Soprano Lisette Oropesa (above) gave a recital at Washington DC on March 11th, 2017, with Vlad Iftinca at the piano. As an encore, she sang the aria "Robert, toi que j'aime" from Meyerbeer's ROBERT LE DIABLE.
The opera is set in medieval Palermo, where the young knight Robert has come under the spell of the daemonic Bertram. Isabelle, Robert's betrothed, sees that her lover is on the brink of selling his soul to the devil. In the aria "Robert, toi que j'aime", Isabelle pleads with Robert to return to his senses for the sake of their love.
"Robert, you who I love and to whom I am pledged,you see my fear!Mercy, mercy for yourself, and mercy for me!Why does your heart now break its sweetest oaths?O my dear, my best beloved,you who I love, I now implore you......you see my fear!Mercy! Mercy for yourself, and mercy for me!"