A native of Jiangxi province, Wu graduated from Xinghai Conservatory of Music in 2011 and received her master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2017.Since then, she has spent most of her time in Europe. įor mezzo-soprano Wu Hongni, who plays the role of Baochai, the challenge comes from the language. Mezzo-soprano Wu Hongni plays the role of Baochai in the opera. To me, it has to be loud crying, beating one's bosom as she looks to the heavens to ask these questions." "Music carries emotions that words cannot explain or say. "Some parts of the music are more powerful with fortissimo (loud) and requires extremely expressive sound."īright Sheng, composer of the opera, explained in a 2016 interview with China Daily why Daiyu sings in a loud voice.
"The singer needs to sustain the high notes with a pianissimo (soft) sound, which requires more breath support and air control," says Zhang. She sings an aria: "When spring had fled and beauty is spent, who cares for the fallen petals?" In one of the most emotionally charged scenes - the Burial of the Flower Petals - Daiyu finds her world growing more bleak as her health continues to decline. I think the performance of the singer (playing Daiyu) was excellent, because the melody was composed in an unusual way, which is very challenging and requires a lot of technique," she says.ĭaiyu, the lead character in the opera adapted from a classical Chinese novel, plays "I watched the video (of the 2016 production). Zhang has been preparing for the opera for half a year. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2019-20 season, singing in the roles of "bloody child" in Macbeth and Barbarina in Figaro. Zhang made her debut as Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress with the San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program in the summer of 2018. "I want the audience to see through the beautiful and fragile appearance to the inner characteristics-soft yet strong."īorn into a musical family in Chengdu, Sichuan province, the 28-year-old opera singer graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2016 and moved to New York City, where she attended Mannes School of Music and earned her master's degree in 2018. She is also strong inside and would like to make sacrifices for love and freedom," she says.
"In the story, Daiyu is not only beautiful but also intelligent, sentimental and frail. It is a Chinese classic and still widely read in the Chinese-speaking world.Ī big fan of the story, Zhang says she is familiar with the character but after she read the novel again, she had new thoughts. The 18th century novel centers on a love triangle that involves hero Bao Yu, his beautiful cousin Daiyu, and his future wife Baochai. "I hope to show the audience a fresh version of Daiyu, especially for those who saw it in 2016." It's such a famous novel in China and Daiyu is a beloved literary character," soprano Zhang Meigui says. "I was excited and felt honored when I learned I was going to play Daiyu in the opera. Soprano Zhang Meigui plays the role of Daiyu in the upcoming opera ofĭream of the Red Chamber, which is to be staged in San Francisco.
The opera, developed for Western audiences, has garnered international acclaim since its premiere at San Francisco Opera in 2016.The opera was presented at the Hong Kong Arts Festival and toured three cities in China in 2017.It will return to the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco with seven performances from Tuesday to July 3. Six years after the world debut of Dream of the Red Chamber, the first operatic adaptation of the epic 18th century Chinese novel of the same name, the opera will return to San Francisco with a mostly new cast and a more dramatic presentation.
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