Strength Of Character

Whether it is through her titular role in Singapore Lyric Opera’s Aida or discovering young operatic talents, soprano and artistic director Nancy Yuen is going all out to expose more people to the art form.

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

SHE MAY HAVE SUNG THE ROLE OF AIDA TWICE—WITH THE Dublin Opera and the Kentish Opera in the UK—but every production is a new experience for soprano Nancy Yuen. She will once again take on the titular role in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, which will be staged for the first time by the Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO) from June 1 to 6, at the Esplanade Theatre.

For Yuen, what keeps it interesting is “working with new colleagues whom I haven’t worked with before”, such as South Korean soprano Jee-Hye Han who shares the role of Aida with her, as well as a number of young singers from Singapore. They were discovered from the SLO-Leow Siak Fah Artists Training Programme (named after SLO’s late founding chairman) and the Asean Vocal Competition, two initiatives Yuen has spearheaded since she took on the role of artistic director of SLO in 2015, to further its objective of advocating, developing and nurturing the opera scene and talent in Singapore.