At 36, the soprano Lisette Oropesa is in the midst of what should be a star-making season at the Metropolitan Opera. This fall she won rave reviews and ardent ovations in the title role of Massenet’s “Manon.” And on Wednesday, she sang her first performance with the company as Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata.”

It can be hard for a soprano to stand out among the enormous horde of singers who have taken on this touchstone role. And Ms. Oropesa is following Aleksandra Kurzak’s riveting account at the Met last month, when Michael Mayer’s 2018 production returned.

But combining exquisite singing, youthful allure, affecting vulnerability and, by the end, bleak intensity, Ms. Oropesa emerged on Wednesday as a major Violetta.

In Act I, when Violetta, a charming courtesan, is throwing a lavish party, a soprano must summon flights of coloratura brilliance and coquettish sparkle. Ms. Oropesa breezily dispatched runs and embellishments as she mingled with her guests and met Alfredo, the smitten young man from a bourgeois family who has been pining for her from afar.