Zheng Cao was a Chinese-born, American operatic mezzo-soprano known for her signature role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly.
23 Facts About Zheng Cao
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Zheng Cao performed this role with opera companies such as San Francisco Opera, Grand Theatre de Geneve, Pittsburgh Opera, Vancouver Opera, Washington National Opera and San Diego Opera, and under the baton of Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
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Zheng Cao died from lung cancer in San Francisco, California in 2013.
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Zheng Cao was born July 9,1966, to parents Mao Yuan Cao and Xiao Jiao Huang in Shanghai, China.
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In 1988, Cao moved to the United States to attend American University in Washington, DC to study English and sing.
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Zheng Cao then began attending Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
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In 1993, Zheng Cao earned a Master's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music.
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Seiji Ozawa 8.
In 1994, Zheng Cao was accepted to the Merola Opera Program, a San Francisco training program at the San Francisco Opera Center for opera singers, coaches, and stage directors.
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Zheng Cao was chosen to be an Adler Fellow for the San Francisco Opera.
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In 1998, Zheng Cao performed in Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Nagano Winter Olympics '98 as a soloist for an opening ceremony concert conducted by conductor Seiji Ozawa.
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Zheng Cao subsequently appeared with Ozawa as Marguerite in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust at the Saito Kinen Festival, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and for the Ozawa's farewell concert singing Beethoven's Choral Fantasy in Tanglewood Music Center.
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Zheng Cao sang the role of Suzuki at Le Grand Theatre de Geneve, Washington Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and San Diego Opera.
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Zheng Cao later returned to San Diego Opera to sing the role of Siebel and appeared at Michigan Opera Theatre, Kentucky Opera, and Washington Opera as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.
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Zheng Cao made her debut at Opera Pacific as Nicklausse.
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Zheng Cao performed on the concert stage with the Philadelphia Orchestra where she sang Mozart's Requiem.
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Zheng Cao sang Handel's Messiah with both the National Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw Philharmonic.
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Zheng Cao performed Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the San Francisco Symphony, and Das Lied von der Erde with the Sacramento Symphony and China Philharmonic and on a tour of the Canary Islands.
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Zheng Cao performed the world premiere of two opera roles, Magali in Salsipuedes by Daniel Catan and Ruth Young Kamen in Stewart Wallace's The Bonesetter's Daughter, the latter with a libretto by Amy Tan based on her book of the same name.
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Zheng Cao then moved to San Francisco, where, in 2010, she married Dr David Larson, a radiation oncologist who was involved in her cancer treatment.
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Zheng Cao was initially treated successfully with radiation therapy for bone tumors and Gamma Knife radiation therapy for several brain lesions as reported on ABC News's "Good Morning America".
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The chemotherapy Zheng Cao received shrank Zheng Cao's lung and liver tumors by over fifty percent in the first three months.
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Zheng Cao sang Nathaniel Stookey's Into the Bright Lights, a cycle with autobiographical texts by her close friend and mentor, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade.
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On February 21,2013, Zheng Cao died from complications from lung cancer at her San Francisco home which she shared with Larson.