Xi Wang grew up in Zhengzhou, China. Somewhat of a prodigy, Xi studied voice from age 9, sang with the Children’s Opera House at age 10, and performed in recitals and even on her own television show, called Angel of Singing. The Chinese Ministry of Culture sponsored her debut recital in Beijing, and she performed for the vice president of China, Li Lanqing, in 2005. After starting college in Zhengzhou University, where she learned to sing in Russian from a visiting voice teacher, she was recruited to come to the U.S. and attend Brenau University, a small women’s college in Georgia.
“I wanted to study abroad in the West, since that’s the home of so much classical music,” she says. After finishing her bachelor’s degree there in 2007, Xi enrolled in the San Francisco Conservatory, attracted by the reputation of the voice department and the school’s many performance opportunities.
Says Pamela Fry, voice department chair and Xi’s teacher and mentor, “Her exquisitely beautiful sound is mesmerizing. It gets under the skin and leaves the listener wanting more.” No doubt that was a factor that contributed to Xi’s winning the school’s concerto competition last spring, and consequently her Dec. 5 appearance with the Conservatory Orchestra. Xi has now finished her master’s degree and moved on, winning a spot in the prestigious Artist Diploma in Opera program at the Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, one of only four singers accepted this year. She’s looking forward to singing her first big role, Lucia in Benjamin Britten’s Rape of Lucretia, there in February. “I really didn’t want to leave San Francisco, since it is so nice living here,” Xi said wistfully. “Professor Fry helped me realize that I needed a substantial operatic role in my repertoire in order to advance my career.”
Still, it’s a tough road. Xi was not accepted to the San Francisco Opera Center’s Merola Opera Program for summer of 2009, yet in a few years she’ll try again, along with auditioning for other young-artist programs such as those at Houston Grand Opera or Chicago Lyric, and in Seattle or Florida. Xi won first prize in the western region in the Metropolitan Opera Training Program auditions, held in Los Angeles in September 2008. That qualified her to compete in the Nationals in New York in February of this year, where she came away as one of 23 National semifinalists, just missing the top prize but gaining valuable experience and exposure. In this competitive environment, Xi says it’s important to have a mentor like Fry. “She not only taught me about singing, but still gives me so much support. She encouraged me to do competitions and helps me make decisions about the right steps for me.”
The Conservatory Orchestra concert will accompany this gifted young soprano in Richard Strauss’ Brentano Leider, and will also perform Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 3 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98. Alasdair Neale, SFCM’s principal guest conductor and music director of the Marin Symphony, leads the show.