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Vivian Chen

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Sat, 8pm
Grammy Award-winning coloratura soprano Sumi Jo says she was destined to be a musician even before she was born.
'My mum played opera every day for nine months when I was still in her belly to make sure that I  could grow into another Madonna,' says Jo, who will be performing her bel canto repertoire at a Hong Kong Philharmonic  concert on Saturday.
Just  like the American pop  star who went to New York in 1977 with only US$35 in her pocket, the Korean-born soprano moved to Rome alone  aged  19, with three suitcases and US$500.  Today, Jo  has performed in major opera houses and concert halls all over the world, worked with  famous conductors and orchestras and has more than 50 recordings to her credit.
This season, she is  holding concerts in Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona, embarking on recital tours  to Korea, Tokyo and Australia,  and giving duo concerts with Dmitri Hvorostovsky,  Roberto Alagna  and Stephen Costello.
'I've been extremely lucky to  work  with all these people. They've all given me so  much inspiration and helped me a lot in my career - especially when at first  Europeans were not really used to seeing Asian faces on their  stages,' says Jo.
Singing arias by Gounod,  Bellini,  Verdi,   Meyerbeer  and Donizetti  with conductor Luciano Acocella  and the Hong Kong Philharmonic  as part of her Asian tour, Jo promises  a night of  vocal fireworks and   melancholic melodies.
'I don't want to wow the audiences  by only my technique. I want to share my personality through my voice and make beautiful music. To do that,  techniques alone are not enough.'
Jo may have  developed her magnificent voice through  training,  but she  can't explain how she  came by her formidable powers of interpretation.
'My voice is trained specially for music from the 18th century, but obviously Verdi and Gounod are very different in style and language,' says Jo. 'I think I was born with this talent to interpret different composers and their styles, even without  much instruction. When I open  a score and study it, I can understand it so naturally it's like breathing.'
However great  Jo's talents, it hasn't always been as easy for  Asian  performers to  impress western classical music  aficionados  as it is today.
'When performing in Europe, I tend to choose more academic pieces just to show what I'm capable of. Now, with all the talented Asian musicians out there, Occidental people  realise how good we are,' she says.
Since her last trip to Hong Kong a decade ago,  Jo has spent barely any time  in the city, and this tour will be no different.  'After the Hong Kong concert, I have to catch  a night flight back to Rome, and the next day I'll be heading  to Saint Petersburg,' she says.
She is also busy preparing for  Fra Diavolo,   which will premiere in Opera-Comique  in January.
'Travelling is  not my  favourite thing. I'm a  homey person,' she says. 'I love sticking to my couch with my three dogs, but my destiny is  quite the opposite. I guess all I can  say is, c'est la vie!'
10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, HK$280-HK$880 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2721 2030



Sumi Jo  in Hong Kong