All about the basso

Genuine and full of warmth and humor, Tian looks back on his music career from becoming an opera singer, making his mark on the global opera scene to working with top artists. He also recounts stories about traveling the world, as well as sharing his ups and downs.

Tian is the first Chinese opera singer at the Metropolitan Opera, and over 20 years, he performed 26 operas there. He also has performed leading roles in about 20 modern Chinese operas.

Before Tian became a singer, from 1970-76, he worked at a factory in Beijing. His father was a conductor and his mother was a composer, which led Tian to music. Hoping to one day study music, Tian would play the accordion and guitar in the factory. In 1976, he fulfilled his dream when he was enrolled in the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he received professional vocal training.

He opens his new book with a story about Luciano Pavarotti, the renowned Italian tenor and one of the best-known opera stars among Chinese audiences.

He recalls that it was 1981, when he was the member of a Beijing-based choir affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music, that he first read about Pavarotti.

"When I saw his photo, I was told who he was. I knew nothing about him, but I was deeply impressed by his big smile in the picture," says Tian.

Later, in 1983, Tian went on to study music in the United States at the University of Denver with a full scholarship. He had just $35 in his pocket, and he only knew about four or five English words.

In his first week in the US, he visited New York, where he saw the same photo of Pavarotti outside the Metropolitan Opera. On Dec 17, 1983, he spent $8 on a standing pass for the opera, Ernani, by Giuseppe Verdi, which was the first opera he ever watched. The star tenor was Pavarotti.