Q&A Part 1 - Singing Technique

This is SO interesting thank you!! As a singing student, you tackled everything I'm obsessed with. It so generous to put your thoughts and tips on KZbin 🙏

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

So glad you got something helpful out of it! :)

[@gulindonmez1225]

Yes really valuable thank you 🙏❤️

[@kaypattersonvlogs]

This is literally the most valuable information on KZbin. I am in my 40s and am a working soprano and have been avoiding working on the hole in my voice (first passagio) and now I’m going to actually sit down and address it. I’m really scared but it’s time. Also thank you for saying what you said about vocal size. The way I spent so many years pushing my voice 😭

[@ubiestinsula]

I’m a pianist, and since all of us instrumentalists are wannabe singers (or SHOULD be), I’m fascinated with this discussion of breath. It’s of utmost importance at the keyboard too. I also admire your confidence, self-possession, and apparent lack of inhibiting self-consciousness. You are simply you. Free. You sing that way, you speak that way. You surely must have worked to develop this. Perhaps you could discuss this brave journey you’ve taken to become who you’ve become. I would like to wish you a career that is always rewarding for you.

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Michael Gast thank you so much for these kind words, Michael. I definitely feel like spending more time in front of a camera has helped me get more comfortable. It helps to speak on a subject I feel passionate about! :)

[@highbaritone]

Just found you. I am basically retired now. Have worked with some amazing sopranos and always they did what you are taking about. I watched them all closely. I asked them what they did and some said they didn’t really know. Which I took to mean, too hard to explain. The one thing was all the work is done from the chest down. Sutherland said if she felt anything in the throat she would stop singing out in rehearsal. Which by the way she seldom did She also never aspirated and was, like you, totally against it. I am really enjoying your posts. Loving hearing a young singer expressing such good advice. Thank you.

[@thomasvin1]

Hi Donald,how are you going?,hope you’re keeping well and still singing,met you at Plenty Ranges,South Morang,many years ago when you did a Morning Melody’s Show!👍🙏🏼🎹

[@j.j.schlachtfeld9325]

13:00 Every composer is infinitely thanking you for this from wherever they are. Every fan of opera thanks you as well. It sounds a million times better without aspiration (I'm sure it is healthier as well, but that's definitely not my area of expertise 😝). Ps: The dedication you show to your fans by taking the time to answer every question as thoroughly as possible is amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how passionate you seem to be about your craft. It says a lot about you as an artist.

[@cesarulloa3031]

Wonderful information for young singers - Brava! Thank you for sharing-extremely valuable and all so right on point!

[@angelayamsoprano]

I really liked your section about extension. This has helped me a lot, as I am (most likely) a lyric coloratura, but my high E and F are not reliable. I feel as if I’m manufacturing them/faking them. Your anecdote was super relatable, and I really appreciate you sharing it. It’s really inspiring to see a successful high soprano who doesn’t necessarily have a super high extension.

[@sophieo.4527]

Same here! Also a possible lyric coloratura, I have the same problem with E and F. The only way I can sing them is in whistle register, guaranteed. If I try in head voice, I might get it, I might not.

[@bluemoon3135]

She's soooooo gorgeous inside and outside and you can really see her kind heart, grace and beautiful soul! Thank you Lisette for everything you do! As a singer- interpreter and as coach/teacher!

[@semperclassic]

The breathing and support section is so very helpful, thank you so much! I’ve been taking singing lessons for years and couldn’t understand how breathing exactly worked. I actually tried keeping the ribs open while singing an aria just now and I could already feel the improvement. Also, my throat feels totally free and not tired at all. 😅

[@JHinstructorAAUMUSIC]

Brava Lisette! This is wonderful for voice students!

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Awesome, I hope you got something useful out of it! :)

[@davidalbro2009]

That pianissimo demonstration showed up beautifully on the video! Love this video.

[@ennaej]

Thank you for this video! I am a professional singer, lately making a reeducation with the Alexander Technique, because for 10 years all I've learned how to sing while cheating at my own voice to be efficient. It has always worked but I have always been tired in a half hour of practice. None of my 12 singing teachers have noticed the big tensions I had in my shoulder and throat... SO when I hear a singer like you who knows exactly what she's doing with her own body and knows perfectly what is good or bad to her, I am envious. I really admire that. I would like so much to have lesson with you!!

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

I'm glad you are on your way to finding a better method for addressing your tension. I have found wonderful vocal "training" outside of the voice studio as well, many times. It's kind of amazing how many other practices tie into it. You getting to know your own body and mechanism is the best thing you can do for yourself!

[@marcosalterio6306]

I just can't get tired of watching you in this vids, you are so generous! Thank you Lisette!

[@summerof100beaches6]

Awesome and concise. I’m a new voice student and at 71 I find this so helpful. This is exactly what my voice teacher is coaching me to do.

[@glibbergloop]

Oh my heck you are opening up a whole new world to how many countless people! Thank you for this taste of knowledge - I can't wait to watch all your videos

[@rayvonlove5638]

Hi! I sparked interest in you when you took over the Met Opera page last week during La Traviata and the clips from your Violetta are so dramatically fiery and vocally beautiful. I completely respect your voice and the uniqueness of it in today’s Opera scene. Thanks for being so open about your career and singing techniques via your platform. Truly an inspiration!

[@ey8767]

I find the best teachers are usually performers instead of full-time teachers. Because they will actually tell you what to do and how to sing, while lots of teachers are just telling me what I have already learnt from my biology classes.

[@Shahrdad]

Thank you Lisette! This was great, from the breathing to the legato coloratura. I am so tired of hearing singers gargling and aspirating their way through bel canto operas. Listening to you is like rubbing a balm on my ears. You and your talent are unique.

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Shahrdad I am not trying to critique other singers! I am just trying to share what works best for me

[@Shahrdad]

@@LisetteOropesaSoprano I know. And I very much appreciate you saying sometimes a bit of aspiration is sometimes necessary to make pitches heard in a large, resonant house, and that it is also a matter of taste. I guess having cut my teeth on Callas and Sutherland, aspirated coloratura sounds jarring to me. And I also know a few people who insist that all coloratura has to be aspirated. My personal preference is to hear the coloratura sung legato, articulated and clean, but legato. I feel I can hear the arc of the melody when it's sung that way rather than hearing a series of notes.

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Shahrdad I am in complete agreement! Like I said, I just feel like the ‘h’ is sneaky and can work its way into other parts of the phrasing where it doesn’t belong. Legato, all the way! Haha 😅

[@Shahrdad]

@@LisetteOropesaSoprano There is a wonderful video of a masterclass with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, where she discusses how an "h" can sneak its way into places where it doesn't belong, and once your hear it, you can never un-hear them when they show up again. At some point when you have a bit of time, I would love to discuss with you your thoughts about rapid weight loss and its effect on breath support and the voice. I am an anesthesiologist, and I have taken care of obese patients who come for bariatric surgery, and then I see them a year or two later when they return for plastic surgery. And the respiratory physiology and spontaneous breath pressures generated by the body are radically different between when they're heavy and when they're much thinner. Of course, I see these difference when they're under anesthesia and paralyzed, but I can't imagine that the same physiologic differences wouldn't come into play when they are awake, upright, and singing. A colleague of mine who is a vocal cord surgeon and I have been discussing a possible study. You are one of the only operatic singers I've heard who has negotiated this perilous journey and emerged better than ever, and it would be great to hear your thoughts.

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Wow your point of view sounds very well informed. I think I worked it out carefully because I lost weight quite slowly and did it during my student years, so that when I emerged from being a young artist, the weight loss was more or less complete.

[@ViolinPro88]

This could not have arrived at a more perfect time. Such a relief to have answers to my technical questions during a challenging period of singing. Thank you so so much, Lisette!

[@MartinGallegosMusic]

Getting stuck in a tax filing meeting prevented me from attending a masterclass you did in Alexandria (near DC) in 2020. I’m an accompanist and I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for this video, inspiring! Merry Christmas Lisette!

[@boltoht]

love this. Thanks for sharing, Lisette!!

[@flaviamusica1509]

41:41 OMG. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this recordings and all the information you share with us.

[@ciociosan]

Prepared but neutral. Fabulous advice.

[@o.phenry4644]

Thank you very much! Very helpful! Turn into a huge fan of you right away!

[@torilee879]

The most helpful section for me personally was the breathing and support. It has always been difficult for me to understand that concept but when you explained it as if it was coming from the bottom (foundation) and up - it totally made sense. Kind of like how chakras are in perfect alignment, so is your breath! I'm inspired and going to the practice room now :) Thanks Lisette!

[@IvelinaDobreva]

She looks so down to earth. Thank you for all your advices!

[@emilievdh9147]

What an amazing series of videos!!!

[@zlatkokatrandziski6381]

I really like how you said in the practicing section that it's not a good idea to learn a part/aria from a recording, because every singer has it's own style of singing that part, it's best to learn it in your own style how your voice adjust to that part and make you different from other singers

[@luchseterna]

Thank you, Lisette, you are a real inspiration! Singers rarely do learn these things at school! Thanks for making an effort to explain the complicated issue of support. For me personally it is important at the same time when I keep the belly open, to feel the pelvis and low back muscles active and keeping the support down. Like having the tail bone tucked in. Some people have a hollow back position and they curl their spine and lose the anchoring in spite of having their belly out. Especially in high heels it can be difficult to feel the lower belly because the knees get too extended.

[@nanettetredoux7613]

Thank you for explaining so clearly and taking the time to do this. As a (very) mature student who only started voice lessons three years ago in my 60s, I have a great deal to learn and also a lot to unlearn due to many bad habits acquired over the years. I am privileged to have a brilliant teacher but I am always seeking out information. For me the topics on vocal size and vibrato are the most useful because they are pertinent to my current stage of development (small light soprano voice which is becoming bigger with training even though I didn't expect that to happen, and a fear of developing an "old lady wobble" leading to not having enough vibrato most of the time.) This whole video is pure gold and I shall be returning to it many times. How generous of you.

[@anamariaorozco1467]

Gracias por tu generosidad Lisette!!! Es maravillosa tu forma de cantar y tu estilo tan personal!!!

[@dimbluemoonlight]

Wow, that was a lot of information and extremely helpful and clear! Thank you so much for using your time sharing all that knowledge with us! 🥰

[@jeronimogonzalez4227]

Dear Lisette, that was a great group of super clever and useful thoughts.

[@violettapeschanskaya8692]

This is so wonderful! So kind of you to share.

[@bluechazzan]

This was surprisingly helpful in breadth and depth given how unique each singer is.

[@beatricerilletti9472]

I love how you describe how your breath works at the beginning of the video and I love more when you say that everyone is different, something that some teachers can't get

[@gloriacidyanez6125]

Hola Lisette Querida! Podrías subtitular vídeos en español?No lo pido por mi, yo entiendo todo lo que dices pero hay mucha gente que no sabe inglés y se está perdiendo tus excelentes indicaciones y consejos. Gracias, toda mi admiración y respeto por ti en todos los aspectos!!!

[@mariajosefernandezgonzalez3677]

Me sumo totalmente a esta propuesta: en español también POR FAVOR, Lisette 🙏

[@tizianosandro323]

Magari anche in italiano

[@user-ro3tj6tz1s]

Brava! Thank you so much for this insight! Looking forward very much to hear more of your suggestions!

[@maureensoltar1379]

Thank you so much for all this exceptional advice. I enjoyed every second of it. I love your presenting style too. Fabulous🌹

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Thanks Maureen!! Glad you enjoyed!

[@elianaosorio]

All sections were helpful but The most most helpful section for me was the breathing, thank you ❤️

[@dancaes813]

Thank you!!!!! I'm a singer, not opera, and this has helped me so much!!! Changing my breathing has been revelatory. I thought I was supporting before but now I really am. I wish you'd talk more about the palate. And covering. My first teacher had me squeezing during the passagio. Still kind of confusing to me. At any rate, thanks again. So helpful. And though I'm not an opera singer, I love opera, and you are amazing!! The first singer in awhile who has gotten me excited about going to the opera again!

[@sophiamashayev]

Thank you Lisette you are wonderful as a person and a wonderful singer!

[@lr8845]

Very straightforward! Thank you!

[@catherinebouvet5457]

Dear Ms Oropesa, First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you for your recent performance at the Opéra Bastille, where I had the chance to listen to you in the Barber of Seville on February 4th. Your voice just filled the place, and I was amazed by how lively and fit you still seemed to be at the end of the performance. I find it very generous of you to hand out in such a friendly and informal manner all these tips about singing. I found the tips regarding the lower passagio very helpful, as I've always avoided that Bete noire, and no teacher has ever given me useful advice. Just sit in the practice room and tackle the Bete noire! You're right. Thank you so much. And thank you for your energy and your beautiful singing.

[@livmilesparanormalromanceb6891]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@LPproduction333]

Thank you for sharing your knowleges and experience!!!

[@swiftiesoprano]

So incredibly helpful! Thank you for making these videos!

[@oscaryong7381]

Thank you very much for all the advices and singing tips! ❤️🎶

[@houstoncalip.m.8221]

Love this thank you!!!! Please make more videos like these!

[@marijagrinevska-soprano]

Lisette Oropesa, Thank you very much for this video. I learned a lot interesting things from this video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, for me it means a lot.❤ I think that the most interesting topic is breathing, because not all teachers say how to breathe correctly. So it’s very interesting what real professionals say. Thank you❤

[@MayaKherani]

After working on these concepts over the last year, re-watching this video is an amazing reminder and reinforcement. Highly recommend revisiting this video frequently for all students of singing. Thank you for sharing these gems, Lisette! I never understood how you are able to sing such difficult repertoire with your crazy travel schedule, and now I understand that your technique really PREVENTS fatigue, instead of having to recover constantly.

[@serpucc]

wonderful dear Lisette!!!!

[@mingu1403]

Excellent Q&A thank you so much 💐💐💐

[@TSB33]

Thank you for your fabulous videos! I love your singing and your technical approach. I now teach at a university and I send your videos to my students to help explain what I teach but through slightly different words. I am a lyric coloratura and I sing everything from Monteverdi to Strauss. I like how you talk about singing coloratura but I believe there is another approach that is necessary for a lot of early music coloratura and is used a little bit in Mozart and bel canto (especially Rossini) as well...throat articulation. This is not an h or aspirated sound as that should never be used in my opinion but rather quick laryngeal shifts with a steady breath pressure from below. The work is not done in the larynx...rather the larynx is allowed to shift quickly on its own with the steady breath pressure from below. The larynx feels loose like in a trill. This can be heard most obviously in trillos (repeated pitches) and super quick passagework. I’m just curious if you ever apply this throat articulation technique or if you prefer the h for repeated pitches and super quick coloratura?

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Hey there Tracy, I definitely think throat articulation is better than aspirated coloratura, even in Rossini and fast florid music. But there are definitely differing schools of thought; the H may be helpful for articulation purposes or for repeated pitches (though you can absolutely do a repeated pitch and articulate without an H) and in certain cases is appropriate and really up to the singer to train whichever technical approach is appropriate for them. I think laryngeal shifts supported by the breath is ideal bel canto coloratura, because as you said it's produced with support of a loose but controlled larynx. It's how I trill! :) I hope this helps.

[@okebaram]

Can you provide some example of what you are describing? I would like to understand this technique discussion a bit more

[@Sarah-vi4cx]

I feel a HUGE difference in my passagio at f-G#. For years it was a disaster for me. Now it's a little better but still super annoying lol. But I'm still In school so I have time. Narrowing placement is a very interesting idea I am going to try!

[@Ilovetruecrime545]

Thank you so much for this! I asked a question on Instagram and am a huge opera fan. I found it very interesting on how you learn new parts!

[@ahagen2025]

Exceptional explanation! Thank you!!

[@Shahrdad]

Can you make a video about singing trills?

[@agnieszkakruszyna4625]

Oh yes, please! 😀

[@jcee6886]

I love that song!😃

[@Star2Be5394]

Hi Lisette! I know this video is a little old, but I just wanted to say thank you for all your awesome advice! I just got accepted to do a summer program where I'm singing a bunch of new repertoire. As excited as I am, I'm also feeling very overwhelmed. This video was incredibly helpful in calming some of my anxieties, and for giving me ideas on how to rehearse. Thank you again!

[@MatteoLonderoPianist]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!

[@SSBMsounds]

I loved this - thanks so much! You are so intelligent. I found most interesting, and perhaps controversial, was the section on aspirated coloratura. I would love to hear your opinion on the extreme - the glottal coloratura (Deutekom). I found the most helpful was the section on breathing. The breath seems to be a mysterious concept in singing pedagogies, littered with strange analogies. I am not a good singer and probably never will be (I only started lessons around 18), but I hope one day I would be able to at least make an attractive sound I can bear to listen to. Never stop making these Q&A's, please!

[@pilarcastro2258]

Thank you so much for this! Tomorrow I will be asking my teacher to work with her again my breathing technique because as you said it is so important!!! You are helping me so much in this journey of finding inside me my best vocal version thank you so much for that!

[@BassoColoratura]

Lisette, you're a GEM! Thanks SO MUCH for this. Young singers NEED to see other working young singers giving valuable advice. THANK YOU!!!

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

So glad you found the video helpful!

[@evakiseleva8570]

Dear Lisette, you are treasure))) I'm happy to know that Your breath technique is absolutely the same one my italian vocal maestra tries to put into my muscles and my belly))) Thank You so much for Your generous advices and fantastic mix of hardworker and vivid smiling lady which You are!!!

[@linjonathan2001]

Ahh thank you so much! This is super helpful :)

[@ThrivingJean]

Thanks a lot for this wonderful, and most helpful video!

[@bluechazzan]

This was marvelously generous of you. Thank you. This matches the high quality of all your singing content (and vlogging too). Is there a performance / recording you are most proud of and / or think you sound best (two separate questions)?

[@KimBakTarot]

따봉! Priceless!! I regularly coming back to this to remind me of things ^^ Thank u, Lisette!!

[@BoomBoom-sr8nt]

Thank you so much for preserving the art ❤️. Amazing breathe control.. and your trills both full tone and semi tone .. they’re so amazing too 👏🏻

[@luzescalera9446]

Me parece admirable que compartas toda esta información, muchas gracias Lisette!

[@SingerGeneLeonard]

Could you please do a video about professionalism. I mean being on time, knowing your music etc but I want you talk about ‘diva’ attitude and being difficult to get along with others and working with others.

[@LisetteOropesaSoprano]

Hey there, great suggestion! I do talk about attitude in my "the business" video, which is part 3 of this series. Time stamps are in the description box. Hope that helps!

[@SingerGeneLeonard]

Thank you!!! You gave the Gospel on breathing and breath support !!! Thank you❤️

[@livrowland171]

Very helpful, thank you for taking the time to do this :-)

[@michelle-encarnacion]

Hi Lisette! Thank you for answering so many questions, I've seen this video like 3 times :-) I saw you a couple of weeks ago at the Met Opera singing Manon and you were just beyond words, your french diction was immaculate and your middle register is very clear. I am having difficulties maintaining an even vibrato through my voice, especially in the middle as a soprano coloratura. I just started to work on my trills since I belive that would be. Do you have any advice or exercises to work on vibrato specifically? I am asking because you have such as amazing evenness throughout your voice and your sound is always spinning, the vibrato never falters. Thanks.

[@o.phenry4644]

Such a rational explanation about the tricks and techniques of belcanto! How come there are only 3K+ likes? 美声的技术和技巧讲得那么清楚，怎么才三千赞？！

[@daniellem6933]

This was super helpful! Thank you!

[@SarahJLBriggs]

This is fantastic!

[@Tompughsinging]

Thank you! I'm a voice teacher and this is a great resource 👏🏻

[@karolinaparmas]

Super nice!

[@nhaemer]

This was great, thank you so much!

[@almagutierrez6292]

Lisette I really admire you. Thank for this amazing video!!! 💖💕❤️💞💓 I have been hearing you this last days and I have to say that now you are my favorite soprano!

[@swingingdaniel]

Best explaination video ever!!!!

[@itzopera]

Thanks Lisette for sharing this, it is very very helpful. I have seen you today in Liceu, I enjoy it so much! You have been outstanding, so beautiful sound and so accurate technique. Hope to see you again soon!

[@ncumisagarishe2733]

Wow , wonderful. Thank you 🙏🏾

[@marialetiziabruschi2003]

thank you so much for your teaching , it is so useful !

[@aprilvalente2146]

Thank you for the breathing tipps! What a great opportunity to learn!

[@luisbarahona1558]

Me ha encantado toda la explicación y la manera sencilla de como te aplicas a tus roles y ejercicios!! cuando sea grande, deseo ser como vos. :) te admiro mucho y espero seguir aprendiendo de tus coaching sessions! hugs from Nicaragua.

[@ΝΕΦΕΛΗΠΑΠΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ-μ7χ]

You're amazing! Thank you!

[@ashleynunezsoprano]

The shade at 40:04 😂💖

[@AnasaphirA]

Wow! Thank you so much!! A very useful video for all of us struggling with the breathing problems! Loved it! ♥️

Thank you so much Lisette! I am learning l' Elisir d'amore and this video was very helpful

[@LornaKellyZim]

Very helpful and generous! Thank you! Could you give a reason why some notes " pulsate"? ( rather than vibrate)

[@donastoyanova6927]

Thank you! That was helpful. 😊I wonder what you think about vibrato in early music? I sing mostly baroque and renaissance repertoire. My voice is very light, high and I feel comforable with coloraturas. Most people around me say that it's good to avoid vibrato in early music in order to sound more natural, more autentic. But... my vocal teacher says that vibrato is a natural characteristic of a well produced voice. She tells me that I loose quality of my sond when I am so concerned about controlling it. I am a bit confused about this... 🤔

[@z-fitnesswithmandi7187]

Can you explain more about manufacturing the high F with strengthening whistle tone? What is the difference? Do you have examples?

[@FoxyAndariel]

I love your energy and your way of explaining

[@christophersokolowski]

So spot on with the pianissimo comparison, fake vs real. Sticks out like a sore thumb when other singers just shove the sound in their nose to sing pianissimo, or in their throat!

[@tuulakrzywacki2736]

Just amazing! Very helpful advice. Thank you so much❤

[@tuulakrzywacki2736]

25:11 what's that?

[@luisacochero4803]

Lisette, thank you very much for you help and good advices, all your classes have been a lot helpful for me, you in a master class of the last year recommend us to practice yoga and I began to practice it and it has been the best to sing, thank you for that and all, you're a gorgeous singer and I admire you a lot, thanks again.

[@DisneySoprano]

OMG! Thank you so much for this!