Opera brings with it images of intimidatingly loud, heavyset singers. However, Hong Kong-born soprano Nancy Yuen is anything but a diva. Contrary to her various larger-than-life onstage personalities such as her critically acclaimed title role of Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Nancy is soft-spoken, easygoing and jokes about her misunderstood profession: “People are scared because they think you’re singing and shouting in foreign languages. But we’re normal people—we just happen to have a voice.”

And a voice she has, having sung professionally all over the world for almost 30 years with the likes of the English National Opera and the Bangkok Opera. Last August, she expanded her repertoire to directing as the first honorary artistic director with the Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO). Nancy, who’s also a member of the Artistic Committee of Opera Hong Kong, says, “I want to introduce more people to Western opera. Like visiting the museum to see a beautiful painting by Picasso or watching a Shakespearean play or a musical, opera is like nourishment for the mind and soul.”

But in a society where popular culture is much alive and with opera’s high production costs, is she swimming against the tide? Nancy recognises that our opera scene has much room for growth. What’s critical in nurturing the next generation of opera, she says, is reaching out to youth. “When children get access to opera at a young age they may think, ‘Oh this is wonderful, I want to start singing,’ or ‘I want to attend a performance,’” says Nancy.  

She hopes to recruit more members to the SLO Children’s Choir, many of whom are the kids of her former students. “Some of the grown-ups have come up to me saying, ‘Do you remember me? I was the kid in such and such opera.’ And because of that experience, they started developing their singing voice. So, early exposure changes some lives.”

To create this access, she is in talks to hold opera performances at community centres and public libraries. She is also starting the SLO-Leow Siak Fah Young Artists Programme (named for SLO’s late founding chairman) to train performers aged 21 to 33, and plans to organise an Asean Vocal Competition this year. As with other arts groups here, financial support from sponsors is crucial for the art form to develop. “It will allow us to produce works of better quality so we will one day be on par with productions from London and Paris. That’s my dream,” she says.

Since 1993, she has done numerous productions for the SLO. Along the way, she met her husband, lawyer Toh Weng Cheong, who is also co-founder and current chairman of the SLO. They married in 2000, and he’s been a pillar of support for Nancy in her “lonely business” which requires constant travelling. “Being alone and far from home can be emotionally challenging. But having my husband accompany me on my trips keeps me motivated,” she says. 

Fresh challenges come with mentoring her SLO students. “Over the years I’ve learnt to be like a psychiatrist, because you have to understand their talents and even their problems before you can help solve them, and then bring out the best in them. 

“I’ve seen many graduates from this part of the world who have very limited opportunities. I want to change that. Looking back, I was very lucky to have had many people paving the way for me to nurture my interest in opera. Now, I’m in a perfect position to give back.”