Homegrown soprano returns to tour China

Soprano Dilber Yunus (middle) plays the lead role in Visitors on the Snow Mountains. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Hailed as the "nightingale" from China, the 59-year-old soprano will launch a five-city tour in China, including Changsha (March 23), Wuhan (March 26) and Beijing (April 8).

She will give solo recitals, accompanied by Chinese pianist Zhang Jialin.

"How time flies! The last time I gave a solo recital in Beijing was 11 years ago," says the soprano, who will perform 18 songs in seven languages, including Care Selve from Atalanta by George Frideric Handel and How Fair This Spot by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

"Compared with cultural shock and homesickness while living and working abroad, the most challenging part as a soprano is to master different languages, such as Italian, French and German," says Dilber.

She also wants to show the audience that it's also beautiful to sing bel canto style in Chinese.

So she has decided to perform seven Chinese songs, such as Kashgar Girl and Pamirs, My Beautiful Homeland, in the upcoming recitals.