Liao Changyong. Photo: Cai Xianmin

By Hu Bei

Liao Changyong is a gentle giant of a man, a man who, despite his size and power, admits to being moved to tears by music. A household name in China, he is one of the few singers in the world to turn down an offer to be a singer in residence at one of the greatest centers of music in the world, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

He sits in a comfortable chair in his office in Shanghai Conservatory of Music and tells the Global Times in all honesty: "I prefer to stay here with my wife and my little daughter. I belong to China."

China has been making the most of him recently. Liao has been busy. Immediately after performing in a two-hour concert before 8,000 people at the Shanghai Grand Stage on last Saturday, he raced to the Expo Park to take part in the closing ceremony of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

"It was really a chance for me to do something very special for Shanghai. People always think of me as a Shanghainese boy because I have been living in this city for more than 20 years and it was here that I began my career as an opera singer," Liao said.

Many people have the impression that he was born in Shanghai to a musical family, studied abroad, and then, became internationally famous.

The reality is that Liao's birth and upbringing had nothing to do with music or a big Chinese city. He comes from a family of four children, a poor family of farmers who live in a small village in Sichuan Province.

The start of his other life, perhaps, came when he was 14 and heard Placido Domingo singing "O Sole Mio" from the village's loudspeaker. Young Liao wondered about the beauty of that voice. Of course, he knew nothing about classical music or opera then.

"Now, Placido and I are close friends," Liao recalled. Domingo was a hero in many ways to the young man. In 1997 Liao entered the Placido Domingo International Vocal Competition in Japan. "It was the first time I had gone abroad by myself for a competition. You would not believe how nervous I was when I stood in front of the man who had been my idol since I was 14 years old. And when he handed me the prize I was overwhelmed and could not speak - though I did get my photograph taken with him later."

A perfect combination

After that, the great Spanish opera tenor and Liao, the young Chinese opera singer, began to perform together frequently. "The most memorable time was in 2000 when we performed Verdi's Il Trovatore in the Kennedy Center," Liao said. "The Washington Post praised me for my role as Count di Luna. As far as I know, it was the first time that newspaper had ever praised an Asian opera singer. And Placido told me after the performance that we made a perfect 'combination'," Liao said.

The 42-year-old told the Global Times that he believes strongly in fate, and how it brought about his friendship with Domingo, his study at Shanghai Conservatory of Music from 1988 to 1992, and his appointment, later, as a teacher there.

"I think everything is arranged for us and we should be grateful for this, no matter whether it brings good or bad fortune to your life," Liao said.

That small village in Sichuan Province in the southwest of China is a long way from Shanghai. Liao knows this well because one day in September, 1988, he spent 48 hours on a train, traveling from Sichuan to Shanghai for the first time. He had 20 yuan ($2.9) in his pocket. "I still remember it was raining and the new shoes my mother had made for me were completely soaked. I took them off and walked through the water in bare feet," Liao said. "I met a kind-hearted woman on my way and she took me to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, but she asked me for two yuan."

For the next four years of study, the baritone supported his college life by singing in nightclubs. "The customers liked popular songs and rock, so I had to move around a lot, sometimes even singing in two or three different clubs in one night. I was happy at the time because it was the first time I had earned money by doing my favorite thing - singing for people," he said.

Studying at the conservatory was harder for Liao than for most of his fellow students. "All of my classmates except me could play at least one instrument before entering the course and it was compulsory. I struggled. It is really difficult to start playing the piano at the age of 20. My fingers became stiff and sore after eight or nine hours daily practice. And then I had to learn Italian knowing nothing about it," Liao said. "Later in my career my regular overseas tours helped me become more proficient in languages."

Liao is constantly grateful to the major influences in his life, like Zhou Xiaoyan, one of his teachers at Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a famous figure in music education in China.

Liao Changyong in action (left with Mao Amin). Photos: Courtesy of Wang Jia

Overcoming nervousness

"The most important thing I learned from her was how to overcome nervousness and feelings of inferiority, especially when you are in front of people you respect a lot," Liao said. "My teacher told me, 'just be yourself.' Most of the time, the people around you do not care where you were born or where you came from."Being himself is Liao's philosophy in music and in his own life. He has sung many of the great roles in great operas including Faust, Carmen, Camille and The Barber Of Seville. When asked which is his favorite, he shrugged: "I never adapt myself to the roles, I adapt the roles to myself, to Liao. Sometimes I can't help crying during a performance - because I know every note I make comes from the bottom of my heart."