Mei Gui Zhang

return to In SongJune 8, 2022

For soprano Mei Gui Zhang, pursuing her dream of opera meant life a world away from her homeland and loved ones in her native China. There, as a child she would sing to passersby on the grounds of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, where her parents - a traditional folk singer and a classical tenor - taught and performed. In this new episode of In Song, filmed in New York City, Zhang reflects on the words of Eva Dell'Acqua's song "Villanelle", which she performs with pianist Ken Noda: I have followed for a long time with my eyes / the flight of the traveler… / Since then, my dreaming soul accompanies her through the skies / To the mysterious land!"

Shortly before her star turn as Dai Yu in Dream of the Red Chamber at San Francisco Opera, the fast-rising artist reconnects with her family in Chengdu and collaborates with virtuoso musician Zhou Yi (who will exchange her pipa for the guqin for the upcoming opera) on the Kazazh folk song, "A Lovely Rose."