Liping Zhang

Liping Zhang is an internationally-renowned Chinese-Canadian soprano. Her reputation is based on a series of outstanding interpretations in both the belcanto and lyric repertoire. Liping Zhang is most closely associated with the Royal Opera, London, where she made her debut in 2002; though she has also sung at the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Opera de Paris, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Liping Zhang's debut disc will be released by EMI Classics on 06 October.

Background

Liping Zhang was born in Wuhan, China (about 650 miles south of Beijing) and is the daughter of a classical musician and a dancer. She herself studied to be a dancer for five years, before entering the Wuhan Conservatoire to study voice. She continued her studies at the Beijing Conservatoire where, as a young student, she was selected to sing with Placido Domingo in Tian'anmen Square. She then moved to Vancouver, Canada, where she 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.

Liping Zhang is well-known for her interpretation of the belcanto roles. She 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.

Covent Garden

More than any other world house, Liping Zhang is closely associated with Covent Garden. In 2002, she made a critically-acclaimed debut as Liu (Turandot). Geoff Brown wrote in The Times 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, remarked that: "The biggest round of applause went to the Liu of Li Ping Zhang, whose sumptuous soprano had us hanging on her every note"."

She made a triumphant return to Covent Garden in September 2003 as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), before returning to Covent Garden three months later to make the house her own with her acclaimed interpretation of Lucia di Lammermoor. Writing in The Times, 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"."

In 2005, she sang Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme. 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"."

She returned to the company in 2007 to sing Micaela in Bizet's Carmen and Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Critical appreciation

Liping Zhang came to international attention in the role of Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), which she has sung at Covent Garden, the Opera de Paris, the Metropolitan Opera, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona and at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin.

Some critics believe her to be the greatest living interpreter of the role. 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 Liping Zhang, the Michigan Opera Theatre production that opened Saturday night at the Detroit Opera House 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."

Debut Disc on EMI Classics

Liping Zhang's debut disc will be released by EMI Classics on 06 October.