Soprano so grand

Aida, sung by He in the massive NCPA production, is torn between her longing for her homeland and her love for Radames, the Egyptian general appointed to conquer it.

The early days in Italy were difficult to adapt, she reveals. She was given three contracts for three roles, which would take place within three months. That meant she had to learn and sing one new role every month. "The pressure was enormous, but you have to let others feel you're competent and do a good job at it. Learning the language was a big burden. But now I'm totally comfortable with this kind of arrangement, flying from one city to another and taking up new roles all the time."

However, two operas have stood out as her trademarks: Aida and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which she has sung as many times as Aida. "Butterfly is intense and gentle by turns, while Aida is more dramatic and grand," she explains. "Even though some people call me a Verdi and Puccini specialist, my voice is especially fit for singing the typical Verdi roles."

In opera parlance, He Hui is categorized as a lyrical spinto, a type of soprano with a big voice befitting grandeur yet with flexibility and nuances to convey myriad emotions. "I'd love to sing some Bellini and Donizetti, but opera houses won't invite me because it would be hard to find similar voices to match mine," she says, referring to the bel canto repertory where a more agile voice is called for. "Norma is on my agenda."

Norma is the role most closely associated with Maria Callas, the American-born celebrity singer whom He calls her idol, along with Caballe, the Spanish soprano with a similar wide range. But one role many believe He Hui was born to sing, with her big and powerful voice, is Turandot, the Chinese princess in Puccini's swan song.

"I'm holding back. I'm afraid once I take on Turandot there'd be no stopping the invitations from flying in." Turandot lies very high at the vocal range, making it a role for pure dramatic sopranos. "I'd love to venture into that realm, taking up some Wagner and Richard Strauss roles such as Senta and Ariadne."

Still, Verdi is where her heart is. She has sung six of his operas, three of which, Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball), Il Trovatore (The Troubadour) and Aida, also with NCPA, and will tackle more down the road. "I'll come back here to do Simon Boccanegra later this year. And there'll be a recording of Verdi arias as well."

In the fiercely competitive world of Western opera, He Hui is the Chinese who has scaled the highest. "Aida is my lucky charm. I sang the Act III aria for my Operalia competition," she says. When she again sings O patria mia on the NCPA stage during the current run, an aria of sublime tranquility about the Ethiopian princess's longing for her motherland, "I'll be thinking of my own country and my love for it, as a Chinese artist living abroad, and that strong feeling from my heart will be the sparkle in the brightest moment of my stage career."

If you go

Time: Jan24-Feb1

Venue: NCPA Opera House

Cast: Zubin Mehta conducts the NCPA orchestra and chorus, with two rotating casts in the principal roles.