SECOND STAGE: Fei Xie | Walking Through the Season of My Soul | Graduating Student Project

Walking Through the Seasons of My Soul is conceived as a journey through shifting inner landscapes. Across German Lied, French mélodie, English-language art song, and opera, this program moves through states of stillness, longing, tenderness, memory, and renewal. Though the repertory comes from different centuries and traditions, each work reflects a shared truth: the human voice carries not only sound, but also the changing shape of feeling.

The first half, Nature and Reflection, begins in a world where outer scenery and inner emotion quietly mirror one another. In Schumann’s Der Nussbaum and Die Lotosblume, nature becomes the language of intimacy, secrecy, and inward yearning. Barber’s Sure on This Shining Night opens that space outward, transforming night, light, and wonder into a meditation on human fragility and grace. In the French songs that follow, the atmosphere becomes more fluid and elusive: Debussy’s Zéphyr breathes with motion, Fauré’s Au bord de l’eau and Barcarolle float between stillness and song, and Hahn’s Le Rossignol des Lilas lingers in a world shaped by memory and perfume-like nostalgia.

The second half, Human Emotion and Becoming, turns more directly toward the voice of the self. Hundley’s Waterbird sings of distance and yearning, while April Rain Song offers tenderness in language of striking simplicity. Schubert’s Lied der Mignon reveals a more fragile inner world, where vulnerability and identity are felt with quiet intensity. Mozart’s An Chloë offers brightness, balance, and elegance before the recital closes in the theater: Handel’s Bel piacere shines with delight, and Mozart’s In uomini, in soldati answers with wit, energy, and playful irony.

Taken together, these works suggest not a single story, but a process: the gradual emergence of a self through changing emotional seasons. For me, this program is also about growth—about learning how the voice can carry not only beauty, but memory, uncertainty, strength, and becoming.

Fei Xie is a classical soprano from China. For her, singing is not only a form of musical expression, but also a way of understanding language, emotion, and the self. Working with repertoire in different languages and styles has shown her how the voice can carry subtle and deeply personal nuances.

This recital brings together German Lied, French mélodie, English art song, and opera. Through these works, she explores a range of emotional expressions shaped by different musical languages, while also reflecting her own artistic development. For her, each piece offers a way of entering a distinct emotional world.

She values the opportunity to study and perform across languages and cultures, and hopes her singing can create a sincere and intimate connection between the music, the performer, and the audience.