Discipline and talent combine onstage for a pulsating performance, Chen Nan reports.

Han Peng was born and raised in a small village in Zhangqiu district in Jinan, East China's Shandong province. His family made a living by farming.

Tall and strong, Han was trained to become a field athlete and competed since childhood in the javelin.

"My life was all about competing and throwing the javelin. I got up before 5 am and started my day by running 10 laps around the school playground," recalls Han, who was listed as a national-level athlete.

When he was 17, Han volunteered to sing a song during the school's year-end gala. His voice not only amazed his classmates and teachers but also himself.

"I loved singing but I never had a chance to sing in front of so many people, who gave me great applause. I didn't know I could sing and sing well," says Han. "One of my teachers joked that, 'Han Peng should become a singer', and I took the joke seriously. I really enjoyed the feeling of performing onstage. And this small voice came in me and said, 'be a singer'."

However, it seemed to be an impossible dream.

"I had never seen a piano before I was 17 and I had no idea about music," says Han. "My parents were very supportive, though they didn't know if I could make it.

"It was a bold decision but I was determined to give it a try," he adds.

Han found vocal teachers with the help of his school, and the next year, he enrolled in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

"I can still remember how hard I trained for the entrance exam after I applied to the conservatory. I woke up early in the morning and went to bed at midnight, the way I trained for my sports competitions," says Han.

His life changed and being a tenor is "a new kind of game" for Han, who now is an acclaimed opera singer.

Han has been singing with the National Centre for the Performing Arts for years, and gained a fan base with his roles in both Chinese and Western operas, such as that of Xiangzi, a poor young man from the countryside who comes to Beijing to become a rickshaw puller, the leading role in the Chinese opera Rickshaw Boy, based on the classic novel of the same title by Lao She (1899-1966), and Prince Calaf in Puccini's opera Turandot.

On Wednesday, Han will have a solo concert in Beijing, reviewing his career and performing some of his favorite and challenging arias, such as E Lucevan Le Stelle from Puccini's Tosca, Vogliatemi bene from Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Eri tu che macchiavi from Verdi's A Masked Ball, as well as songs adapted from pop music, which he has never performed before. Pianist Yue Peng, who is a senior piano coach with the China NCPA Orchestra and China NCPA Chorus, will accompany him. Baritone Yang Xiaoyong and soprano Li Xiuying will be Han's guest performers.

One of the memorable roles that Han played was Prince Calaf, which was his first opera experience. In 2009, he won the top prize at a major international opera competition held in Verona, Italy, and as a result, Han got the opportunity to play the role of Prince Calaf in Turandot.

"I was 24 years old then and I was very excited that I could play the classic opera in Italy. That prize gave me great confidence as a tenor and so far, I have performed in about 30 operas. But the first experience of performing onstage as a tenor was still memorable," Han says. Last year, Han performed the role again in the version produced by the NCPA, which was directed by Chen Xinyi.

In 2014, Han played the role of Xiangzi in the Chinese opera, Rickshaw Boy, which was produced by the NCPA, working with composer Guo Wenjing. Since then, Han has performed in opera productions by the NCPA.

Now, living in Shanghai and singing with the Shanghai Opera House, Han just wrapped up his tour in the opera Tosca, a coproduction by the NCPA, Shanghai Opera House, and Shaanxi Grand Theatre.

He is doing rehearsals for the Chinese opera, Janger, produced by the Inner Mongolia Art Theatre and adapted from the Mongolian epic Janger, which will premiere this November.

"One of the greatest satisfactions as a tenor that I have is when I walk off the stage and I know that I have given my all. When I look back, it still feels like a dream for me, from an athlete to a tenor," says Han.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn