Harem of European women forcibly taken into Oriental harems—evident for example in the Mozart opera "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") concerning the attempt of the hero Belmonte to rescue his beloved Konstanze from the "seraglio"/harem of the Pasha Selim; or in Voltaire's "Candide", in chapter 12 of which the old woman relates her experiences of being sold into harems across the Ottoman Empire. Much of Verdi's opera "Il corsaro" takes place in the harem of the Pasha Seid—where Gulnara, the Pasha's favorite, chafes at life in the harem, and longs for freedom and true love. Eventually
Lisette Oropesa at the Ravinia Festival as Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro", conducted by James Conlon; for Opera New Jersey as Lucia in "Lucia di Lammermoor"; at Arizona Opera as Gilda in "Rigoletto", again as Lucia; and at the New Orleans Opera as Gilda and as Leïla in "Les pêcheurs de perles". In April and May 2012, Oropesa appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera as Konstanze in a production of "The Abduction from the Seraglio" set on the Orient Express in the Pasha's private train car. In October 2012, she again performed the role of Lucia with the Arizona Opera to success.