He Hui (; born 1972 in

Ankang Ankang () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the southwest. History The settl ...

, China), is a Chinese operatic lirico-spinto soprano known in the West and on record covers as Hui He. He Hui trained vocally at the Conservatory in Xi'an under Professor Rao Yujian (). One of the winners (2nd place) of the

Operalia Plácido Domingo's Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for opera singers. Founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo, the competition's varied prizes have been given to known artists such as Joseph Calleja, Rola ...

Competition in 2000 and the

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Competition in

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred ...

Voci Verdiane in 2002 (1st place), she began as a mezzo-soprano and made her operatic debut in Shanghai, China in Mozart's

Cosi fan tutte Cosi, COSI or CoSi may refer to: * ''Così'', a 1992 play by Louis Nowra ** ''Cosi'' (film), 1996, based on the play * Così (restaurant), an American fast-casual restaurant chain * Compton Spectrometer and Imager, or COSI, a NASA telescope to be ...

as Dorabella. Her first operatic acclaim in Europe came when performing the role of Cio Cio San in Puccini's

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

. She was also chosen to sing Cio Cio San in the Italian production of Madama Butterfly which celebrated the centenary of the opera's first performance and which was seen throughout Italy. She was the first Chinese soprano to assume the Verdian role of

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

, she debuted this role in Vienna (2008), New York (2010), and Chicago (2012). She has remained associated with this role and has recorded it twice on video.Soprano Hui He takes over as Aida in Lyric’s new cast, and suddenly the chemistry bubbles
2012 She is also known for singing the title role in Puccini's opera

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

, which brought her her first major breakthrough in European opera houses. Her operatic repertoire comprises some 12 Verdian soprano roles and 12

verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...

operatic roles, 7 of which belong to Puccini. In 2013 the 200th year of Verdi's birth, she performed Verdi's

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

at the

Arena di Verona The Verona Arena ( it, Arena di Verona ) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best ...

and

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. She also takes up the Elsa in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

'' in 2013. He Hui resides at Verona, Italy. She was also featured in the 2017-2018 season at the Metropolitan Opera of New York as Cio Cio San in the opera ''

''. She continues to sing this role in New York in the season 2019-2020.

Connections in China

He Hui maintains a close relationship with Chinese classical music circles and performed at the National Opera House Beijing in Verdi's 'Un Ballo Di Maschera' in 2012. In December 2013, a scheduled recital of Verdian opera excerpts at Xi'an had to be cancelled when the soprano reported a loss of voice after a heated row with the management of the performance venue over rehearsal arrangements. In January 2015, she sang the title role of Aida under Zubin Mehta at the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts.

Discography

CD * ''Hui He Sings Verdi & Puccini'' - Arias from Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Trovatore, Atilla, Manon Lescaut, Madam Butterfly, Tosca & Turandot. Oehms. DVD * ''Verdi: Aida'' -

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annuall ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

, Florence 2011 * ''Verdi: Aida'' -

Daniel Oren Daniel Oren (Hebrew: דניאל אורן; born 1955) is an Israeli conductor. Biography Daniel Oren was born in Jaffa, Israel. His paternal grandfather, a Muslim from the prominent Sikseck family who was married to a Jewish woman, rescued Jews ...

, Verona 2012 - released on Opus Arte * ''Madame Butterfly - The Trace of the Butterfly'' - Documentary including highlights from Puccini Festival performance in

Torre del Lago Torre del Lago (Tower of the Lake) is a town of almost 11,000 inhabitants, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Viareggio, in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Festival Puccini, a ...

References

Notes

Sources

So I have heard (Operalia 2000) – September 6, 2000

Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane 2002

External links

Hui Hui English biographyStreamopera.com/Hui_He
{{DEFAULTSORT:He, Hui Chinese operatic sopranos Living people 1972 births Singers from Shaanxi People from Ankang 21st-century Chinese women opera singers