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

Surprising, impressive and altogether wholesome.

Photo by Courtney Kammers on Unsplash
woman standing front of microphone

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 in 2022. 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.


This article originally appeared on 1.12.22

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Video of a homeless woman singing opera in the LA subway captivates thousands

LAPD

A homeless woman in Los Angeles has found overnight fame after a police officer shared video of her singing opera in the subway station.

Struck by her incredible voice, the officer recorded the talented 52-year-old at the Wilshire and Normandie Purple Line station, according to Good News Network, and uploaded it to Twitter where it quickly became a viral sensation.

"4 million people call LA home. 4 million stories. 4 million voices...sometimes you just have to stop and listen to one, to hear something beautiful," the LAPD wrote.

The woman, who has since been identified as Emily Zamourka, can be heard belting out a beautiful rendition of Puccini Aria on the platform. Surprisingly, she's had no formal vocal training, but is a classically trained pianist and violinist, ABC 7 reports.

RELATED: A tragically beautiful video captures Parisians singing hymns as they watch Notre Dame burn

"You know why I do it in the subway is because it sounds so great," she told reporters.

Zamourka used to play her violin around the city to make money until someone stole the $10,000 instrument three years ago. After a serious health challenge and the financial setback, she ended up on the street.

"That's when I became homeless when I could not actually pay any of my bills and could not pay any more of my rent…I am sleeping on carboard right now in a parking lot," she said.

She was surprised to find out the video of her had become so popular and told reporters she just wants to return to playing her music so she can get back on her feet.

"I will be so grateful to anyone who is trying to help me get off the streets and to have my own place and my instrument," Zamourka said.

Many locals commented on the video, sharing their own stories of interactions with Zamourka.

RELATED: When someone on the street asks you for money, what's your answer? This app can help.

"I've seen her for years on the Metro. I heard her once singing 'Ave Maria' and thought it was a radio at first. Everyone has a story...this woman does too. I don't know why she's been homeless all these years, but she's a human being...that's all that matters," one person wrote.

"She's from Glendale. She loves animals and sings Like a Bird. She is multi-talented and very friendly and kind. Her name is Emily," another person wrote.

Others, however, took the video as a chance to call out the homelessness crisis in Southern California.

Currently, there are more than 58,900 Angeleños experiencing homelessness, according to CNN. The situation is so bad, some officials are calling for it to be declared a state of emergency.

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Meet Keanon Kyles, the maintenance worker who moonlights as an international opera singer.

"La Bohème" is the popular opera that inspired the Broadway musical "Rent."

It's an awesome show about artists and dreamers who, despite their noble and lofty aspirations to bring beauty into the world, still struggle to make ends meet. They're rich in passion and their love for life — but unfortunately, that creative zeal doesn't pay the rent or the other bills they rack up.

It's the classic "starving artist" trope.

But the characters in these stories could have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they'd just followed in the footsteps of another great melodious master: Keanon Kyles.

All photos via ABC7 News.

Who is Keanon Kyles? He's a janitor at ABC7's studios in Chicago. And he's also Colline in an upcoming Scottish opera production of "La Bohème."

"I am the only American chosen for the opera," he told ABC News. "Everyone else is from overseas, so I go there feeling as if I'm representing a nation."

This isn't the first time Kyles' tremendous voice has carried him overseas either.

Kyles grew up on Chicago's South Side, and he started singing seriously when he was just 8 years old.

He definitely got more than a little flak for being the rare young black guy who's really into opera. But he never let the ribbing bring him down and ended up earning a degree in classical voice performance from Columbia College.

In 2015, he flew to Italy to perform at the Trentino Music Festival, and he's also appeared on professional stages all across Chicago.

And yeah, he's also a janitor. But that's not even his only job.

Between his work at ABC7, his vocal coaching classes, and his job at a department store, Kyles often works up to 90 hours a week.

That doesn't even include the time he spends rehearsing. But he says that's just the cost of creating great art to give to the world. (Plus the night shifts give him lots of quiet time to practice while he works.)

"It's a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of long days," he said in an interview with ABC News. "But it all pays off with the music because you get to do what you love: music."


As the characters in "La Bohème" demonstrate, sometimes art doesn't pay the bills.

When Kyles returns from his memorable Scottish excursion at the end of the summer, he's planning to go right back to his maintenance work at ABC7.

He's living proof that success isn't just a one-off deal. Often there's no real payoff without a little perseverance and a lot of hard work.

Money helps us feed ourselves, which is certainly important. But money doesn't feed our souls, and often our art matters just as much.

And that's why Kyles is an awesome example for us all.

Here's a video of Kyles performing in Italy last year. Break a leg in Scotland, Keanon!

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