Press and Acclaim For Qian Yi

Acclaim for Qian Yi

"Truly one of the most extraordinary performers you've ever seen." 

Nigel Redden, Director of Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto General Director 

The New York Times
"A Clash of the Seasons Inspires a Meeting of Cultures"
Bruce Weber
"The otherworldly quality of her performance ... is a flat-out thrill. As she negotiates Mr. Dresher's exciting, diverse compositions, the effect is that of a wandering virtuoso."

New York Times Magazine
"Painting a Princess," James Oestreich
"At 23, however she is now China's reigning opera princess, and in 'The Peony Pavillion' her talents are in full flower."

The Washington Post
"An Operatic Adventuress," Josh Broder
"More Surprising is the children's response to Qian Yi, playing the ghost...Fluttering footsteps create a remarkable illusion of floating. Blazing eyes beam out at them with a wicked glee that's downright unsettling."

The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
"Ghost Lovers, Production revives Chinese opera form," Jennifer Hawes
"Ghost Lovers opera entertains and fascinates," Robert Jones
"The actress is Qian Yi, whose beauty really is unearthly...'Ghost Lovers' sounds and looks haunting." 

The New York Times
"Ghost Lovers...starring Qian Yi as the lovely and seductive ghost...The elegance and beauty of Qian Yi...make for a gentle exotic spectacle." 

Charleston City Paper
Kristen Rhodes 
"She can literally communicate more with her index finger than many actors can with their entire bodies."

Shanghai Journal of Culture, 
"A Du Liniang Crosses Centuries," Reng Zhi Chu
"Qian Yi brings to life Du Liniang and revitalizes Tang Xianzu's 16th century masterpiece."

The New York Times
" Review: A Powerful Opera of Eastern and Western Allure", Anthony Tommasini
“Ms. Qian enriched her portrayal of the Woman with elegant gestures that subtly combined stylized Chinese movements with naturalistic acting. And vocally, she was superb.”

Opera News
“ IN REVIEW: Paradise Interrupted - NEW YORK CITY” , Arlo McKinnon
”Qian Yi gave a magnificent and varied performance as the Woman, a demanding role that kept her singing, acting and dancing for most of the opera’s ninety minutes.”

New York Classical Review
" Huang Ruo’s “Paradise, Interrupted” proves compelling at Lincoln Center", Eric. C. Simpson
“her gestures, presence, and characterization were mesmerizing”

WQXR - Operavore
" Review: ‘Paradise Interrupted’ Fuses Eastern Manners with Western Narrative", David Patrick Steams
"I found Qian Yi ... to be a charismatic marvel. ... In later scenes, she had a much wider vocal and expressive range that revealed the operatic scope of her artistry."

ARTNews
" 'Paradise Interrupted': A Chamber Installation by Jennifer Wen Ma at Lincoln Center ", Lily Wei
"Qian’s exquisite voice activated the projections, underscoring the notion that she herself is responsible for the world she exists in, the life she lives."

The Wall Street Journal
" ‘Paradise Interrupted’ and ‘Veremonda, I’amazzone de Aragona’ Reviews", Heidi Waleson
"(The piece) is sung in Mandarin, and is a showcase for the electrifying kunqu performer Qian Yi."

Charleston City Paper
" Spoleto Overview: confetti cannons and an evening in Paradise ", Elizabeth Pandolfi
"She is truly one of those legendary opera divas – the kind you just want to adore and fling roses and pretty gifts to at the close of the performance."

The Post and Courier
" Review: ‘Paradise Interrupted’ a visual and aural display", Adam Parker
"Qian Yi, a superstar of Kunqu opera, was altogether riveting. Everything she did, whether vocal or sinuously mechanical, was nimble, breezy, and elegant."

The Wall Street Journal
" ‘Paradise Interrupted’ and ‘Veremonda, I’amazzone de Aragona’ Reviews", Heidi Waleson
"Magnetic."

Winston-Salem Journal
"Humor, drama abound on opening of Spoleto Festival", Lynn Felder
"The Woman in ‘Paradise Interrupted’ searches for an unattainable ideal in a world created by her voice. And what a voice it is. Sung by the sublime Qian Yi."

Charleston City Paper
" 'Paradise Interrupted' brings East and West together in a mythical operatic garden", Elizabeth Pandolfi
"The singing and music, however, were both perfectly delivered… together Qian and the four male singers…. created a surreal, otherworldly sound that completely embodied the dream."

Opera Lively
”Huang Ruo's Paradise Interrupted at the Spoleto Festival USA,” Luiz Gazzola Almaviva
”Ms. Qian Yi's singing is out of this world, with a crystalline quality that is very pleasing to the ear.”

More Acclaim for Qian Yi

New York Magazine
Peter G. Davis
“Wen Yu Hang and Qian Yi …Perform with extraordinary discipline, a focused concentration that never threatens to falter for a moment throughout this huge epic. Their skill is awesome and their ferocious belief in the material is infectious.”

The Wall Street Journal
Heidi Wilson
“Her armory of gestures and expressions seems endless. And she uses them…to show the metamorphosis of her character.”

The New York Times
James Oestreich
“[A] radiant and energetic performance throughout the six segments.”

The Los Angeles Times
Mark Swed
“Qian Yi…is a radiant presence … and sings aria after aria after aria with heavenly poise.”

The New York Times
Bernard Holland
“She is a graceful charmer…The body is discreet but the eyes speak ambiguously of both innocence and knowingness.”

The Wall Street Journal
Sheila Melvin
“Thus has the 24 year old Ms. Qian come to captivate New York audiences…long standing ovations that have greeted her performances will undoubtedly be moments she will treasure forever.”

New York Post
Shirley Fleming
“Qian Yi, celebrated in China and the only one of the original cast to make it to the U.S. She is a sight to melt the heart.”

The Star-Ledger
Ken Smith
“Headed by the radiant actress Qian Yi from last year’s cast, the performers are uniformly devoted.”

USA Today
David Patrick Stearns
“Female lead Qian yi matched her rarified vocal grace with physicality that suggest weightlessness…Part 3 when she returns as a ghost has some of her most ethereal singing.”

Staten Island Advance
Michael J. Fressola
“A new star, the poised and beautiful young singer and actress Qian Yi ascended during the course of the evening and a powerful transformation occurred in the audience…In the West, singers don’t worry much about how they look when singing a demanding aria. Miss Yi, who is some sort of wide ranging soprano, can sing with power and nuance without disarranging her lovely smile.”

Newsday
Justin Davidson
“The music – especially Du’s snaking aria sung by the slender siren voice of Qian Yi – had a tender allure.”

Shanghai Journal of Culture
"A Du Liniang Crosses Centuries", Reng Zhi Chu
"Qian Yi brings to life Du Liniang and revitalizes Tang Xianzu's 16th century masterpiece"

WNYE- TV
Eye one The Arts, Celia Ipiotis
“When she sang of her great loss, Qian Yi’s voice brought tears to my eyes. The lyrical sounds she exhaled were like the those private sighs and wails that stir one’s temples and extinguish all hope.”

The Village Voice
Kyle Gann
“The young heroine Du Liniang - spellbindingly sung by Qian Yi.”


The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
Jennifer Hawes
“Taking the role of the flirtatious ghost is Qian Yi, who was cited as the best actor in China by China’s Cultural Ministry. ‘People are mesmerized by her,’ says [Chen} Shi-Zheng…Spoleto General Director Nigel Redden calls her, ‘Truly one of the most extraordinary performers you’ve ever seen.’”

The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
"Ghost Lovers opera entertains and fascinates", Robert Jones
"The actress is Qian Yi, whose beauty really is unearthly...'Ghost Lovers' sounds and looks haunting."

The New York Times
Bruce Weber
"Ghost Lovers...starring Qian Yi as the lovely and seductive ghost...The elegance and beauty of Qian Yi...make for a gentle exotic spectacle."

Charleston City Paper
Review of Ghost Lovers at the 2002 Spoleto Festival USA
Kristen Rhodes
"She can literally communicate more with her index finger than many actors can with their entire bodies."

The Wall Street Journal 
Heidi Waleson
"And Qian Yi, so splendid as the lead in "The Peony Pavilion," made the Orphan wide-eyed and virtuously upright." 

The Boston Globe
Ed Siegel
"Qian Yi delivers the aria that gives the play its emotional force."

Boston Herald
"Qian's performance builds to an extraordinary crescendo when she sings the operatic aria from the story in Chinese. Her voice, and the character, soar."

The New York Times
Bruce Weber
"Winding through the ensemble is the girl, played by Qian Yi ... with haunting, electrifying exoticism. The otherworldly quality of her performance ... is a flat-outthrill."



Variety Magazine - My Life as a Fairy Tale
Marilyn Stasio
"As for the posers, they are exceedingly lovely to look at ... Qian Yi ("The Orphan of Zhao") lends her dancer's grace and trained singing voice both to Andersen's lifelong friend, the singer Jenny Lind, and the silver-throated Nightingale he created in her honor."