Young lyric soprano Lea Woods Friedman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, of a Singaporian-Chinese mother and a Caucasian father. The parents met, fell in love and got married at Hawaii University.

"I love to sing. I attended some vocal courses and the teacher said my voice suited opera singing," the soprano told China Daily.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, she spent three years in Italy studying the Italian language at the Centro Linguistico Italiano Dante Alighieri in Florence, and singing with Sergio Segalini and Enza Ferrari at the Accademia d'Arte Lirica di Osimo, and Claudia Pinza, Maurizio Arena and Maria Chiara at Epcaso in Italy.

"The three years in Italy really gave me a passion for and understanding of opera," she said.

Although her Chinese grandfather owns a luxury hotel in China and she once majored in hotel administration, Friedman said she is not interested in business.

"Some of my family members do well in the hotel business, but this does not mean I should also take that as my career. I would rather sing," she said.

In 2001, Friedman made her opera debut with the Hawaii Opera Theatre as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro.

She has participated in the Aspen Music Festival's Opera program as well as with Chautauqua Opera Theatre, performing as Sylvainne and Lolo in The Merry Widow in 2002, and as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and covering for Mimi in La Boheme for the summer of 2003.

As a granddaughter of Chinese, she has a very close relationship with Chinese musicians.

Last year, she shared the stage with Metropolitan Opera bass Tian Haojiang for a concert sponsored by the China Institute of NYC, and with Hong Kong-based tenor Warren Mok in a Gala Concert of Opera Hong Kong.

And this is not the first time that she has performed in Beijing.

Last October, she impressed Chinese opera fans with her lovely Papagena in The Magic Flute in the 2003 Beijing Music Festival.

She will return to Hawaii Opera Theatre in 2005 for her debut as Liu in Puccini's Turandot, a role she "always dreams of performing."

Other upcoming engagements include Valencienne in Hawaii Opera Theatre's production of The Merry Widow, and her debut with Michigan Opera Theatre as Papagena in The Magic Flute.

(China Daily May 19, 2004)