Role debut as Vitellia
“Guanqun Yu was a gorgeous Vitellia who sang her polished silver tones with power and flexibility. She was determined to sit on the throne her father lost to Titus by any any means possible, She planned either to marry or to murder the emperor about whom she cared very little. Realizing that Sesto was in love with her, she asked him to kill Titus. When accused of treason, Sesto was willing to die rather then involve Vitellia. Only then did she begin to have a conscience. In the formidable coloratura aria, “Non più di fiori,” (“No more Flowers”), she engaged the audience with both her powerful singing and her intense acting as she admitted guilt.”
“The three leading characters, played by Yu, DeShong and Thomas, balance each other perfectly… And Yu holds her own as the bloodthirsty villainess. Her full soprano sound — even from the top to the bottom of her range — stood out from every other singer, making her a joy to listen to.”
“Soprano Guanqun Yu made a credible transition from vengeful manipulator to remorseful penitent as Vitellia”
“Guanqun Yu’s Vitellia is wickedly desirous of the power that Titus can give her and uses Sesto like a pawn until her own guilt creeps up into her conscience. Certainly, at first, her assuredness that Sesto trust her without the expectation of betrayal in “Deh, se piacer mi vuoi” sounds flawlessly clear in its vocal purity, hiding away any semblance of immorality. Yet, when she is viscerally affected by the consequences of her selfish actions, she bemoans with apologetic resignation – a delicate balance that the soprano Yu achieves with her evocative coloratura.”
“As Vitellia, there was no holding back the vengeance with potent soprano Guanqun Yu in her solid opening duet with DeShong’s Sesto, “Come ti piace, imponi”. But in seeing Sesto accept punishment for his actions, Vitellia’s remorse breaks through and Yu captures it in class in Act 2’s “Non più di fiori””