Big voice, big heart

She reveals that next year's festival will be dedicated to Rossini. There will be comic opera Cenerentola and tragic opera Otello and some sacred music. There will also be a gala in the theme "from yesterday to tomorrow", with great tenors including Bergonzi and Carreras and young singers singing together.

She also plans a big dinner concert with great food, "because maestro Rossini was a gourmet. Music and food were two big things for him".

She says Rossini was a very funny man. He only cried twice. Once was when he heard Paganini playing the violin and the other was when he had a picnic with friends, a beautiful turkey accidentally fell into the river nearby.

This is the first time the diva visited the Chinese mainland. She admits that as a Roman, she considers other countries and cities young.

But after spending a few days in Beijing, she found it is really an old civilization and there is so much ancient culture.

She is looking forward to a concert tour with Chinese conductor Tang Muhai in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Iceland in November.

She will perform in Guangzhou on Sunday and Shanghai on Oct 19.

The diva took the high-speed train from Beijing to Guangzhou. It took her nine hours but she said she loves trains.

"If not in a rush, I prefer riding on a train to see more of the country and to experience more."

Trains are also another idea in her mind. She wants to create a "train of harmony", from Russia, running through Siberia to China, inviting musicians to perform on the train and in towns along the rail across Europe and Asia, to see different reactions of audiences from different regions. And televise the whole long journey.

"I should come back to China early with this project," the diva promises.

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