Overview
Biography
Chinese soprano Hui He studied music and singing at the Conservatory of Xi’an. In 2000 she won the second prize at the “Plácido Domingo Operalia” international competition and shortly after performed along with Domingo in Shangai. In 2001 she was awarded the first prize at the International Competition “Verdi Voices” in Busseto.
In 2002 she made her debut in Italy, singing in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca at the Teatro Regio di Parma. She then performed in Verdi’s Alzira in Parma, sang Aida in Florence, Naples, Rome, Busseto, Lucca, Piacenza and Catanzaro and starred in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Philharmonic Theatre in Verona and in Bolzano.
In 2003, she imposed herself on the international stage by performing Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and became one of the most renowned performes of Puccini’s beloved character as well as of Aida, which she has sang over 130 times in the most prestigious theaters around the world.
In 2004,she reprised Madama Butterfly at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and at the Volksoper in Vienna, where critics called her interpretation “the best you could wish for Madama Butterfly”. That same year she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in the role of Lina in Verdi’s Stiffelio and returned to the ‘Opéra de Bordeaux performing Tosca. In 2005 she made her debut at the Arena di Verona in the role of Liu in Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot.
In 2006 she made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, singing as Tosca, conducted by Lorin Maazel and then starred in Madama Butterfly at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. That summer she returned to the Arena di Verona to perform Tosca .
She reprised the role the year afterin Munich (singing there for the first time), in the Arena di Veronathe following summer, and again in 2009 in New York along with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Maazel. In that same year she made her debut in the role of Maddalena in Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, performing at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.
In 2010 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the role of Aida.
In 2011, she sang Aida, conducted by Zubin Mehta in the production of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and reprised the role in the Oper Köln, Valencia, Monaco and with the New Israeli Opera at Masada.The same year she made her debut in the role of Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore at the theater in Oviedo.
In 2012 she played Aida at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and at the Metropolitan in New York. She also sang Butterfly and Tosca in Berlin (Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper).
In the 2012/2013 season she made her debut in the title role of Ponchielli’s Gioconda in Salerno, sang Madama Butterfly in Copenhagen, Munich and Barcelona. That same year she also made her debut in her native China, at the NCPA in Beijing, starring in the role of Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, directed by Hugo de Ana.
In 2013/2014 she sang Aida at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and in the Japanese tour of the Italian opera company. She then retured to the Metropolitan, Munich, and the Vienna Staatsoper for Madama Butterfly. She sang Gioconda in Berlin and reprised Leonora in the production of Trovatore staged by the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo in Brazil. In 2013 she also sang Aida and Trovatore, as well as the Requiem and Verdi Gala, during the celebrations for the centenary of the Opera Festival at the Arena di Verona.
She sang Verdi’s Requiem in Dallas on the centenary of the composer’s death and performed in the title role of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, in the production staged by the Deutsche Oper Berlin at the Opera House in Muscat, Oman.
Hui He performs regularly during the summer festival in the Arena di Verona, where she has appeard (ever since 2005) in the productions of Aida, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, Un ballo in maschera and Turandot.
Her vast repertoire includes the roles of Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, Leonora in La forza del destino, the title role in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Liu in Turandot and Maddalena in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier.
Hui He has performed in some of the most prestigious opera houses in the world (La Scala in Milan, the Arena di Verona, the Metropolitan in New York, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper in Monaco of Bavaria, the Opera Bastille in Paris, the Linceu Barcelona, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, NCPA in Beijing, NHK in Tokyo), and has appeared on stage along with some of the most renowned conductors (Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Oren, Fabio Luisi, Marco Armilliato, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel).
She has participated in productions of the highest level with world-renowned directors (Franco Zeffirelli, Hugo de Ana, Robert Wilson, Damiano Michieletto, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Keita Asari), starring alongside highly acclaimed singer (Placido Domingo, Renato Bruson, Raina Kabaivanska, Giovanna Casolla, Dolora Zajick, Juan Pons, Roberto Alagna, Ambrogio Maestri).
Hui He has received many prestigious awards, such as the Prize “Sergio Ravazzin” in 2005 awarded for the best debut in the Arena by the association “Le Voci” of Verona”, ; the “Juliet” prize awarded by the “Giuseppe Verdi” association in Verona for her interpretation of Aida in 2007; the Kaleidos prize awarded by the Kaleidos association of Palermo in 2009; in 2010 she was awarded the Oscar of the Opera by the Arena di Verona Foundation ; and in 2011 she is awarded the “Luigi Illica” prize by the City of Castell’Arquato; and in 2013 she receives the “Verona Lirica” award assigned by the association “Verona Lirica”.
