CHINA NCPA CHORUS


China NCPA Chorus is the resident chorus of National Centre for the Performing Arts.


China NCPA Chorus was established on December 8th, 2009. WU Lingfen, the famous conductor, serves as its chorus master. As the professional artistic performing group that belongs to the highest palace of performing arts, the chorus adheres to the NCPA's guiding principle of "for the people, for art, for the world" and is recognized as a vigorous professional chorus with infinite potential.


During the process of its growth, names of many most outstanding artistic masters in today's world have been observed, including famous directors Francesca Zambello, Giancarlo del Monaco, Hugo de Ana, CHEN Xinyi, CAO Qijing, LIAO Xianghong, WANG Xiaoying, YI Liming, LI Liuyi, TIAN Qinxin and YANG Xiaoyang; famous conductors Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Oren, Myung-whun Chung, Jaap van Zweden, Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, YAN Liangkun, YANG Hongnian, LÜ Jia, ZHANG Guoyong, LI Xincao, ZHENG Jian and YANG Li; famous singers Plácido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Inva Mula, Juan Pons, Brandon Jovanovich, Francesco Meli, YAN Weiwen, DAI Yuqiang, WEI Song, Warren Mok, YUAN Chenye, LIAO Changyong, ZHANG Yalun, ZHANG Liping, Dilbèr, SUN Xiuwei, HE Hui, YANG Guang and Liang LI. The masters have given high appraisals to the chorus. The world famous tenor Domingo once said, "I am honoured to cooperate with these gifted young artists"; the late conductor Lorin Maazel said, "It is a Chorus of passion"; conductor Daniel Oren, who was excited after rehearsal, said, "This is the chorus that has the best sound I have ever heard. Young as they are, they are better than many of the choruses in Europe"; conductor Antonio Pappano said, "This is a youthful and passionate chorus that has been well trained to sound wonderful and harmonious".

As one of China's leading choruses both in the orchestra pit and concert hall, the NCPA Chorus brings to life fresh and vivid operatic characters one after another with their lavishly expressive singing and passionate theatrical performance, playing an active role in pushing forward the artistic production of National Centre for the Performing Arts. Since its establishment, it has participated in more than 50 operas by NCPA such as opera commissions Xi Shi, A Village Teacher, The Chinese Orphan, The Beautiful Blue Danube, The Ballad of Canal, Rickshaw Boy, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, Sunrise, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, FANG Zhimin, The Long March, Jinsha River, LAN Huahua and Effendi, and Chinese and foreign classic operas such as The White-Haired Girl, The Red Guards on Honghu Lake, Turandot, Carmen, La Traviata, L'Elisir d'Amore, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Der Fliegende Holländer, Un Ballo in Maschera, Lohengrin, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Otello, Nabucco, Le Nozze di Figaro, L'Italiana in Algeri, Il Trovatore, Cavalleria Rusticana & I Pagliacci, Norma, Don Pasquale, Aida, Rigoletto, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Eugene Onegin, Andrea Chenier, Der Rosenkavalier, Simon Boccanegra, Samson et Dalila, La Gioconda, Tannhäuser, Macbeth, Rusalka, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tristan und Isolde, Falstaff, Thaïs, La Figlia del Regimento, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Romeo and Juliet, La sonnambula, Don Giovanni, La fanciulla del West, Les Pecheurs de Peries. Its artistic attainments have won favourable comments from the insiders and audiences.
 
Apart from operas, the chorus has also planned and performed in many large-scale vocal works and theme concerts including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Second, Third and Eighth Symphonies, Verdi's Requiem, and Concert to Commemorate the 110th Anniversary of HUANG Zi's Birth, the opera concerts such as William Tell, Don Juan, and many politically significant state level shows including large-scale music and dance epic Road to Rejuvenation, Victory and Peace – Evening Gala to Commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the World Anti-fascist War and the Counter-Japanese War of the Chinese People, Evening Gala for the G20 Hangzhou Summit, the Gala Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Long March, the gala "Millennial Road" for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and Evening Gala for congratulated on the 70thanniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. By means of the concerts, the chorus makes more audiences to understand more of its charm and the artistic spirit of its unremitting efforts.
 
As the singing envoy of zeitgeist, the chorus has always been paying attention to fostering audience, supporting and participating in the artistic education and popularization activities of NCPA. It actively plans and participates in NCPA's Weekend Concert series, Classic Art Lectures series, and appears in more than 40 public benefit events held in schools, communities, enterprises, militar camps and hospitals every year to help popularize elegant art, so as to improve people's aesthetic taste. Meanwhile, the chorus commits itself to introducing NCPA's artistic productions and outstanding classic works to audiences at home and abroad. It participated in the tour of NCPA's opera Visitors on the Snow Mountain in seven provinces and municipalities across China, opera commission FANG Zhimin's tour in Jiangxi Province, opera The Long March’s tour in Nanjing as part of the 3rd China Opera Festival and has visited foreign countries like Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China’s Hong Kong and Macao for exchanges. The chorus's performances have been critically acclaimed by the audiences and local counterparts. Especially in 2015, the chorus went with NCPA to Italy for a 17-day tour of the opera Rickshaw Boy to a great success, demonstrating the rich musical expression of the chorus.
 
Beijing, in the new century, is full of the prosperous atmosphere of elegant art. The young artists of the chorus devote their most vigorous and dynamic youth to the cause of China's opera, and strive for dream and art!
 

CONDUCTORS

HUANG XiaomanManaging Director
HUANG Xiaoman is a national first-grade pianist and operatic music director in China. Formerly a vice president of China National Opera House, she serves as head of the China NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts) Chorus now. She is also the director of Chinese Musicians Association, and vice chairwoman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairwoman of the Musicians Association of Dongcheng District, Beijing. What’s more, she served as representative of the 7th China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Congress.
 Read More

Huang Xiaoman

She learned piano since childhood and graduated from the Piano Department of Central Conservatory of Music. She joined China National Opera House in 1976. Since 1993, she has been granted the special government allowance for experts by the State Council. She is a member of the “Senior Professional Title Assessment Committee” of the Ministry of Culture and on the panel of judges for “Wenhua Awards” and the “Awards of National Excellent Stage Art Works Project” respectively. During her opera career, she has has accumulated rich experiences in the performance of some one hundred Chinese and foreign classic operas, and acted as the music director and artistic director for many operas.

HUANG had became the vice president of the China National Opera House in 2000, and took part in the establishment of the China NCPA Chorus in 2009.

In 1999, she designed and launched a series of “Concerts of Chinese and Foreign Art Songs” with a view to popularizing high art, serving as chief planner and artistic director of the grand concert, “Chinese Heart” held at Tian’anmen Square in celebration of Macao’s return to the motherland; and was bestowed the “National Excellent Performance Award” by the Ministry of Culture.

In 2000, the CCTV programme “Oriental Son” had an interview with her and covered her story.

In 2001, she acted as the chief planner and artistic director of the concert of “The Three Tenors” at the Palace Museum in Beijing in order to bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Since 2002, she has been a jury member for the bel canto and chorus groups of CCTV National Young Singers Grand Prix. In 2011 and 2014, she served as a judge for the CCTV Piano and Violin Competition.

From 2008 onward, HUANG acted as music director for a number of NCPA opera commissions, including Xi Shi, A Village Teacher, The Chinese Orphan, The Ballad of Canal, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, FANG Zhimin, The Long March and LAN Huahua.

WU LingfenConductor
WU Lingfen is a distinguished choral conductor and music educator in China. She serves as professor at the Conducting Department of China Conservatory of Music, a conductor of China NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts) Chorus and the artistic director of NCPA Youth Chamber Chorus. She is also the vice chairwoman of China Chorus Association and panel member of the Art Commission at the Ministry of Education of China.

Read More

WU Lingfen

She once served as the deputy head of the Conducting Department of the Central Conservatory of Music and the head of the Conducting Department of China Conservatory of Music. Under her baton, numerous music pieces of various genres, such as symphony, opera and drama were performed brilliantly. In 1986, she took up advanced studies in the former Soviet Union, majoring in opera and symphony conducting. After returning to China, she threw herself into the teaching and research of choral conducting. As the guest conductor of the Chorus at the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China in 1994, she directed many performances overseas on behalf the state. She has been the judge of all previous highest-level chorus competitions in China and many international chorus competitions. In 2003, she founded the Conducting Department at China Conservatory of Music, focusing on the teaching of choral conducting. As the first head of the Conducting Department, she initiated many special teaching methods, set a sound curriculum, and introduced characteristic teaching contents. She has provided her useful experiences in the cultivation of choral conductors for teachers in this field nationwide. In December 2009, she served as the conductor of China NCPA Chorus, contributing much to its development. She conducted a host of concerts on classics from China and beyond, concerts on HUANG Zi’s chorus works, and concerts with distinctive styles of the Chinese ethnic minority groups, such as “Spring Is Here”, “Intense Homesickness：The NCPA Chorus Concert Marking the 110th Anniversary of the Birth of HUANG Zi”, “Silence in the Filed: Concert on Russian Classics”, “Right Here Waiting for You”, “Melody from the Grassland”, and “Wonders of the World”. She is a rare choral conductor acting as both a teacher and performer in China, making outstanding contributions to music education and the development and popularization of chorus undertakings. What’s more, she is a part-time professor with a number of teaching units and a guest conductor of many amateur art groups, doing a great deal of social education work.

  

  

ADMINISTRATION

WHAT'S ON

CALENDAR Full CalendarSeason Brochure

GENREOperaConcertDance & BalletTheatreChinese Traditional Opera

Festivals & SeriesDance Festival 2016Young Composer Programme
2016-2017

PRODUCTION

ProductionsRepertoireFilmsVideos

Resident CompaniesChina NCPA OrchestraChina NCPA Chorus

VISIT

Explore NCPA Buildings Exhibitions

Visit Info Opening Hours Guided Tours Services Getting Here

Dine&Shops Western Cuisine NCPA Café Arts Gifts

EXCHANGE & EDUCATION

NCPA & The World The Moment Arts Exchange Events World Music Series Co-operative Organizations

Education & Outreach Weekend Concert Classic Arts Lecture Enter the World of Record Meet & Greet Outreach

ABOUT US

THE NCPA Facilities Leadership Membership Philosophy Artistic Directors Contact Us Operation

Strategic Partners of National Centre for the Performing Arts

© Copyright 2016 China NCPA

Dedicated to the staging of epic operas, ballets and dance dramas, the golden Opera House is considered the centerpiece of the NCPA. Its main tone is golden color, which looks glamorous and splendid. In the auditorium are the stalls and three higher levels of balconies, which can seat an audience of 2,207, including the venue of SRO. It is equipped with a modern stage that can be moved up/down/backward/forward or rotated, a ballet stage that can slant, and a rising orchestra pit for the triple winds orchestra. All the cutting-edge staging mechanism provides artists with enormous possibilities of creative performance.