Related News
Puccini opera returns to its Chinese roots
Print Edition
IT was literally “the return of the Chinese princess” when soprano He Hui sang the title role in Puccini’s classic opera “Turandot” at the Shanghai Grand Theater last weekend.
It was the first time the 47-year-old soprano sang the role in front of a home audience, after her successful debut in the role earlier this year at the Dubai Opera House.
“The opera is a Chinese story,” He said in an interview with local media during her stay in Shanghai. “To perform it in China means a lot to me. This is a version that respects the original composition. It’s easy for audiences to understand.”
Co-presented by the Shanghai Opera House and Shanghai Grand Theater, this version of “Turandot,” directed by Roberto Ando, debuted in Shanghai in January 2018. He joined the cast earlier this year, deciding to conquer the role she had long contemplated.
In the Shanghai performance, Chinese tenor Han Peng sang the male lead of Prince Calaf.
“Turandot” is one of several Puccini operas set in exotic locales that the composer never visited. He died in 1924 before the opera was completed. Franco Alfano completed the last act of the opera two years later.
Set in Beijing, the opera tells the story of Prince Calaf, who falls in love with the icy Princess Turandot. To obtain her hand in marriage, she requires her many suitors to solve three riddles. A wrong answer results in death. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out. If she is able to learn his true identity by the next daybreak, he will die.
As the prince waits for dawn and anticipates his victory, he sings the famous aria “Nessun dorma” — none shall sleep! In the end, his love prevails. Turandot declares that his true identify is love.
“Over the years, a lot of opera houses have invited me to perform Turandot,” said He. “It’s a technically demanding role. Though I was already able to sing it at a younger age, I didn’t want to take on the role too early and restrict myself to it. Many sopranos could no longer take on other roles after playing Turandot.”
She added: “My artistic director also warned me not to take up Turandot until my technique had really matured. It’s a strongly dramatic role, and everything is in high pitch. If one can’t adjust her voice to the best form, there will be damage. That’s why I waited this long.”
Shanghai Grand Theater has hosted some of the most important milestones in her career. When she graduated from the Xi’an Conservatory of Music 21 years ago, He made her debut singing in the title role of Verdi’s “Aida” at the theater.
In 2000, she won second prize in the Placido Domingo Operalia international competition and performed in a concert with Domingo the next year at the Shanghai Grand Theater. In 2002, she made her international debut, singing the title role in Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Teatro Regio de Parma in Italy.
He is the only Chinese artist who has performed the three roles of Tosca, Madame Butterfly and Aida at La Scala in Milan. She has also appeared in performances for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna State Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Arena de Verona, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Paris Opera.
“Comparatively speaking, I can play Asian roles, including Madame Butterfly, more naturally,” said He.
She approached the role of Turandot somewhat differently.
“I have watched a lot of versions of Turandot, and many considered her as a cold-blooded character, which differs from my understanding,” said He. “With overwhelming power, she killed a lot of people at first, which undoubtably gave her a cruel image. But there must be a reason, and I tried to explain that with my interpretation.”
She added: “On the inside, she is just a little girl longing for love. She is ignorant and scared. Coming to the third act, when she is melted by love, Turandot turns into a girl bearing great expectations for the future. I have seen other singers performing the role in a too simple and straightforward way. I wanted to do it differently. Every character has more than one side, if you think deeper. Turandot has a warm heart inside her, and that’s my personal understanding.”
He said she has been continuously adjusting her singing technique since taking up the role.
“My conductor (Xu Zhong) agreed that my voice has improved in terms of its penetrating force, compared with five months ago,” she said. “I will keep striving for better skill and a better interpretation of the character.”
He stages 40 to 45 performances around the world every year. In a busy year, that number could reach 56.
“I have very high self-imposed requirements, and there are very few performances of mine that leave me fully satisfied,” she said.
She has words of advice for the younger generation of singers.
“As a music student, you have to love the art itself, but not its halo of glory,” said He. “Flowers and applause are all the subsidiaries of your hard work. The most important thing is to be attracted to art, not to fame and success. Outsiders don’t see all that artists have to go to improve themselves.”
For Chinese opera singers, language, culture and mindset are three major challenges to conquer, she said.
“As singers from Eastern countries, we have to work really hard to reach the deeper content in opera culture,” she explained. “We don’t lack good voices, but the ability to use them, maintain them and polish them requires devotion and strong love.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
