Liping Zhang
Encyclopedia
Zhang Liping is a Chinese-Canadian soprano
, who has sung leading roles in the opera houses of both Europe and North America. She is particularly known for her portrayal of Madama Butterfly
.
, Hubei
(about 650 miles south-west of Beijing
) and is the daughter of a classical musician and a dancer. She studied to be a dancer for five years, before entering the Wuhan Conservatoire to study voice. She continued her studies at the Beijing Conservatory
where, as a young student, she was selected to sing with Plácido Domingo
in Tian'anmen Square. She then moved to Vancouver
to study with Canadian mezzo-soprano Phyllis Mailing at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She later joined Vancouver Opera
's Young Artist Program and sang throughout Canada in roles such as Mimi (La bohème
), Leila (Les pêcheurs de perles
), Liu (Turandot
), Marguerite (Faust) and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor
). In 1997, she moved to London
.
Zhang Liping has sung Lucia Ashton with the Royal Opera Covent Garden and the Deutsche Oper Berlin and also Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
at the Den Norske Opera and the Teatro Regio di Parma
.
and Cio-Cio-San.
that:
Malcolm Hayes, writing in the Sunday Telegraph
, remarked that: 'The biggest round of applause went to the Liu of Zhang Liping, whose sumptuous soprano had us hanging on her every note'
Writing in The Times
, David Cairns remarked that:
David Fingleton, writing in the British newspaper, the Sunday Express, commented:
Hugh Canning wrote in Opera Magazine that:
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, who has sung leading roles in the opera houses of both Europe and North America. She is particularly known for her portrayal of Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
.
Background
Zhang Liping was born in WuhanWuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
(about 650 miles south-west of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
) and is the daughter of a classical musician and a dancer. She studied to be a dancer for five years, before entering the Wuhan Conservatoire to study voice. She continued her studies at the Beijing Conservatory
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
where, as a young student, she was selected to sing with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
in Tian'anmen Square. She then moved to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
to study with Canadian mezzo-soprano Phyllis Mailing at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She later joined Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada.It performs in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two specialized opera orchestras in Canada...
's Young Artist Program and sang throughout Canada in roles such as Mimi (La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
), Leila (Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
), Liu (Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
), Marguerite (Faust) and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
). In 1997, she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Zhang Liping has sung Lucia Ashton with the Royal Opera Covent Garden and the Deutsche Oper Berlin and also Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
at the Den Norske Opera and the Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....
.
Covent Garden
In 2002, Zhang Liping made a debut as Liu (Turandot) at Covent Garden. She returned to Covent Garden in September 2003 as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), and three months later as Lucia di Lammermoor. In 2005, she sang Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème. She returned to the company in 2007 to sing Micaela in Bizet's CarmenCarmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and Cio-Cio-San.
Critical reception
Geoff Brown wrote in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
that:
With Li Ping Zhang’s lovelorn Liu, though, sweet drama and music came rolled into one. Her part’s vocal perils left her unscathed; each word struck home in the heart in a way no one else’s ever did. At the curtain calls, she enjoyed all the fervent applause
Malcolm Hayes, writing in the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
, remarked that: 'The biggest round of applause went to the Liu of Zhang Liping, whose sumptuous soprano had us hanging on her every note'
Writing in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, David Cairns remarked that:
Above all, Liping Zhang gave us a heroine of exceptional eloquence and intensity, no drooping lily but a vital, suffering, deeply touching creature whose élans and agonies raised the work momentarily to a higher plane. Her Lucia can be heard again on Wednesday (10 December) and should not be missed.
David Fingleton, writing in the British newspaper, the Sunday Express, commented:
This soprano, in her early 30s, clearly has great insight and intelligence as well as good looks, and her clearly-drawn, thoughtful performance held the audience in the palm of her hand. When she sang the great aria One Fine Day in Act Two, where the abandoned Butterfly expresses her confidence in her husband's return, you could see the tears being shed. Her performance was a tour-de-force.The Detroit News wrote:
Like few other operas, Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" depends on the vocal and dramatic prowess of its title character. And in soprano Zhang Liping, the Michigan Opera TheatreMichigan Opera TheatreMichigan Opera Theatre is Michigan's principal opera company. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Each year it presents an opera and dance season. The company usually presents five operas in their original language with English supertitles and hosts five...
production that opened Saturday night at the Detroit Opera HouseDetroit Opera HouseThe Detroit Opera House is an opera house located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the venue for all Michigan Opera Theatre productions and it hosts a variety of other events. It opened on January 22, 1922....
boasts a Butterfly who does more than carry the show; she represents the world standard. This is a singer, indeed a theatrical experience, not to be missed
Hugh Canning wrote in Opera Magazine that:
I was delighted to encounter her lovely, stylishly sung Mimi here: she has clearly been listening to Freni - no better model - to judge by her subtle and idiomatic use of portemento, but this was no carbon copy and she had plenty of vocal swell for 'Il Primo bacio del aprile e mio' from her Act 1 narration and emotional depth in her Act 3 farewell
Recordings
Liping Zhang's debut disc was released by EMI Classics on 6 October in the UK, and on 11 November in the United States. The recording features arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bellini, and Donizetti.Sources
- Los Angeles OperaLos Angeles OperaThe Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, Artist biography: Liping Zhang - Ng, David, A thoroughly cosmopolitan 'Butterfly': Personable Liping Zhang is nothing like the submissive heroine she often portrays, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, October 1, 2008 - Varty, Alexander, Frequent Flier; Opera Singer Liping Zhang Recalls The Highs And Lows Of Her Trademark Role As Madama Butterfly, The Georgia StraightThe Georgia StraightThe Georgia Straight is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp...
, November 18, 2004