Chelsea Guo, currently based in Vienna, Austria, will perform as the first artist on The Gilmore’s Rising Stars series on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Epic Center's Cori Terry Theatre in Kalamazoo. The pianist-soprano is taking a brief break from her opera studio work at Vienna's Volksoper to give three recitals across the United States.
Guo presents a unique combination of talents, performing as both pianist and soprano, often accompanying herself in art songs. She describes her dual musical pursuits as deeply interconnected. "For me, these things are deeply tied together," she explains. "I feel I'm working as an artist, as a whole, when I do either of these things. And especially when I do them at the same time, that's something that feels very rewarding to me."
Her path to voice began through piano study. "The reason I got into voice was because I was eager to become a better pianist and a better musician overall," she says. Her piano teacher encouraged students to learn a second instrument, and voice appealed to her partly because "I didn't have to buy an instrument."
Sunday's program opens with Mozart's C Major Sonata K. 279, his first published piano sonata. "It's so full of his humor and character," Guo says of the rarely performed work. She follows with Beethoven's dramatic D Minor "Tempest" Sonata, creating what she acknowledges is "a big shift in my brain to go from very, very different characters."
After intermission, the program continues with Mendelssohn's Prelude and Fugue, which Guo describes as moving from a "big cathedral" feeling in the prelude to a "very symphonic" fugue that "ends in it bursts into this magnificent choral." She follows with Debussy's Images Book I, praising how the composer "takes really one concept in each of these little works" and "creates an entire world."
The recital concludes with Scriabin's Fourth Sonata and three self-accompanied art songs that Guo calls "a love letter from Vienna."
Her Vienna residency represents a significant career development. Despite lacking formal opera training, she was invited to join the Volksoper's opera studio. "They took a huge chance on me and I'm very thankful for it that they put me on stage in operas, even though I have nothing on my resume as an opera singer," she reflects.
The timing proves fortuitous for her Mozart interpretation. "I just watched the premiere of a new 'Zauberflöte' last night conducted magnificently, sung magnificently, directed beautifully," she shares. "What better way to be immersed in the world of all of these composers than really to be in Vienna and also involved in such a core part of Viennese tradition."
Upon returning to Vienna, Guo immediately begins "Traviata" rehearsals, covering the role of Violetta at the Volksoper, which produces 300 shows a year of opera and musical theater.
Tickets for Sunday's 4 p.m. recital are available at gilmore.org.
