Good Fortune, Fashion Week, And Future Plans with Chang Si Si

Interview by Brady Goodman-Williams

for Raine Magazine

New York Fashion Week is known for many things – Chinese opera sopranos are not one of them. But this past September, couturier Vivienne Hu debuted her spring summer collection with an unlikely musical ensemble: American vocalist Elle Varner and Chinese “fairy coloratura soprano” Chang Sisi. Performing Varner’s “Only Wanna Give It To You,” the duet rattled Spring Studios, and stood out as one of the highlights from this year’s runway shows. I was honored to speak with Chang Sisi to hear more about her journey and this milestone in the singer’s career. 

RAINE: What originally drew you to opera? How long have you been a professional singer? 

SISI: I always loved singing. I started professional training at the age of 15. At that time I was exposed to coloratura. When I was around 20, I started to perform in front of a broader audience and collected awards from numerous music festivals. Shortly after, my composer started to write me a lot of coloratura pieces, and people started to associate me with my nickname ”the fairy coloratura soprano.” When I was 24, I became the youngest artist to hold a solo-concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in China. That same year I was appointed as the youngest Vice-Chairman of the Shandong Province Musician Association. 

RAINE: Incredible. So tell me about your experience singing at the Vivienne Hu NYFW show this month. How did that happen? Were you nervous? Excited? How did that performance go? 

SISI: It was a wonderful experience. It was my honor to perform at Vivienne’s show and I was very excited when Vivienne proposed a duet between Elle and me. It was a creative move. Although I am a classical singer, I’m also fascinated by pop music, and I do take time to train myself to be more versatile. Our collaboration went extremely well. I am confident about my skills and my voice; I could feel all the audience's eyes were all on me when I sang the first note. I greatly appreciated this opportunity to perform at Vivienne’s runway show. Despite the fact that I only had five days to learn the song and I spent most of the time learning the lyriSISI of the other two songs, I enjoyed this collaboration and I deem it a successful one. 

RAINE: Was this your first Fashion Week experience? 

SISI: This was not my first fashion show experience. I actually have performed at another show and received a lot of positive feedback from the attending media. Xuanjin, the song I performed during Vivienne’s show, is one of my favorite pieces. “Xuan” in Chinese means dazzling. I find this perfect description of the coloratura used in this song. “Jing” denotes a state of peacefulness and corresponds to the chanting part in this song. 

RAINE: Where are you currently performing? Do you have any upcoming performances that readers can attend? 

SISI: Very soon, I have upcoming performances at international movie festivals in Macau and South Korea. This year, I will also participate in a concert with my mentor and friends in Canada. 

RAINE: Do you have any advice for readers out there who might be trying to pursue their own dreams, opera or otherwise?

SISI: Keep learning. As an old adage goes, “good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.” A lot of effort goes into achieving any goal - I always aim to be a better self through consistent learning and practice.

PHOTOGRAPHED by VITAL AGIBALOW for HENSEL

Stylist Maggie Mao

Dress by VIVIENNE HU 

Makeup and hair by Yuko Tamura for Augment Tokyo

Location - Studioteria