Journey to the West: He Hui: A Chinese Soprano in the World of Italian Opera (Paperback)
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Item: 9789881364340
Description
Journey to the West: He Hui: A Chinese Soprano in the World of Italian Opera (Paperback)
By Melanie Ho
Arguably the most successful Western opera singer to come out of China, soprano He Hui is known for her roles in Madama Butterfly, Tosca, and Aida. She has sung at the world’s leading opera houses – making history as the first Chinese woman to sing Tosca at La Scala and Aida at New York’s Metropolitan Opera – but He Hui’s story begins in her hometown of Xi’an, China, where she began studying music for the first time as an 18-year-old at the prestigious Conservatory of Music.
As she has made her journey west to Verona, her adopted Italian home in the ultimate of Silk Road stories, He Hui has, along the way, encountered successes and challenges. From her second-place finish in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition and her debut as Tosca in the notoriously difficult opera city of Parma, to learning Italian by living, breathing and experiencing life in Verona, He Hui’s journey has been one of East meeting West and living alongside each other.
- Paperback: 84 pages
- Publisher: Abbreviated Press (October 9, 2017)
- Dimensions: 4.25” W x 0.2” D x 7” H
History
Puccini’s original version of Madama Butterfly premiered at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala in 1904. The composer was inspired to write an opera about a tragic love between a young Japanese geisha and an American Navy officer after seeing David Belasco’s play by the same name performed in London in June 1900. Puccini’s score includes many Japanese folk melodies, and is one of his most sweeping and sophisticated. It remains one of the world’s most popular operas.
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