+
Culture

Opera star delighted by stranger who stood up in the audience and started singing with her

Opera star delighted by stranger who stood up in the audience and started singing with her

Star soprano Lisette Oropesa was surprised when an audience member joined her in an encore.

There's a certain etiquette that audience members generally adhere to while watching a live performance, and that goes doubly for the opera world. But you don't have to be an opera-goer to know that it's generally frowned upon—to put it lightly—for a member of the audience to stand up and start singing right in the middle of an opera singer's performance.

It ain't Lollapalooza, for crying out loud.

But an audience member adding his voice to an opera performance was exactly what happened at the Verdi Festival in Parma, Italy this past fall. According to Classic FM, renowned soprano Lisette Oropesa was performing an encore at the end of her recital, singing the female part from "Sempre Libera" (Always Free) from Verdi's "La traviata." Thesong is a duet, usually sung between a female soprano and a male tenor, but she was performing it solo. So when the tenor part arrived and no one sang opposite her, 24-year-old Liu Jianwei, a fan of Oropesa and a student of opera at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini di Piacenza, stood up and filled in the gap.


No one expected it. Not Oropesa. Not even Liu himself, apparently. But the pianist kept playing and Oropesa appeared to be delighted as the young man beautifully filled in the tenor part. Oropesa's initial "Oh," is written into the piece (though you can see her searching the audience for where the man's voice was coming from), but the "Oh, grazie," she added herself to say thank you.

It's a good thing he had a lovely voice. Watch:

@babatunde_hiphopera

Reply to @campmeldinal Reply to @campmeldinal This is the best one I could find #wholesome #opera

According to Classic FM, Liu took to the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo to explain himself—and to warn others not to do what he did.

“I stood up to sing because Lisette Oropesa is a musician I love very much and I happened to have learned this opera before,” he said. “It is definitely not something worthy of pride, nor something worthy of being advocated. Please don’t interrupt singers when they are singing on stage. It’s impolite behavior. Don’t imitate me and I will never do this again in the future.”

Many disagree with him on the "worthy of pride" part at least, and most people commenting on the video were thrilled with both the unexpected singing and the reaction from the opera star.

"She was so gracious and kind!! The shock and delight on her face was so wonderful!! This is beautiful," wrote one commenter.

"I love how her face just lights up, it's so sweet!!!" wrote another.

"That is the reaction of when a musician does it for the love of music," added another "They are both amazing!"

And regarding the "impolite" bit:

"Look I know it would technically be considered rude but he shot his shot and was successful 😂. Can’t blame him one bit.".

Liu approached Oropesa after the concert to apologize. She took photos with him and gave him her autograph.

Brava and bravo to them both.

中國男高音外國音樂會“救場”?視頻走紅當事人回應:千萬別學我

當地時間10月8日,一名女歌唱家在意大利演出時,臨時返場演唱。當演唱進行到男高音部分時,一位來看演唱會的中國男高音加入了演唱,視頻走紅網絡被網友稱為“救場”。近日,當事人回應:請大家別學我!On October 8 local time, a female singer temporarily returned ...

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less

A father tries on a shirt that his 9-year-old son sewed for him.

There's always something very touching about receiving a gift from your child, especially when you know it's something that they really put their heart into creating. A video posted to TikTok by Aaron Gouveia shows that sometimes a child can give a gift that’s so surprising it’s almost too much to handle.

Gouveia, 43, is a Massachusetts father of three who posts videos as “Daddy Files” on TikTok about the joys and challenges of family life. On March 26, he posted a video featuring his son Sam, 9, that was so heartwarming it has received over 12.4 million views.

Keep ReadingShow less

Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Robin Williams used the perfect gag to stop Oprah from outing Nathan Lane during live interview

“I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready.”

Robin Williams distracts Oprah from outing Nathan Lane.

Robin Williams was a gem of a person. The comedian knew how to keep people laughing, but as the years go on after his untimely death, we hear more stories about what a good friend he was. Recently, Williams' kind nature was the topic of conversation between Willie Geist and "Murders in the Building" star Nathan Lane on "Sunday Today".

Lane sat down for an interview to discuss his new play, and during the conversation, he reminisced about his first big role in the 1996 movie, "The Birdcage." In the movie, he played a gay man that was married to Williams' character and the pair were trying to marry off their straight son to a nice woman who had conservative parents. For Lane, the movie mirrored part of his personal life as he was actually a gay man and not just playing a part for the screen.

But this was the 90s, when being gay wasn't as openly discussed or accepted as it is today, so it's understandable why Lane wasn't prepared for a public announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
@danyo_le/TikTok

This proposal is EVERYTHING.

Some proposals have everything. This one has “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.”

Daniel Le recently proposed to his girlfriend, Annie, by renting out a movie theater for a screening of the 2022 hit A24 movie “Everything, Everywhere All At Once.” Unbeknownst to Annie, this version of the film would be cleverly edited to have Le playing key characters, all leading up to asking for her hand in marriage.

Le contacted multiple independent theaters before finding one that would accommodate his elaborate plan. Then, using a bit of editing wizardry—along with some help from his friends, who arrived at the theater before showtime to hide in the dark so Annie wouldn’t see them—he delivered the surprise of a lifetime.
Keep ReadingShow less
Public Domain

Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin at the premiere of "City Lights" in 1931

Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin are two of the most famous figures of the 20th century for completely different reasons, and an exchange early in their friendship sums up those differences perfectly—and hilariously.

According to the Nobel Prize committee, Einstein had only been keenly interested in meeting one person in Hollywood: Charlie Chaplin. He got the chance while visiting the U.S. when the scientist and silent film star were introduced during a tour of Universal Studios. The two hit it off, and in 1931, Einstein attended the premiere of Chaplin's 1931 film, "City Lights."

Reportedly, the men exchanged an expression of mutual admiration that demonstrated the actor's quick wit.

Keep ReadingShow less