High Notes

Rising lyric coloratura soprano Christina The attributes her achievements to her spirit and drive.

- Zara Zhuang

FIVE MINUTES IN, it becomes clear this isn’t going to be another regular interview.

“What about yourself, Zara? How did you get to be a journalist?”

“You like writing? Lovely, lovely.”

“I can already tell you’re very easy to talk to!”

Christina The is inquisitive like a youngster, chats like a newfound friend, and dishes out life advice like a sage elder (“If I may be brutally honest in advising the youth,” she offers on career choices). The only clue to her day job is her bright laughter that comes in trills, which reverberate through the loft-like Astor Bar at The St Regis Singapore on a Friday mid-afternoon.

The is an opera singer, and a smashing one too. Soon to be the artist-in-residence at New Opera Singapore, the petite 36-year old lyric coloratura soprano takes on the dual role of Amore, or Cupid, and Valletto, a valet of the Empress, in the company’s production of Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea from 1643. It is staged at the Victoria Theatre on July 29 and 30.

“It’s one of those stories derived from real life,” explains The (pronounced “Tay” but spelled the Chinese–Indonesian way). “It’ll be exciting to perform something less mainstream.” Rather than a faithful Renaissance or Baroque staging,this production is adapted for a modern setting. “Hopefully people can relate to it, because I think the theme of human nature from the beginning till now [remains] the same,” The says. “It’s about love, jealousy, [vengeance] — even in real life we’re still the same.”