NCPA´s Production of Verdi´s La Traviata

Zhang Liping as Violetta
Zhang Liping currently is Chair and Professor of the Vocal Music and Opera Department of China Central Conservatory of Music. In March 2004, she became the first Chinese in history to perform as the diva in the opera Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Meanwhile, she is also the first Chinese opera singer to perform the leading cast in the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden, where she has starred in a number of opera works, including the extremely difficult Lucia di Lammermo, which is regarded by the House as a box office draw.

Zhang Liping has also cast leading roles on the stages of Teatro Regio di Parma, Munich State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Barcelona Opera House, Teatro La Fenice, in almost 20 operas including Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermo, Turandot, La Traviata, Carmen, Faust, The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. At the invitation of Mr. Webber, Father of music opera, Zhang appeared in the premiere of his new play True Love Never Dies in London, and recorded the theme song in Chinese.

EMI Classics released Zhang Liping’s debut disc Arias in 2008, which has won worldwide acclaims. In 2009, Zhang saw some of her works collected into EMI’s best annual opera selections CD, along with those of such giant singers as Callas, Domingo and Carreras. She performed Violetta in NCPA’s production of La Traviata under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel. She played Xi Shi in the first NCPA-commission Opera Xi Shi, and Desdemona in NCPA’s production of Otello.

Zhou Xiaolin as Violetta
Zhou graduated from Central Conservatory of Music where she has studied with Yang Xiaoping and serves as soloist of PLA’s General Political Department Opera Troupe, gaining in popularity in recent years. In 2007, she won recognition in the training program run by the Central City Opera House, Colorado, U.S. in the summer of 2007, receiving full scholarship and was invited to participate in the world premiere of Poet Li Bai composed by Chinese composer Guo Wenjing. It is worth mentioning that she succeeded in holding recitals in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan and won an award in Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition, came in first and won Anna and John J Sie award in Carlo Bergorzi Maestro Class, the golden prize in China Gold Bell Award Bel Canto Group and the second prize in Wenhua Vocal Competition awarded by Ministry of Culture.

Zhou performed as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with German Philharmonic Orchestra during its China tour, in Beethoven Symphony No.9 conducted by Lorin Maazel as a soprano cantor and in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy as the soprano cantor. Additionally, she sang the role of Mimi in La Bohème by Puccini, starred Yang Caihong in A Village Teacher, the NCPA’s first realistic opera, and appeared as Micaela in Carmen by Georges Bizet, Princess in NCPA’s Chinese Orphan, and Antonia/Stella in NCPA’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.

Wang Chuanyue as Alfredo
Wang Chuanyue is a young tenor from Opera Troupe of the General Political Department. He graduated from Vocal Department of China Central Conservatory of Music where he scored the highest in five consecutive years.

He has been the lead role in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Verdi’s La Traviata. In 2005 he was auditioned to be a student of Bergonzi’s International Master Class. In 2008 he enrolled in the Opera Centre of Juilliard School studying after professor Edith Bers, Dean of Vocal Department.

Wang had wonderful performances in both the 11^th and the 13^th China CCTV Young Singers Competition, and he is also a winner of many national and international competitions, such as Excellent Awards among Chinese competitors in the 12^th Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition(2005), the second prize in the audition of Chinese competitors in the 3^rdInternational Vocal Competition(2007) hosted by Chinese Musicians Association, Excellent Awards in the 26^th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition(2007), the fourth prize in the 4^th China International Vocal Competition(2008) hosted by China’s Ministry of Culture, the first prize in the International Artists’ Vocal Competition(2009), and the first prize in the 5^th China International Vocal Competition(2011).

Warren Mok as Alfredo
Warren Mok once performed in NCPA’s productions of Carmen, Die Fledermaus, La Boheme, The Chinese Orphan,Turandot, Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin.

In 2008, Mok was awardedCavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella della Solitarita’ Italiana from the Government of Italy, Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government, in 2011 he just received the Medal of Honor from the Hong Kong Government. All awards honor his contribution to bring the cultural exchanges between Hong Kong, Italy & France, mainland China.

since his European début in 1987 at the Deutsche Opera Berlin Mok has been making frequent guest appearances throughout the world, including Deutsche Opera Berlin, Paris Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opera Australia in Sydney Opera House, Teatro di Bologna Comunale, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opera de Nice, Opera de Lyon, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, The Netherlands Opera, Leipzig Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Teatro di San Carlos Lisbon, Seattle Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Warsaw Opera, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Italy, ABAO Bilbao, Opera Ireland, Teatro di Palma di Mallorca, Nancy Opera France, Bergen Opera Norway, Latvian National Opera, Lithuanian National Opera, Orlando Opera Florida, Hawaii Opera Theater, concert halls in New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musik Verein, Tokyo Suntori Hall, Seoul, Prague and Zurich.

His operatic repertoire exceeds 60 roles including Calaf (Turandot), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Don Jose (Carmen), Riccardo (Masked Ball), Radames (Aida), Duke (Rigoletto), Alfredo (La Traviata), Don Carlos, Romeo , Faust, Werther, and many others.

In 2009, he sang Ariadne auf Naxos at Teatro Carlo Felice, Manon Lescaut at Opera de Nice, Turandot at Savonlinna Festival. Opera, La Boheme at National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing. In Summer, he performed Tosca & Carmen at Caracalla with Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma.He also sang in famous Director Zhang Yi Mo’s Turandot at Olympic Stadium in Beijing.

In 2010, he started the year to perform Adriana Lecouvreur in Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tosca in Opera di Roma & Teatro Carlo Felice, Carmen in National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing. He produced Manon & La Boheme with Opera Hong Kong, Il Trovatore in Macau International Music Festival, numerous concerts/TV appearances in China.

In 2011, He sang a world premier opera Sun Yat Sen, Tosca in West Palm Beach Opera, in Guangzhou Opera House, Francesca da Rimini in Teatro Verdi Triete, Die Fledermaus at National Centre for Performing Arts Beijing, Turandot in Seoul Arts Centre.

In 2012, He sang Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin at NCPA, producing Carmen & La Travaita with Opera Hong Kong & Shanghai Opera House. He is the current Artistic Director of Opera Hong Kong & Macau International Music Festival.

Liao Changyong as Germont
Liao Changyong has played in NCPA’s La Traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Un Ballo in Maschera.

Liao Changyong is an outstanding Asian vocalist taking an active part in the global stage. He ever studied with the famous vocal music educator Zhou Xiaoyan and tenor Luo Wei. In 1995, Liao Changyong obtained his master’s degree at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Over the years, Liao has won many international vocal music awards. From 1996-1997, he was respectively the highest-class winner of the 41st Toulouse International Voice Competition (France), Placido Domingo World Opera Competition and Norwegian Queen Sonja’s International Vocal Music Competition within one year, thereby shocking the world music circles.

Liao Changyong’s footprints spread all over the world. He has cooperated with more than a dozen of world-renowned orchestras and opera masters such as Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Ruth Ann Swansm to perform successful operas and dozens of concerts. In 2002, New York Opera House Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall awarded Liao Changyong with ‘Distinguished Artist Award’, and specifically held his solo concert in Carnegie Hall. Afterwards, he cooperated with New York Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera, Washington National Opera, Royal Opera House (the Netherlands) and other organs to stage such operas as Attila, Il Pirata, Trovatore, Un Ballo In Maschera, La Traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Carlo and Carmen. Liao Changyong is praised by local media as ‘the most outstanding artist’. The New York Times and Opera Magazine speak highly of Liao Changyong’s performance and singing.

Liao Changyong is Vice President of Chinese Musicians Association, Vice President of Shanghai Musicians Association and Dean of Vocal Music Department in Shanghai Conservatory of Music.