The key facts

  • Zheng Xiaoyin, born in 1929, at 97 continues to give concerts and fill entire halls
  • In 1962 she became the first Chinese female conductor on the international stage, performing Tosca in Moscow
  • In 1955 she was the only woman on China's first professional conducting courses

China's first female conductor performs at 97

In China, 97-year-old Zheng Xiaoyin, the country's first female conductor, continues to give concerts with an orchestra and fill entire halls despite her advanced age. This is reported by the South China Morning Post; a brief summary of the article is provided by Gazeta.Ru. According to the publication, audiences are still amazed by her energy.

From medical college to the Moscow stage

Zheng was born in Shanghai in 1929 and began studying music at the age of six. After school she enrolled in a medical college, but at 19 she decided to change her path: she left home and went to study the arts, where teachers noticed her musical talent and aptitude for conducting. In 1955 she became the only woman on China's first professional conducting courses, and then continued her studies in the USSR. In 1962, Zheng performed Puccini's opera Tosca in Moscow, becoming the first Chinese female conductor to appear on the international stage.

A career through prohibitions and a return to opera

During the Cultural Revolution, Zheng was barred from conducting, but she did not abandon music: in 1978 she took over the orchestra of the China National Opera House. Over her lifetime, the conductor has prepared Chinese versions of famous Western operas, including Carmen, Tosca and La Traviata. In her own words, she wants to make classical music understandable to everyone, which is why before performances she tells audiences about the works.