Chinese soprano He Hui talks about singing Aida for Placido Domingo and loving the role she’ll perform in Hong Hong this month
Since her debut in 1998, He has sung the role of Aida in some of the best-known opera houses in the world; she returns to Hong Kong to reprise her favourite part in a new joint production by Shanghai Opera House and Opera Hong Kong
For Chinese soprano He Hui, the role of Verdi’s Aida is one close to her heart. It was the first role she sang when at the age of 26, she was cast as the Ethiopian princess in the all-Chinese production of Aida at the opening of the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 1998.
Two years later, she sang O patria mia, Aida’s lament for the homeland she’ll never see again, in the finals of Placido Domingo’s Operalia competition, where she placed second, a result that launched her career.
Later she became the first Chinese soprano to sing the role of Aida at the Vienna State Opera and, in 2010, at New York’s Metropolitan. She sang it with great success at Milan’s La Scala in 2013 and for the past 12 years, she has sung the role each summer at the Arena opera festival in Verona’s Roman amphitheatre.
Having sung it more than 150 times, He now returns to Hong Kong on October 10 for Opera Hong Kong’s new production of the Verdi classic by Jean-Louis Grinda, where she once again takes on the role she knows so well.
“When I was starting out, Aida was my first role and since then I’ve had the opportunity to sing at some of the major opera houses in the world,” says He. “I feel my voice is well suited to Aida and I feel lucky to be able to sing this role.”
