By Margherita Cole on January 27, 2022

“I stood up to sing because Lisette Oropesa is a musician I love very much and I happened to have learned this opera before.”

Big breaks can happen at any time—even during a live performance. Chinese opera student Liu Jianwei was attending Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata at the Teatro Regio di Parma in Parma, Italy to listen to his favorite soprano, Cuban American opera singer Lisette Oropesa perform. After the concert, he was presented with an opportunity to join the star in an impromptu duet, unbeknownst to everyone (including himself and Oropesa).

Oropesa sang four encores for the audience, the last of which was a rendition of the song “Sempre Libera,” meaning “Forever Free,” which typically features a male tenor from off stage. After noticing there was no accompaniment in the first bar, Jianwei joined in from the audience. The 24-year-old is currently studying at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini di Piacenza, and was very familiar with the lyrics of the song. […]

More: Student in Opera Audience Joins Performance By Singing Tenor Part