A Quick Chat with Li Yang and William Lim
The Mad Scene has a quick chat with up-and-comer Li Yang and opera veteran William Lim, stars of the upcoming SLO production of The Magic Flute:
Li Yang
The Mad Scene: What is the one thing that you like best in The Magic Flute?
Li Yang: I enjoy the plot of this opera very much. The story is very traditional and full of fantasy, that wisdom will conquer blindness, brightness will overcome darkness, and goodness will defeat evil.
The Mad Scene: What do you most look forward to in this SLO production?
Li Yang: I would like to thank SLO for giving me this opportunity to work with the fantastic cast to get more experience, and I am looking forward to work with the best opera company in Asia, the SLO, again soon.
The Mad Scene: What do you like most about your role in this coming production?
Li Yang: I will be singing Papagena. She is a semi-bird woman, a very dramatic figure. She sings a duet with Papageno in the opera, In this heart-warming duet, the care-free Papageno is introduced to his bride-to-be, Papagena. Love is kindled in their song where they discover the similarity in their names. Their music is lively and timid like a bird, full of warmth and pleasantness of fairy tales.
The Mad Scene: What is your favourite opera singer, and why?
Li Yang: Maria Callas. She has performed in hundreds of operas, virtually every one is wonderful. Roles are interpreted distinctly by this outstanding soprano, who is extraordinarily dazzling and dramatic on the stage. She has made a organic combination of music, drama and stage movements, and created numerous perfect art characters on stage.
The Mad Scene: What is your favourite Mad Scene?
Li Yang: The trio “Ich bin die erste Sängerin”! It’s from Der Schauspieldirektor. In it, the two ambitious singers confront him on who the prima donna will be, while Monsieur Vogelsang attempts to reconcile matters.
William Lim
The Mad Scene: What is the one thing that you like best in The Magic Flute?
William Lim: The fairy tale and very tuneful “Magic Flute” which can appeal to all ages allows it to be produced in different setting and still never looses it’s appeal. This is very important to me as it allows me the possibility to approach this role with something new which I may not realized previously.
The Mad Scene: What do you most look forward to in this SLO production?
William Lim: With each new productions, there will be old friends and new colleagues. For the next weeks, we will be working together and for me, learning from their invaluable experiences. To be sure, there will be sweat and blood but above all, we’ll take care of each other like a family.
The Mad Scene: What do you like most about your role in this coming production?
William Lim: The scene between the wise Speaker and the confused young hero can be extremely memorable not by singing any beautiful melodies but by the speech like recitatives.
The Mad Scene: What is your favourite opera singer, and why?
William Lim: I have a small group of singers whom I felt particularly close to and Victoria de los Angeles ranks high among them. I never had the good fortune to hearing her live except on her many gramophone records since I was very young. Her Gounod’s Marguerite is perhaps my all time favorite. Non of the sopranos I have heard since or after her equal her in warmth, Girlishness or innocence which is essential in this role. Please listen to the Jewel song, the Garden duet with Faust and the final trio.
The Mad Scene: What is your favourite Mad Scene, and why?
William Lim: Among the Bel Canto heroines who go mad, Imogene is dramatically the most satisfying. She does not goes through roller coaster long cadenza and endless high E flats before she reaches the destiny of her story. A mournful orchestral prelude introduces her mad scene. Then the out of mind Imogene thinks she sees her dead husband who was earlier murdered by her lover Gualtiero. She finally goes mad in a powerful cabaletta when the trumpet signals the execution of Gualtiero. This will have to be my all time favorite mad scene.
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Catch Li Yang and William in the SLO’s upcoming production of The Magic Flute. Ticket information is available on the Events Page.