Introducing the art song

Chinese soprano Zhang Liping has released a new album, titled Schubert: Night and Dreams, in which she performs 18 romantic art songs by Franz Schubert, including Die Mainacht and Der Winterabend.

Zhang, 49, who has built an international reputation by performing with many of the world's leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Metropolitan Opera, is dedicating the album to the beloved Austrian composer and, more importantly, hopes to introduce the music genre lieder, or art songs, to Chinese audiences.

"I have a special love for lieder, which refers to short works setting poems to music. In that category, Schubert's lieder are revolutionary. Unlike the grand and magnificent operas, art songs are soft and slow," says Zhang, who is known for playing the leading roles in Giacomo Puccini's operas, including Madame Butterfly and Turandot.