell how happy she was when he joined in. She even sings “O grazie” where the “o amore” is written.
At this moment of the aria, Violetta is singing, thinking she is alone, and is surprised by Alfredo's answer. Liu stepping up and singing when Lisette was really thinking she was alone, was then a greater than life moment with acting yielding to genuine reaction. Probably Lisette really felt as being Violetta ... if Lisette is a bit of a romantic woman, you can imagine the tsunami of emotions this must have been :-) :-)
@@Kerbheros I was wondering, although I didn't fully realize it until I read your response, why her expression looked to be one of surprise even before the audience member came in.
3 stages of perfection 1 she looks around disappointed 2 she is pleasantly surprised, and expresses joy in a very soprano way 3 after hearing the guy, she gets back into it with vigor and passion 😊 Perfection ❤️
I wish i knew the the song and the context and language to appreciate this moment more! It's funny, touching, charming and dramatic all at once. Such a rare thing to stumble across
@@QuantumLeapt The interesting thing is the first portion she is singing her character is supposed to look despondent at being alone and then the male singer is meant to enter to surprise her Andale her feel no longer alone and joyous so even while singing the correct responses to him she has a genuine reaction like the characters are meant to have too so this is all a very fitting moment for this romantic piece
@@JohnCrichton it was ok because the piece was missing the tenor. From what I've gathered, most opera performances are quite polite, so these things wouldn't be the worse thing in the world, and obviously the students singing wasn't that bad.
Yeah it was magical. The contrast between her rehearsed reaction towards the piano (as if it was the tenor) and her genuine surprise towards the sound of the real person is the embodiment of what theatre directors try to get their actors to do when they "see and hear" something they've seen and heard hundreds of times already. I will keep this video as a demo xD !!!!
That kind of eerie distance his voice had from being so far away was the most moving part. I've no idea what the song was about or what they were saying, not an opera fan, but it sounded like it fit perfectly. Like two people lamenting lost love or finding it. Then his pure decency to attempt to apologize for intruding was also satisfying to know. He acted in the moment, but also took responsibility for it.
Normally, you DO NOT sing along at an opera. But this man rightfully broke the rules and created an experience no one would have believed had it not been recorded. Beautiful. ❤️ EDIT: But pls no one else sing along at an opera unless told to, you are not this man who is a trained tenor and was singing a tenor’s part 💀💀
to be fair, it was a recital encore... An opera performance would not be lacking Alfredo. What a catastrophe that would be. Being forced to listen to Alfredo's part played on the piano is another catastrophe. This was the best moment to jump in by a learning professional singer. Her face lighting up as the real Violetta would.have lit up in the scene hearing Alfredo's voice reach her from afar.
@@williamsmith9026 it is still a huge bet to take... butting in a performance can have serious backlash... he did great singing, not question about it... but the singer could have been really offended for someone interfering like that... glad it worked well for both of them 👍
As an opera singer, though not professional, I would feel very warmed and pleased that my audience is enjoying my performance so much that he decides to join. It would be a different case if he joined to steal my part or if he just sang in a voice or attitude that made everything look like a joke. Clearly he did not! He is full of enthusiasm, engagement, and bravery, and he got actual skills! If I were lisette I would be glad to see the young generation showing their passion for something I love, it bring me hope for the future!
@@robert9595 um, you are probably not a performer if you don't know basic performance etiquette like I don't know....suddenly inserting yourself in a part of a performance (that ISNT YOURS) AND what people didn't pay for? This was unprofessional as hell, but came from a genuine and sincere reaction. Though it's obvious that the lady was really pleased with the sudden injection and had fun (even changing a line to say thank you). TL;DR: joining a performance with no informing of the actual performers and staff is extremely risky and usually rude and DEFINITELY UNPROFESSIONAL. Don't tell someone to "get a grip" when they share the profession themselves geez.
To those who think he was rude or impolite - you are wrong. He was not singing her parts. He was singing a part that has been missing which completes the entire piece. It was an unplanned encore piece. Also it's not like he was just a random guy. He is a trained tenor. Unexpected? Sure, but not rude.
I don't think it was rude at all. That's the beauty of live performances. Anything can happen! It was so natural and well received! The interaction was fun for everyone. What a joy.
yeah but he said interrupting a performance is rude, he already apologized and promised not to do it again. Lisette chose to sing this song without male tenor, if she wanted she could've get one or choose another song
Please don't treat us like people who don't know opera. We all know this piece well and we know he was singing the tenor part. No one said he was rude. Please.
If I remember correctly: as the video says this is the 4th encore. I can only imagine how tiring doing that must be for all singers involved. I believe if I remember the story right, the male tenor either declined or was otherwise unavailable for the piece. I don't know if the singer on stage was aware of this before she started singer but from her general confusion when the tenor section starts without any accompaniment suggests that she was unaware of this. While as many have pointed out it looks like the piano was going to fill in for the tenor, the momentum and general impact of the encore would have been greatly lessened if the music student hadn't stepped in. And to do so with no preparation and still being able to deliver a close to perfect performance is nothing short of a miracle made manifest. To top it all off, as a professional he recognized that his interruption may have been disrespectful and he had the class to apologize after the show. This is dude is a fucking king
The surprise on Lisette's face, that suddenly turns to utter admiration... the "oh grazie" instead of oh amore... she was literally thanking him for raising up and singing the missing part to her... the fact that he thought he was being rude to her and went to apologize... and she took photos with him... you can see it in her face during the performance and in the photo... she was very pleased. And to get that type of approval from one of the best operatic talents in the world... this brought Me to flowing tears.
Both lines are actually scripted in the original opera too! What's brilliant is that she remembered to say "oh" under suprise, (which only helps the delivery) and then even improvised the "oh grazie" in place of "oh amore". It just fits so perfectly! What a moment!
I’m pretty sure many suddenly became instant Lisette Oropesa admirers because of her genuine and heartfelt reaction. I didn’t know about her before this, and then I became wowed by her amazing talent.
So true…. I just came across this video yesterday by chance and just have been playing this scene again & again! So much talent and natural reaction .. wow
Such a beautiful moment of spontaneity and authenticity in a world where everything is increasingly planned out. Stunning artistry all around. A moment to remember for the rest of the life of everyone in that audience that night. It is in these magical moments that true art happens.
You can see that she is shocked until she hears the vibrato in his voice on his sixth word. She greets it with a smile and an in tune trill, puts her feet up and enjoys his performance. Spontaneous perfection. Perhaps an example of what the Japanese call Wabi-Sabi. Two strangers came together to show the world genuine instant love and respect.
For those criticizing this young man-at 24 -being vibrant, impetuous, full of life-he was obviously moved and swept away by the music. She did not seem to mind and played it as if she heard her love singing from afar. This was adorable.
This was too fabulous for words. I'm a retired opera singer (also soprano) and in concert often another part would go missing. As long as, like in this case, the singer was trained, with an excellent voice, who knew the lines & the part without distracting the main singer, she reacted like any seasoned performer would: with glee & appreciation. I'm thrilled that as a result I've gotten to know about this soprano who has a stunningly beautiful voice, agility and craft. Bravi!
I'm glad to hear this from a trained professional. This is from my favorite Italian opera, and I found this...charming. It is always awkward for a singer to perform only one part of a duet, and I love that he could only stand the pause for a few seconds before he filled that space for her beautifully. Because of that, I now know about this incredibly talented soprano that I'd never heard of *and* a tenor I hope to hear again someday (I found his voice really lovely).
This affirms the reality that, in true art, every performance is different. Never say, "you've seen it once, you've seen it all". Someone else can say, "Yeah, but were you there when they did that fourth encore and an impromptu Alfredo sang beautifully from the audience?" A once-in-lifetime experience. Lovely.
My grandmother is a professional opera singer and she told me a fun fact I never noticed. Opera singers don't wear or use microphone to amplify the sound. Their voices are already loud enough to be able to be heard throughout the entire room. They sometimes do wear recorders to record their voices so that it can be used in advertisement or a video of the opera later
This is what I remind people of when they say they don't like opera singers' singing style. They're welcome not to like it, but there's good reason for it and it's darn impressive.
It was definitely a ballsy move. But the guy had the chops to pull it off! He saw a chance to show how much he loved opera. And of course it was not planned as this was an encore performance. I think the audience was held in a trance as he sang and they watched her respond to his solo. He held his own and she could not have been more gracious. The fact that he went to her to apologize afterwards shows how much of an opera fan he is. A stand-up guy and a stand out performance from both of them.
His voice pairs with hers so well, it's almost magical. This really made me think of 1990 Phantom of the Opera miniseries, when the Phantom starts singing the tenor part of 'Oui, c'est toi que j'aime' with Christine as he watches her from Box 5.
My favorite part of that scene, apart from the utter beauty and chemistry of Christine and Erik, is the look on the tenor's face on stage. He goes from pompous, to shocked, to deeply taken aback in the space of half a second! Meanwhile Christine is gazing up at Erik with heart-eyes while he sings "Oui, c'est moi, je t'aime..." Oh my palpitating heart!
This is such a delightful moment. I was very moved by their performance and her reaction! Important to note that this was during her 4th encore, not during the concert performance, which wouldn’t have been appropriate nor appreciated. Encores are not completely impromptu, but a performer only keeps singing as long as the audience “begs” them to by applauding 👏 while remaining seated after each song. When they rise in an ovation (stand up), that signals to the performer that they are content and thank the performer for their performance.
Omg I didn’t know that I thought it was just the opposite-that an encore happened after the audience gave a standing ovation which signals to the singer that they want to hear more. That’s rlly interesting and makes much more sense than what I thought lol ty for commenting :]
This makes alot of sense. I know very little, if next to nothing about opera but I was wondering why she was performing a song without the male role, and this answers why!
This young man did such a wonderful job, and he wasn't interrupting her. She sang her part, and obviously looked thrilled that someone was participating.
See, as a singer/musician myself, there’s a time and place for audience participation…and this was absolutely the time! Bless him for apologizing, but there was no need, she absolutely loved it and the “grazie” made it even more charming than it already was 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 I’ve seen many angles of this already but not this one, so lolz to the guy who took this, clearly he must be kicking himself for not beating him to the punch! 😂
Glad you think that way. That student didn't come in right on cue -- as he said, he noticed that there was nobody to sing Alfredo's part. Good thinking by him that there might have been *another* tenor ready to come in with Alfredo's part. He started singing only when he realised that there wasn't one.
I wish I could put that second of silence before he starts singing in a bottle, what a wonderful piece of time. Her face noticing that she is about to just be silent for quite a few bars, Lisette's eyes realizing. The incoming awkwardness hanging in the air. And then just the neurons in Liu's brain deciding "just go for it" followed by genuine artistic connection between two singers. Damn! What a moment!
I love how you worded this so nicely. It was a beautiful connection between singers and I fully feel like he did it in good faith, meaning to fill out what wasn't meant to be a solo.
Isn't this what music about? It's about connection, emotions and enjoyment. I absolutely adore the moment when the student joined her. It was just absolutely beautiful.
Look, it’s moments like this that are going to keep Opera and Classical Music alive in our modern era. To the purists that turned their nose up at this, the sad fact is these are dying arts, and audience turnout is at its lowest ever in the West. Let the form have some life breathed into it
I love her expression when "Alfredo" started singing! Her smile and sincere twinkle of appreciation in her eye, really touched me deeply! She showed such humility and gratitude even though he was just part of the audience!🥰😍
It’s probably moments like these that make it worthwhile for performers/artists. To see someone with the same passion as you and know that person is here to appreciate your art is so meaningful
I know she was shocked but I think she honestly appreciated his jumping in. Lisette is so kind and encouraging to up and coming singers who are still training. Bravi both singers, as they both knew what was best for the performance at just the right time. Lisette, to me, is an infallible talent and role model, and the tenor is definitely on his way to good things!
We all have no position in judging on what the guy should've done in that time, Lisette seemed ok with it as THERE WAS NO TENOR ORGANISED FOR THE ENCORE. Would you rather an awkward silence to an incomplete opera or a good talent to aid an encore? If he interrupted while there's actual tenor performing then yes he's absolutely rude. But there's wasn't a tenor and he filled in the gap and made it complete as it should be. Get over it and move on with all your negativity.
4TH ENCORE?? opera singers are out here singing entire operas and FOUR ENCORES like THAT?? ☠️☠️☠️ vocal chords like an olympic weight lifter's arms for real
Honestly this was very delightful. It’s an encore piece which are more casual than the main performance and she looked genuinely glad he joined in. It shows the audience really liked her performance so in my opinion it was a huge compliment for her.
That's actually a fantasy of mine doing what that guy did. Only I can't sing let alone sing opera, and I'm super shy about performing in front of people. Oh well, at least I get to live vicariously thru this guy right now ... and that's good enough for me!
Practice can do a lot more than you think! Just start with humming or whistling along when you're listening to music in private, and you'll naturally progress over time. I was the same as you, and over the years I improved without noticing it. And one day I jokingly belted out an improvised short line with a trill, and accidentally nailed it. I was both astonished and hella proud of myself!
Why do I start crying every time? It's just this beautiful moment shared between humans that transcends us to another place. I feel so happy and emotional and wish my Dad were here to watch it with me. He loved the opera, he would have gotten such a kick out of this.
I love that her genuine reaction is the reaction of what her character is actually supposed to be when hearing the male half of the duet (I don't remember the names of the characters)
I was privileged to witness Lisette's first Violetta in Philadelphia, and to profile her for my opera blog, Taminophile. She is a perfectly lovely person on top of being an amazing singer!
I think the fact that it was a 4th (!) encore makes a huge difference as to whether this was ok or not. It should be ok to have a little fun sometimes during the last couple of minutes of the night.
Unprecedented, and yet such a nice surprise. In my many years going to the opera or watching it on TV/RU-vid, I have never seen anything like this. Ms. Oropesa is such a lady for not getting upset with this improvisation which could have ruined her performance.
