Chinese opera fan becomes online celebrity after standing in for male lead during encore performance

American opera singer Lisette Oropesa was asked for an encore but her song choice required a male partner that was not present on stage

A Chinese student and long-time fan stood up in the audience and sang the male lead in accompaniment with her

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A Chinese music student has been praised for stepping in to help during an opera performance in Italy. Photo: 163.com

Published: 10:53am, 19 Oct 2021Updated: 10:53am, 19 Oct 2021

A Chinese student studying in Italy has been hailed by mainland internet users for “saving the concert” of an American diva by taking on the role of a male singer during her encore performance.

However, the student said he was just lending a hand to the singer Lisette Oropesa of whom he has been a fan for years, news portal qq.com reported.

Liu Jianwei is studying for a master’s degree at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini di Piacenza in Italy. He stood up from his seat while watching Oropesa’s performance in Teatro Regio di Parma in Palma, a city in northern Italy, and sang the male singer’s part for a short while when she was singing a classic opera during the encore, the report said.

Chinese music student praised for helping out during a concert held in Italy by US operatic diva Lisette Oropesa. Photo: 163.com

At the end of the concert Oropesa sang four encores due to the strong response from the audience. For her fourth song she chose to sing La Traviata which requires a male singing partner, however no male singers had been arranged.

Liu said for the first bar where a male singer should have sung, no one sang. So when the second bar began, he joined in.

“I stood up to sing because Lisette Oropesa is a musician I love very much and I happened to have learned this opera before,” the 24-year-old student said.