On the afternoon of January 6, the Shanghai Opera House and the Shanghai Grand Theatre unveiled the "Artist of the Year 2022" - the world-renowned soprano singer He Hui. From February 18th to 19th, the classic opera "Turandot", co-performed by Hehuihe Shanghai Opera House, will be performed at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. He Hui and Xu Zhong, director of the Shanghai Opera House, jointly sounded the gong of Prince Carraf in "Turandot", and the "Turandot" Master Workshop also began.
Shanghai has witnessed the growth of Hehui. In 1998, Hehui starred in his first opera "Aida", which was cooperated with the Shanghai Opera House and premiered at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. In 1999, she collaborated with the Shanghai Opera House on "Country Knight", when she was only in her twenties.
Soon after, she rose to fame on the international stage by winning second place in the Domingo International Opera Competition and first place in the Verdi International Vocal Competition. She starred in "Tosca" at the Royal Opera House in Parma, "Stefellio" at the Vienna State Opera, and "Turandot" at the Verona Opera Festival, becoming the only Chinese singer to be invited to perform at the world's six top opera houses so far, and was hailed as "China's best gift to the world opera stage".
Turandot, the "Chinese Princess" in Puccini's classic opera Turandot, is one of the most difficult characters on the opera stage, always wandering in the melody of the high-pitched area, and has extremely high requirements for the soprano's singing skills. In 2019, the Shanghai Opera House invited Hehui to star in "Turandot" to travel to the Middle East together to open the 2019-2022 performance season of Dubai Opera. After returning to the Shanghai Grand Theatre, he set a box office record of 3,000 more than 3,000 seats sold out in 19 days. At the end of last year, Hehui also joined artists from the Shanghai Opera House in staging the classic in Fuzhou Xindian Ancient City Ruins Park under the stars.
As the 2022 Artist of the Year of Shanghai Opera House & Shanghai Grand Theatre, Hehui also became the first artist invited in the "Master Open Class Series". At the appreciation meeting on January 6, Hehui used "Turandot" as an example to provide on-site guidance and comments for the protagonist actors.
Zhao Lili, the actor of Liu'er in "Turandot", sang "Master, You Listen to Me" and "Princess Your Cold Heart", Ping Pangpeng played by Tao Kuo, Zheng Yao and Wu Botao sang the trio "My Hometown is in Hunan", and Timur played Yu Yang sang "Wake Up, Liu'er". Xu Zhong and Hehui also performed the aria "For Art for Love" from the opera "Tosca".
"This is the fourth time I have collaborated on Turandot with an artist from the Shanghai Opera House, and I can feel our common progress and deepening of tacit understanding. This time, I hope to help everyone solve the key points and difficulties of different role shaping in the rehearsal gap, and carry out deeper polishing and refinement. He Hui said.
The vocal appreciation session of the "Turandot" Master Workshop is the first lecture of the "Harmony Opera Vocal Art Class". In the coming week, thirteen public classes will continue to focus on Turandot, directing the main characters and chorus actors in the play. At the same time, the Master Open Class will also open up some observation places to vocal practitioners, students and opera lovers.
After the Spring Festival, "Turandot" will be staged at the Shanghai Grand Theatre as the opening play of the new performance season of the Shanghai Opera House in 2022. Xu Zhong, with the baton, and Hui joined hands with tenor singer Han Peng and soprano singer Zhao Lili to perform. After the meticulous elaboration of the "Hehui Opera Art Vocal Lesson", what kind of surprises will be brought to the audience?