SECOND STAGE: Xiaoyue Guo, soprano | Under the Moonlight: A Journey from Night to Dawn | Graduating Student Project

The recital Under the Moonlight is a poetic journey through night, dream, and light — a meditation on how composers from different cultures have gazed at the same moon and translated its glow into sound.

From Haydn’s depiction of the awakening earth to Mahler’s youthful wanderings in the forest, from the Italian bel canto’s silvery moon to the French mélodies’ shimmering dreams, the program traces how the night inspires both serenity and passion.

The moon, as an eternal symbol of love, longing, and reflection, connects languages and centuries. Its gentle light shines through Tosti’s Luna d’estate, Debussy’s Clair de lune, and Yu Yong’s Yue Guang Lei (The Tears of Moonlight), illuminating both the tenderness of human emotion and the quiet beauty of solitude. This program celebrates the shared human desire to seek beauty, memory, and peace under the same moonlit sky.

Xiaoyue Guo is a gifted young singer, with a beautiful soprano voice who has developed a good sense of music and artistic expression. She completed her undergraduate studies at East China Normal University and is currently studying at Longy School of Music of Bard College, where she is expected to receive her master’s degree in May 2026. Throughout her studies, she has consistently demonstrated strong academic achievement and has been awarded institutional scholarships in recognition of her academic and artistic excellence.
Last December, Xiaoyue participated in two fully staged opera productions at Longy School of Music, including Nala in Meow and Forever by Jodi Goble. Xiaoyue’s operatic experience also includes various partial works, including Musetta (La bohème), Blondine (Blondine, a new opera by Beth Wiemann), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Hanna (Die lustige Witwe) and Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea). Through these projects, she has explored both standard and contemporary operatic repertoire in academic and training settings.

Her honors include awards from the Korea–China International Vocal Competition and the Chinese Peafowl Award for vocal performance. As a student artist, Xiaoyue is currently focused on deepening her vocal technique, interpretative skills, and character development through continued study and performance.