Ruhan Jia, a soprano trained in the Chinese and Western operatic traditions,

Ruhan Jia, a soprano trained in the Chinese and Western operatic traditions, recorded her album “Time to Grow,” credited to Ruhan, last year. It combines pop and classical as well as Chinese and Western sensibilities, and is sung mostly in Mandarin.

Listeners might hear it like a Chinese version of Sarah Brightman, the soprano in “The Phantom of the Opera” who went on to an eclectic career, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Sept. 24 issue.

“Time to Grow” was produced in Sweden and mixed by Bernard Lohr, who has worked with Celine Dion and Il Divo. A British record company is distributing it. Jia’s manager is a woman from Taiwan who has lived in the U.S. and Europe for years. Jia’s recording contract is with the biggest music company in China.

Her career has the backing of the Chinese government, which desperately wants an officially approved artist to gain the kind of worldwide attention its dissidents usually get.

“Time to Grow” is the first release from China’s Earth’s Music project, which is part of the government’s five-year national economic development plan.

Does she have what it takes?