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Approximate 180 mins (Intermission Included)About
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As one of the most popular masterpieces created by opera master Verdi, Aida is always favored by worldwide opera lovers - the vivid three-dimensional characterization and passionate melodies. This production will mark the first-ever opera cooperation between maestro Zubin Mehta and NCPA. The creative team is joined by Italian set designer Ezio Frigerio and costume designer Franca Squarciapino, who were creative members of NCPA's production of Nabucco. The cast is also star-studded. International megastars, designated by maestro Mehta, include world-renowned soprano He Hui (the world's No.1 'Aida') and tenor Jorge de Leon. The lineup will also be presented by Dai Yuqiang (one of China's three tenors), internationally-renowned soprano Susanna Branchini, Yang Guang, Yuan Chenye, and Tian Haojiang.
Aida was premiered in 1871. The plot focuses on the love story between Ethiopian princess Aida and Egyptian hero Radames. At the choice between love and loyalty for defending the country, the couple is indecisive in a dilemma. The opera is full of strong contrast for emotions: Aida loves with infatuation for motherland and Radames, Radames celebrates victory and decides on 'unjust act', and Egyptian princess Amneris has overbearing desire for Radames. The story features plump texture so that people lament for this beautiful love.
In order to achieve accurate representation of regional features and cultural characteristics of the whole storyline, Verdi repeatedly went to museums to watch Egyptian antiquities and asked Egyptian experts for advice. He blends the ancient musical materials into the opera presentation with lively and profound understanding. The grand stage set makes it suitable for open-air venues.
Composer - Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto - Antonio Ghislanzoni
Premiered on 24 December 1871, Cairo Opera House
Conductor - Zubin Mehta
Director - Francesco Micheli
Set Design - Ezio Frigerio
Costume Design - Franca Squarciapino
Lighting Design - Vinicio Cheli
Projection Design - Sergio Metalli
Choreographer - Marco Pelle
Chorus Master - Paolo Vero
Cast
Aida - Hui He / Susanna Branchini
Radames - Jorge de Leon / Dai Yuqiang
Amneris - Marina Prudenskaya / Yang Guang
Amonasro: Carlos Almaguer / Yuan Chenye
Ramfis - Tian Haojiang / Giorgio Giuseppini
The King - Chen Peixin
Priestess - Zhou Xiaolin
Messenger - Yu Yongzhao
Aida tells the touching story about the daughters of kings ruling over belligerent countries who make crucial choice for their common sweetheart: In the Egyptian Pharaoh Era, the war breaks out between Egypt and Ethiopia in the East Africa. Pharaoh's general Radames leads troops to go for battle and fights against Amonasro, King of Ethiopia. At this point, Pharaoh's daughter Princess Amneris loves Radames, whereas Radames' sweetheart is Amneris' female slave. This female slave is precisely Aida, the daughter of King of Ethiopia. It turns out that Aida is also a princess.
The grand celebration scene is set against the background that the joyful warriors hold parade for triumph ceremony on Triumph Square. Aida finds her father among prisoners captured by Radames, i.e., King of Ethiopia disguised as a soldier. The defeated king and his princess can do nothing, while victorious king is busy looking for uxorilocal son-in-law husband for his princess. Painful Radames is not only unwilling to marry the Egyptian princess, but also feels anxiety-ridden for Aida in danger. In order to avoid the long-term hostility between two countries and the freedom of love, Radames determinedly makes the decision to set free Aida and her father.
Unexpectedly, Princess Amneris, who keeps her watch in secret, is aware of such a planned action. Disregarding life and death, Radames is eventually sentenced for being buried alive. Aida doesn't want to drag out an ignoble existence without Radames. She comes to the grave in advance, and determinedly accompanies Radames till the end of time.
Maestro Zubin Mehta Born in Bombay, India, Zubin Mehta grew up in a musical environment. His father, Mehli Mehta, founded the Bombay Symphony and was Music Director of the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles.
Despite this musical influence, his initial field of study was in medicine. At the age of eighteen, he abandoned his medical career to attend the Academy of Music in Vienna. Seven years later, he conducted both the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics. He has rapidly become one of the world's most sought after orchestral and operatic conductors.
From 1961 to 1967 he was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony. He was appointed Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1962, a post he retained until 1978. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra appointed Mr. Mehta Music Advisor in 1969, Music Director in 1977, and Music Director for Life in 1981.
Combining concerts, recordings and tours, Zubin Mehta has conducted thousands of performances on five continents with the IPO. Since 1985, he has also acted as Music Advisor and Chief Conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the summer festival in Florence, Italy. September 1998 marked his five year appointment as Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
In 1978, Maestro Mehta became the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. During his thirteen years in New York, he conducted over 1,000 concerts, thus holding the position longer than any Music Director in the Orchestra's modern history.
Zubin Mehta has won countless awards and distinctions in many countries. In Israel he has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the Hebrew University Jerusalem, the Tel-Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute, and the Hebrew University has named a wing of the Musicology Department after him and his late father, conductor Mehli Mehta. In 1991, he was awarded a special prize at the ceremony of the Israel Prize presentation, and he is the recipient of the 1995-6 Wolf Foundation Prize for Music.
He is an honorary citizen of both Florence and Tel Aviv and was made an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1997, of the Bavarian State Opera in 2006 and of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Wien in 2007. The title of 'Honorary Conductor' was bestowed upon him by the following orchestras: Vienna Philharmonic (2001), Munich Philharmonic (2004), Los Angeles Philharmonic (2006), Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (2006) and the Bavarian State Orchestra (2006). In 2008 he was honoured by the Japanese Imperial Family with the Praemium Imperiale. In September 2006, he was presented with the prize 'Una vita nella musica - Artur Rubinstein' at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, in December 2006 he received the Kennedy Center Honors and in March 2007 he was presented with the Dan David Prize.
2006 also saw the publication in Germany and Israel of Zubin Mehta's autobiography, Die Partitur meines Leben: Erinnerungen (The Score of my Life: Memories).
In 2011 Maestro Mehta received a special distinction, in getting a star on the Hollywood Boulevard. Zubin Mehta continues to support the discovery and furtherance of musical talents all over the world.
Together with his brother Zarin he is a co-chairman of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in Bombay, where more than 200 children are educated in Western Classical Music.
Aida |
Radames |
Amneris |
Amonasro |
Ramfis | |
24/01 |
He Hui |
Jorge de Leon |
Marina Prudenskaya |
Carlos Almaguer |
Tian Haojiang |
25/01 |
Susanna Branchini |
Dai Yuqiang |
Yang Guang |
Yuan Chenye |
Giorgio Giuseppini |
26/01 |
He Hui |
Jorge de Leon |
Marina Prudenskaya |
Carlos Almaguer |
Tian Haojiang |
28/01 |
Susanna Branchini |
Dai Yuqiang |
Yang Guang |
Yuan Chenye |
Giorgio Giuseppini |
31/01 |
He Hui |
Jorge de Leon |
Marina Prudenskaya |
Carlos Almaguer |
Tian Haojiang |
01/02 |
Susanna Branchini |
Dai Yuqiang |
Yang Guang |
Yuan Chenye |
Giorgio Giuseppini |
Francesco Micheli was born in 1972 in Bergamo and has a bachelor in Modern Italian Literature; he graduated at the Drama School 'Paolo Grassi' in Milan. He teaches Direction at the Brera Academy in Milan and cooperates with Sky Classics for operatic programs. He has recently been appointed Artistic Director of the Sferisterio Opera Festival in Macerata.
In last August Francesco Micheli has directed Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Arena in Verona; the opera has had an enourmous success and will from now on be represented each year.
He has recently directed La Bohème at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, which will be repeated in April 2012. At Teatro La Fenice he will furthermore inaugurate the upcoming season with Verdi's Otello. Among his most recent productions there is also Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala and in cooperation with Teatro Elfo Puccini in Milan and the direction of The Killer of Words by Claudio Ambrosini based on a topic of Daniel Pennac; this production will be represented also at Opéra Nationale Lorraine in Nancy in Summer 2012.
Francesco Micheli has started to work as assistant to the director for the Regional Lyric Circuit of Tuscany, of Lombardy and for the Wexford Festival. In 1997 he made his debut as operatic director with La Cantarina by Niccolò Piccinni for the Museum of Teatro alla Scala. In the same year he starts to cooperate with As.Li.Co. for the project 'Opera Domani', directing operas by Gluck, Mozart and Massenet represented at Teatro Comunale in Florence and at Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
Francesco Micheli is the author of new innovative works, which are something in between a concert and a show: his aim is to create a new operatic form. Thanks to this project he cooperates with several theatres, among which the Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia which produces W Verdi, the Teatro Sociale in Como (From Vivaldi to Pasolini and From Verdi to Mina), and the Teatro Giacosa in Ivrea for which he writes Diva.
He has directed several other operas: Le Nozze di Figaro for Luglio Musicale in Trapani, Nabucco for the Regional Lyric Circuit of Lombardy, Mozart e Salieri and Il piccolo Mozart for Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, at the Festival Pergolesi Spontini of 2008 he has directed a new production of Gaspare Spontini's I Puntigli delle donne, the inedited opera Tana a Candragopoli realized for the Festival in Montepulciano, the multi-media event dedicated to Barbiere di Siviglia in Pesaro coproduced by the Rossini Opera Festival and Sky, he has written the libretto and directed the opera I musicanti di Brema at Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, Silvano Sylvano, the last work by Sylvano Bussotti for Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Il turco in Italia at Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the new opera Alice in Wonderland by Giovanni d'Aquila of which he has written the libretto and which he has directed at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
From 2004 until today he cooperates with the theatres of Reggio Emilia for an experimental lyric season called 'Opera Off', during which he has presented shows, lessons, meetings and special television projects such as Le Ragazze della via Gluck (from Orfeo and Euridice and Ifigenia's saga), Il Mare (from Simon Boccanegra), Viva Verdi (from Nabucco, Ernani and Don Carlo), Shakespeare vs Verdi (based on Macbeth, Otello and Falstaff), From Verdi to Mina (based on Traviata and Trovatore). In 2009 his show Bianco, Rosso e Verdi, produced by Teatro Massimo in Palermo, wins the Abbiati Prize as Best Initiative of the Year.
Ezio Frigerio (b. Erba, Milan, 1930) is an Italian costume designer and art director.
After finishing architecture studies, he approached theatre art by realising the costumes for Casa di Bambola and L'opera da 3 soldi, two plays directed by Giorgio Strehler at Piccolo Teatro in the 1955-56 theatre season. From then on a fertile artistic marriage started between art director and producer, setting up several unique productions as I giganti della montagna (1966), Santa Giovanna dei macelli (1970), Re Lear (1972), Il temporale (1980), L'Illusion Comique, which premiered in 1984 at Théatre de l'Odéon in Paris, La grande magia, which premiered in 1985 and was reprised several times.
The collaboration with Strehler made Frigerio enter the world of opera: Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte were realized by Strehler and Frigerio between 1973 and 1996. Così fan tutte was being staged just before Strehler died.
Frigerio also created stage designs for the Burgtheater in Vienna: Trilogie der Sommerfrische (Trilogia della villeggiatura) by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Strehler, 1974; Judith by Hebbel, directed by Gerhard Klingenberg, 1975.
Other operatic stage designs include: Cherubini's Medea, directed by Liliana Cavani, for the Opéra National de Paris; Strauss' Elektra, directed by Nuria Espert, for De Munt Theatre in Brussels; Verdi's Ernani, directed by Luca Ronconi, 1980, Beethoven's Fidelio, directed by Werner Herzog in 1999 for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan; Bellini's Norma, directed by Piero Faggioni, for the Vienna State Opera in 1977; Verdi's Rigoletto, for the Polish National Opera in 1997.
Frigerio also created the sets for Liliana Cavani's movie Galileo e i Cannibali and Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Cyrano de Bergerac, which got an Oscar nomination in 1991.
Frigerio often collaborates with Italian costume designer Franca Squarciapino who is also Frigerio's partner in life.
Frigerio designed the grave of Rudolf Nureyev.
Franca Squarciapino is an Italian costume designer who won the Academy Award for Costume Design in 1990 for Cyrano de Bergerac. She has spent much of her career designing costumes for major theatres and opera houses, including the Burgtheater in Vienna, Royal Opera at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and Zurich Opera among others.
She frequently collaborates with Ezio Frigerio, who is also her partner and husband in life.
Awards:
Volavérunt(1999): Goya Awards for Best Costume Design(nomination)
La femme de chambre du Titanic(1998): Goya Awards for Best Costume Design
Le hussard sur le toit(1995): SNGCI's Nastri d'Argento Awards, César Awards (nomination)
Le colonel Chabert(1994): SNGCI's Nastri d'Argento Awards , César Awards (nomination)
Louis, enfant roi(1993): César Awards (nomination)
Cyrano de Bergerac(1990): César Awards, BAFTA Film Award for Best Costume Design, SNGCI's Nastri d'Argento Awards, Academy Award for Costume Design, European Film Awards
Sergio Metalli was born in Rimini in 1956 and he is dedicated to his passion for electronics that bring him to choose studies along those lines.
His versatility led him to perform collaborations in all areas at the highest levels like the State television, to have daily collaborations with artists like Dario Fo, Tonino Guerra, Mietta Corli, Hugo de Ana, Nicolas Joel, Ezio Frigerio, Josep Maria Flotats, Lindsay Kemp, Pier'Alli, Gianni Quaranta, Raffaele Curi, Lluis Pasqual, José Carlos Plaza, Tito Egurza, Margherita Palli, Luca Ronconi, William Landi, Peter Stein, Vladimir Vasiliev and many others passing from international conferences until the Theatre which he has a very special feeling.
In over a decade of successful career he has made over 360 productions and he has worked with major opera theatres around the world.
The Italian chorus master, Paolo Vero, graduated in piano, later taking an interest in choral music.
From 1990 to 1993 he collaborated with the Rome Opera House for the opera season (besides many titles of the traditional repertoire, there are notable works such as Zorba il greco by Theodorakis, I dialoghi delle Calmelitane by Francis Poulenc, lfigenia in Tauride by Piccinni, Adina e il califfo di Bagdad by Rossini and Gilgamesh by Battiato). An important stage of his career was the 1993-1995 collaboration with the Bayreuth Festival as an assistant to Norbert Balatsch, where he worked at Wagner's Flying Dutchman, Tannh?user, Tristan und lsolde, Parsifal, Lohengrin and Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by the renowned Sinopoli, Runnicles, Daniel Barenboim, James Levine and Schneider.
Since 1996 he has been chorus master at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, conducting the choir in successful productions such as Sebastian, taken from Debussy's Martyre de Saint-Sébastien, Wagner's Die Feen (the recording of which, on Dynamic, was awarded the 1997 best operatic CD prize by the magazine "Musica e Dischi"), Smetana's Dalibor, Tchaikovsky's Cherevichki, Strauss' Die ?gyptische Helena, Mozart's and Debussy's Requiems and Mozart's Coronation Mass.
Marco Pelle has been the choreographer for NCPA's production of Un Ballo in Maschera.
Marco Pelle was born and raised in Italy. He started his training in Vicenza, It, under the direction of Maria Berica Dalla Vecchia before entering the 'Academie de Danse Classique 'Grace Kellly', in Monaco, Montecarlo, under the direction of famous Maitre de Ballet, Marika Besobrasova. He moved to New York in 1997.
Awarded with the pretigious 'City of Venice Award' in 2010, Marco Pelle has worked extensively in the opera field, choreographing various productions. As both Choreographer and Assistant Director, Marco Pelle has worked in Mario Corradi’s productions of Rigoletto, Un Ballo in Maschera, Faust and Renata Scotto’s production of Sonnambula (2009-2010 and 2012).
Marco Pelle has also extensively collaborated with Italian Cultural Institutes around the world, Chile, Argentina, the US and Canada among the others.
His first play Princes and Principles was sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington and performed for 3 weeks in Washington before touring throughout Italy.
In 2010 The Italian Cultural Institute of New York promoted a 3-night event/retrospective of his work, called 'Random Movements', with an exhibition of his costume sketches and 3 sold out performances by New York Theatre Ballet.
As resident choreographer of the prestigious New York Theatre Ballet, Marco Pelle has created several works for the company, many of which have become regulars of the company’s repertoire.
As a guest choreographer, Marco Pelle has created several works for important theaters.
In 2011 he created L'Uno di Due exclusively for Beatrice Carbone, Prima Ballerina of La Scala Theater, Milan, and, in 2012, he choreographed The 5 elements for Ballet Metropolitano of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which opened the Mozarteum Festival.
He Hui has starred as Amelia and Leonora in NCPA's productions of Un Ballo in Maschera and Il Trovatore.
In 2003 Chinese soprano He Hui burst onto the international musical scene with her performance of the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at L'Opera de Bordeaux. She has gone on to become not only of one of the most famous interpreters of that role to be heard today, but also one of the most acclaimed interpreters of the titles roles in Aida and Tosca. Her wide repertoire also includes Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Leonora in Il Trovatore, the title role in Manon Lescaut, Liu in Turandot, and many others. Since her breakout performance in 2003, she has sung in most of the world's leading theaters such as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, as well as becoming a favorite at the Arena di Verona.
In the 2012/2013 season, projects included her debut as La Gioconda in Salerno under Daniel Oren, and Madama Butterfly in Copenhagen, Barcelona, and Munich. Engagements for the 2013/2014 season include performing at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in La Giocanda, with the Teatro alla Scala in Beijing as Aida in 2013 and return to the Metropolitan Opera as the title role in Madama Butterfly.
During the 2010/2011 season He Hui starred as Aida at the 2011 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino production under Zubin Mehta, in a new production at the Cologne Opera, in Valencia, in Munich, and with the New Israeli Opera at Masada. She made her Chicago Lyric Opera debut in 2012 as Aida and returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the same role.
Born in China's old imperial capital, Xi'an, today known for its legendary terra cotta army, she completed her musical and vocal studies in China and in September 2000 won the 2nd prize at the International Competition “Placido Domingo Operalia” in Los Angeles. After the competition, she was invited by Maestro Domingo to sing a concert with him in Shanghai in 2001. In April 2001 He Hui won the First Prize at the Voci Verdiane in Bussetto where she was especially praised by the legendary Turkish soprano, Leyla Gencer. She subsequently made her Italian stage debut in February 2002 as Tosca at the Teatro Regio in Parma. This debut was followed by Alzira in Parma, Aida in Florence, Naples, Rome, Busetto, Lucca, Piacenza and Catanzaro, Un Ballo in Maschera in Verona and Bolzano. Following her debut in Bordeaux important debuts followed in quick succession. In 2004 He Hui sang Madama Butterfly at the the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and at the Vienna VolksOper.
She was also chosen to star in the Italian production of Madama Butterfly which celebrated the centenary of it first performance and which was seen throughout Italy. He Hui debuted at the Vienna State Opera as Lina in Verdi’s Stiffelio and at the Arena di Verona as Liu in Turandot. She also returned to Bordeaux as Tosca. In 2006 He Hui made two very important debuts, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano in Tosca, conducted by Lorin Maazel, and at Opéra-Bastille in Paris in Madama Butterfly. In 2007 she debuted in Munich as Tosca, and it was in this role that she made her New York Philharmonic debut in concert performances under Lorin Maazel in 2009. This was followed by her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010 as Aida. She has returned to the Arena di Verona every season as Aida, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Liu.
Susanna Branchini, born in Rome to Italian father and Caribbean mother, graduates with honors at the F. Morlacchi Music Conservatory in Perugia, and then participates successfully in many international competitions: she’s finalist in both Toulouse and As.Li.Co. and wins the Mattia Battistini contest. In 2002 she debuts at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome as Micaela in Carmen, soon followed by Liù in Turandot and Mimì in La Bohème.
Her fast vocal evolution allows her to approach quickly a more incisive repertoire, as Verdi's heroines, going from Aida, Il Trovatore and Don Carlo to the soprano drammatico d'agilità roles such as Odabella in Attila and Lady in Macbeth (in which she just opened the Season 2012/13 at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona), characters that show her artistic temperament and her acting skills.
Susanna Branchini feels comfortable both in psychological deepness of Puccini's lyricism of Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Tabarro and Suor Angelica and in "verismo" repertoire where she can range from Pagliacci to Cavalleria Rusticana.
Ms. Branchini performes on numerous prestigious stages, including Teatro dell'Opera in Rome; Arena di Verona; Teatro Regio in Parma; Teatro San Carlo in Naples; Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; Opera de Nice; Vlaamse Oper in Antwerpen; Oper Leipzig; Savonlinna Festival; Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv; Hong Kong Opera and Bunkamura Teatre in Tokyo. She collaborates with such conductors as Maurizio Arena, Maurizio Barbacini, Niksa Baresza, Andrea Battistoni, Maurizio Benini, Giampaolo Bisanti, Massimo De Bernardt, Gabriele Gelmetti, Marco Guidarini, Julian Kovatchev, Vladimir Jurowski, Günther Neuhold, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Oren, Stefano Ranzani, Donato Renzetti, Omer Wellber and directors as Giancarlo Del Monaco, Renzo Giacchieri, Peter Konwitschny, Pierfrancesco Maestrini, Lorenzo Mariani, Francesco Micheli, Franco Ripa di Meana, Ivan Stefanutti and Franco Zeffirelli.
Among her recent and future engagements: Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, the Verdi-Wagner Gala at Arena di Verona with Placido Domingo, Tosca in Antwerpen, Leonora in Il Trovatore in the season opening production at Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Tosca at La Fenice in Venice and at Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, Aida at Arena di Verona, Lady Macbeth at Theatre de Champs-Elysees under the baton of Daniele Gatti., Aida and the debut as Abigaille in Nabucco at the Arena di Verona.
In 2014, Jorge De León starred Turiddu in NCPA's production of Cavalleria Rusticana.
Jorge De León was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife where he studied music and singing with Isabel Garcia Soto at this city’s Conservatory. Then he amplified his singing knowledge in Italy with Giuseppe Valdengo and in Spain with Alfonso G. Leoz.
He won the first prize at IV Villa Abaran National Contest in Murcia and started singing in several opera, zarzuelas and concerts in different places, such as Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), Palau de la Música de Valencia, Auditorio del CICCA (Gran Canaria), Santander, Huelva, Gerona and Galicia at Xacoveo 99.
In that period he performed La Bruja by RupertoChapí (season opening production 2002/2003 of the Teatro de La Zarzuela and furthermore at the TeatroCampoamor in Oviedo)and Los Gavilanes composed by J. Guerrero in Valladolid and Oviedo.
In 2003 he interpreted Dúo de la Africana in Tenerife and in Madrid, and he played in La del manojo de rosas and as a soloist in the Noelconcert at AuditorioNacional with the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by PascualOsa. In 2004/2005 he won numerous competitions, among them the X Julian Gayarre Competition, José Carreras Award and the Jaume Aragall Contest.
These successes lead him to an elevated request from Spanish and international theatres, and in the following years he performed Lucía di Lammermoor in Mahon, La Bohème in Santa Cruz de Tenerife,El Domino Azul in Madrid, La Chulapona in Oviedo, Opera Gala in London, Francisquita in St. Gallen, La Bruja in Valencia, Gianni Schicchi in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Il tabarro in Menorca, Andrea Chénier in Málaga, La Bruja in Madrid and Pamplona and Macbeth in Las Palmas. In 2009 he sang West Side Story, La Vida Breve and Marina in Málaga, as well as Aida and Andrea Chénier in Nice, Carmen in Murcia and Málaga, Don Carlo in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In 2010 he performs Andrea Chénier in Madrid, Cavalleria Rusticana and La Vida Breve in Valencia under the baton of Lorin Maazel, Carmen, again in Valencia and at the Verona Arena, Madama Butterfly in Tenerife and Aida in Valencia.
In 2011 he sings Carmen in Naples, Tosca in Madrid, Madame Butterfly in Bari, Tosca and Carmen in Palermo. In 2012 he makes his debut at La Scala in Aida, and he performs Le Cid and Tosca in Valencia, Il Trovatore and Aida at the Verona Arena.
Teatro alla Scala wanted him for two different tours of Aida, in Qatar (2012) and in Japan (September 2013). By the end of 2012 he sang Turandot in Florence and Tokyo under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Tosca in Pamplona and Valladolid, Aida in Palermo. In Summer 2013, he performed Verdi's Requiem in Barcelona and, after Verona Arena's Aida, he will play the role of Radames in Milan and in Naples. In 2014 he was in Berlin for Tosca, in Avenches for Carmen, in Turin for La forza del destino and in Bilbao for Alzira. In 2015 he will perfom Aida in Beijing, again conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Dai Yuqiang is a remarkable tenor of China instructed by a number of celebrated musicians, such as Yan Keting, Han Dezhang, Ma Qiuhua, Jin Tielin and Wu Qihui. He works at the Opera Troupe of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army since he entered in 1990.
His opera leading appearances include Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, La Boheme, Carmen, Turandot, one-act opera Mid-autumn at Vast Sandy Land, a full-length musical White Reed Flowers and Red Kapok Flowers. Judging from his outstanding contribution to opera, the Ministry of Culture of China granted him the 'Cultural Performance Award'. Mr. Dai's performance in various activities won tons of rave reviews from experts, scholars and audience and received many honor titles and rewards from the General Political Department of PLA.
The world-famous tenor and maestro Pavarotti pleasantly took Mr. Dai as his first student from Asia after heard his singing; and an opera fan from Japan appraised him as 'the Pride of Chinese Opera'. Mr. Dai, along with Maria Guleghina and Samuel Ramey, has collaborated in Tosca at Royal Opera House, Convent Garden, being showered with praise and hailed by local media as 'a dazzling star on the stage.'
After studying singing at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire with Yevgenia Gorokhovskaya, and at the same time reading child psychology and teaching at St Petersburg University, Marina Prudenskaya went on to win a number of prestigious competitions including the Dvorak Competition (Karlsbad), the Glinka Competition (Samara, Russia), the 52nd ARD International Music Competition (Munich), and first prize at the Moscow Debut Festival for her interpretation of the role of Carmen.
Her professional career began as a soloist at the famous Stanislavsky Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre in Moscow where her repertoire included classic lyric roles such as Pauline (The Queen of Spades), Ratmir (Ruslan and Lyudmila), Olga (Eugene Onegin), culminating in her award-winning performances of Carmen. Moving to the Staatstheater Nürnberg, she added further lyric roles including Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Nicklausse (Les contes d’Hoffmann) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) and had the opportunity to explore pre-classical repertoire in roles such as Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo, Bradamante (Orlando Furioso) and Klytemnesta (Iphigénie en Aulide) before moving into more dramatic territory with the roles of Azucena (Il Trovatore), Mere Marie (Dialogues des Carmelites) and Preziosilla (La forza del destino).
In 2005 the Russian mezzo-soprano Marina Prudenskaya joined the Deutsche Oper, Berlin as a principle soloist where her roles included Arsace (Semiramide), Fricka, Waltraute, Erda (Der Ring des Niebelungen), H?nsel (H?nsel und Gretel) and Preziosilla (La Forza del destino). She then went on to make her debut in the Bayreuther Festspiele's new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, as Flosshilde, under Christian Thielemann.
Since 2007 Marina Prudenskaya is a member of the Ensemble of Stuttgart State Opera where she performs in roles like Amneris (Aida), Carmen (Carmen), Adalgisa (Norma), Cecilio (Lucio Silla), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Brang?ne (Tristan und Isolde). In 2009/10 she sang Octavian in a new production of Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Manfred Honeck and directed by Stefan Herheim.
In demand as a guest artist throughout Germany, Miss Prudenskaya had performed in Oper Leipzig's acclaimed concert performances of Meyerbeer's Margherita d'Anjou. Other guest roles have included Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera) at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and at the Hamburg State Opera; Erda at the Hessische Staatstheater Wiesbaden; and internationally as Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus) at Opera de Nice; Ernestina in L'equivoco stravagante at the Pesaro Festival 2008, Flora (La Traviata) at the Aix-en-Provence Festival; in Pierre Audi's production of Die Walküre at the Netherlands Opera, in Requiem by G. Ligeti at Opera Lissabon, in a new production of Ring des Niebelungen at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Palau de Les Arts in Valencia under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Miss Prudenskaya made her debut in Tokyo with NHK Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy in a performance of Scriabin's Symphony No.1. In 2008 she made her debut as Amneris at the Opera Hong Kong. She also performed as a guest at the Staatstheater Hannover and the Oper Frankfurt.
In 2009-2010 she sang Mari in Der Fliegender Hollaender at the Netherlands Opera, Flosshilde in Rheingold in Milan's Teatro Alla Scala under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, Alcina in Orlando Furioso in Santiago and Verdi's Requiem with Mariss Jansons at Berliner Philarmonie and in Salzburg Festival.
In 2010/11 she performed in a new production of Il Trionfo Del Tempo e Del Disinganno of Handel, the role of Disinganno, directed by Calixto Bieito. She sung Verdi's Requiem in Tokyo with New Japan Philharmonic and in Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Amneris at the Hamburg State Opera, Olga in Eugenе Onegin (concert version) in Munich and Luzern with symphony orchestra of Bavarian Broadcasting.
Yang Guang has starred in NCPA's productions of Lohengrin and Nabucco.
Mezzo-Soprano Yang Guang was the 1997 winner of the prestigious BBC Singer of the World Competition in Cardiff. Miss. Yang also won the first prize in Plácido Domingo's 2001 OPERALIA Competition. After she completed a three-year stay at the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Center for American Artists, she performed both in concert hall and opera stage around the world wild.
Miss Yang has sung her Amneris in Aida with the Florida Grand Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and Opera Omaha, the San Francisco Opera, and the same role for her returning to the Deutsche Oper, Berlin where the mezzo has sang her first Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana. Miss Yang sang the title-role Carmen in student performances and as Santuzza in Lyric Opera of Chicago's Cavalleria Rusticana. Miss Yang has sang her first Eboliin Don Carlos (in the original French 5-act version) with Welsh National Opera, a role she reprised for the Canadian Opera Company in 2007/2008 after making her debut with this company as the Second Norn and Waltrautein Gotterdammerung. Miss Yang has working with the Metropolitan Opera for the their 2011 Japan tour .
In concert, Miss Yang appears with the Milwaukee Symphony as the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in a program based on Shakespeare, conducted by Nicholas McGegan. She also made her Chicago Symphony debut as the Alto Solo in Tippett's A Child of Our Time under Sir Andrew Davis and performed in recital at the Chicago Cultural Center. She is the mezzo soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera under Mo. Carlo Rizzi. The same part she has also done it with the Orchestre de Paris, under Mo. Christopher Eschenbach. Miss Yang has also sung the solo part in the Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Cleveland and a recital in Hong Kong Art Festival. Ms. Yang has performed in 1998 & 2008 concerts in New York City for the Marilyn Horne Foundation's Gala concert.
Carlos Almaguer starred Scarpia in NCPA's production of Tosca (2011).
Carlos Almaguer was born in Mexico City, where he studied with Francesco Amador and sung in the School Chorus and in the Monteverdi Madrigal. He obtained many prizes that brought him to famous master classes. He received a scholarship that allows him to continue his studies with Carlo Bergonzi, at the Sienna Academy in Italy and with Vicente Sardinero in Madrid. As winner of the Singing Competition in Verviers (1997), the artist has been engaged for the role of Amonastro / Aida in Cologne (1999) and at the Opera Royal de Wallonie (2000).
Among his future engagements should be mentioned: Il Trovatore (Opera de Marseille), Rigoletto (Hamburg State Opera, Festival Avenches, Israeli Opera Tel Aviv), La fanciulla del West (ORW Liege), Aida (Opera de Toulon), La battaglia di Legnano NP (Hamburg State Opera).
Mr. Yuan's clear and supple voice, matched with his facility to portray vastly different characters, have earned him international acclaim. For his Rigoletto with the Welsh National Opera, The Evening Herald described him as, '...outstanding in the title role, combining great vocal power with heartfelt emotion.' Mr. Yuan has put his stamp on this title role having performed it with Houston Grand Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera of San Antonio, Sacramento Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera St. Louis, and the Welsh National Opera which was broadcast live on BBC.
In addition to performing with many of the United States and Canada's premiere Opera Houses and Symphonies, Mr. Yuan has favored the stage of many highly acclaimed venues stretching across Europe and Asia, including his native country China. Mr. Yuan is widely known for his compelling interpretations of the standard repertoire such as Mozart, Beethoven, Puccini and Verdi; however, this auspicious baritone is no stranger to the challenge of a world premiere. Mr. Yuan sang the Dragon King in the premiere Legend of Yao Ji. In Beijing, at the National Centre for the Performing arts, he showcased his seasoned artistry in the roles of Cheng Ying in Chinese Orphan and Zhou Luoping in A Village Teacher.
Mr. Yuan's schedule continues to be exciting, including upcoming performances of Marcello in La Bohème with the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra and Chou En-Lai in Adams' Nixon in China with San Francisco Opera and at the Culture Center in Hong Kong, a role with which Mr. Yuan is especially familiar. 'Yuan sang Chou En-Lai with a gorgeous, burnished baritone, his poise bringing the mysterious figure to life.'(Kansas City Star)
Just a few of Mr. Yuan's symphony performances include: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Singapore Symphony Orchestra, excerpts of Adams' Nixon in China with the Chicago Symphony and as a soloist in the Domingo Gala at Kennedy Center.
Tian Haojiang has performed in NCPA productions of Turandot (Timur), The Chinese Orphan (Gongsun Chujiu), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Basilio), and the concert version of Aida (Ramphis).
Since his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991, Tian Haojiang, a native of Beijing, has sung over 1300 performances of 40 operatic roles worldwide. He has been on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera for 19 years in 300 performances of 26 operas. Tian has also been highly praised for his appearances in many international theaters such as the Berlin State Opera, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Arena di Verona, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Canadian Opera Company, and other major opera houses in the three continents.
Among highlights of his recent and current engagements, he performed as Timur at the Metropolitan Opera, King Philip in Don Carlo at Liege/Belgium, Le Cid in Valencia/Spain with Plácido Domingo, Ramphis in Aida in San Francisco, world premiere of Tian's one-man show Sing Brother Sing in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, title role of Poet Li Bai in Los Angeles, title role of The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci in Hong Kong, Verdi's Masnadieri with the Washington Concert Opera, and a solo recital at Carnegie Hall in New York.
His autobiography, Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met, was released in 2008 worldwide by Wiley and Sons as a Lincoln Center Book.
Born in Massa, Giorgio Giuseppini began his singing studies with Clara Foti and then specialized under the guidance of Carlo Badioli, Aldo Protti and Vittorio Rosetta.
In 1991 he was the first prize-winner of the International Singing Competition of Loano (Savona).
In the same season he sang at the Teatro Regio di Torino in two Missas by Mozart and made his successful debut in the role of Conte in Le nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Cavour di Imperia.
Giorgio Giuseppini has subsequently started a brilliant career, having performed in the major opera and concert houses throughout Europe. His past seasons were marked by several successful interpretations of the main Verdi's operas, such as Aida (performed in Caracalla and at the Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse), Rigoletto (at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, in Treviso and Rovigo, and at the Opera Giocosa di Savona), Il Trovatore (at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and in Savona), Nabucco (at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova and at the Sferisterio di Macerata), Simon Boccanegra, Jérusalem and La forza del destino at the Teatro Regio di Torino, I Masnadieri in Piacenza, Macbeth in Jesi and Fermo, Don Carlo at Teatro Massimo di Palermo.
Giorgio Giuseppini also performed in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor in Savona and, in Bellini's Norma in Genova, in Marseille, Como, Trieste, Barcelona and Trapani; in Puccini's Turandot in London, Genova, Macerata and Bologna; in La Bohème in Novara, Vercelli, Alessandria, Genova and Nice, as well as in Benvenuto Cellini's Maria Stuarda in Roma, Don Giovanni in Santiago, Chile, and in Savona, La Gioconda in Genova, Pacini's Medea and Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Savona and, more recently, Werther at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (recorded for Decca). At the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam, he has been recently heard in Don Carlo, La Sonnambula (Conte Rodolfo) in Zurich, Norma (Oroveso) and in Médée at Chatelet.
Giorgio Giuseppini also enjoys a successful collaboration with the Teatro alla Scala, where he appeared in such numerous works as Don Carlo, Les Troyens, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Sigismondo, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, I due Foscari, Mosè in Egitto, La Gioconda and Nabucco.
During his career Giorgio Giuseppini has performed under the baton of some of the most outstanding conductors, such as Davis, Gatti, Gavazzeni, Mehta, Muti, Nelson, Oren, Chailly, Abbado, Burgos.
2012-2014 season he was singing in Turin (Orovese), at Arena di Verona (Ramphis, Timur and Frere Laurent) in Romeo et Juliette; in Venice (Ferrando) and in Barcelona in Adriana Lecouvreur; in Nice (Ferrando), in Frankfurt (Philipp) and in Arena di Verona in Romeo et Juliette; in Novara (Banquo), in Parma concerts, in Macerata (Zacharias) and in Paris (Basilio).
In summer 2014 he performed in Aida, Turandot, Romeo et Juliette at Arena di Verona and Zaccharias in Sanxay. In 2014/2015 he will sing in Beijing (Ferrando), in Macao (Orovese), and in Pisa and in Oman (Banquo).
Chen Peixin graduated from Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, where he made his opera debut as Publio in La clemenza di Tito and performed Sarastro in The Magic Flute. With the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, he has sung the King in Lalo's Le roi d'Ys conducted by Michel Plasson, the Emperor in Tan Dun's Tea, Colline and Beno?t in La bohème, Baron Douphol in La traviata under the baton of Lorin Maazel, and Zuniga in Carmen. His most recent roles there were Angelotti in Giancarlo del Monaco's new production of Tosca, Don Magnifico in Rossini's Cinderella, Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, and Basilio in The Barber of Seville. He has also sung Don Basilio with the Merola Program of San Francisco Opera. Chen made his Washington National Opera debut as Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love in 2014.
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 her 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, NCPA's first realistic opera, and appeared as Micaela in Carmen by Georges Bizet and Princess in NCPA's The Chinese Orphan. She also sang the role of Antonia in NCPA's production of Offenbach's opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann.
Tenor Wang Yang is a second-year postgraduate of the Central Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of vocal educator Professor Zhao Dengying and Associate Professor Zhang Jialin. In 2014, he was placed 1st in the Second National German Art Songs Competition (Postgraduate Group), and participated in "I Sing" International Youth Singer Plan. In 2013, he took part in series of events during German Lubeck Music Festival. In the same year, on behalf of the Central Conservatory of Music, he performed in Chinese Art Songs Concert in London. Since 2009, he has performed in Eugene Onegin, Rigoletto, Cosi Fan Tutte, Semele, Mourning, La Traviata and others in many theaters across the country.
Lu Na is principal dancer of National Ballet of China (NBC) and National-level Class-A Performer. During 1993-2000, she majored in Ballet at Beijing Dance Academy. Since 2000, she has served in NBC. She starred "Qionghua" in The Red Detachment of Women, and played the main roles in other domestic and foreign ballet dramas, including Raise the Red Lantern, Le Corsaire and Peony Pavilion. She is also soloist or lead dancer in Swan Lake, Serenade, Chinese version of The Nutcracker (2010), Sylvia, Giselle, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Act III of Don Quixote, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet and other works.
In 1999, Lu Na was placed 3rd in China Qualification Trial of the International Ballet Competition. In 2000, she won the Third Prize of "Tao Li Cup" Ballet Dance Competitions (Junior Group). As a member of National Ballet of China Delegation, she has toured in countries and regions like the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Greece, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, the Netherlands, as well as Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and so on.
Sisi Qiu is a ballet dancer based in Germany and an artistic producer. As the first actress with Chinese descent employed by the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper in German) in Munich. Sisi is crowned as "Oriental Swan Princess" by the European media. She holds Master's Degree of Dance in Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim and MBA of Fashion Arts Management in Mod’Art à l'échelle internationale of Paris. She is invited to serve as lead ballet dancer of the 2013 New Year's Concert, staged by maestro Zubin Mehta and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Great Hall of the People. She also translates and introduces Zubin Mehta's biography The Score of My Life which has been distributed in China. She establishes Sisi Qiu - Oriental Swan Art Studio, which has rolled out Chopin En Pointe, L'Amant En Pointe, The Love of Chanel and other works. She is the ballet cultural image ambassador of China Association of Social Economic and Cultural Exchange.
NCPA Chorus was established on December 8, 2009, whose members were carefully selected from famous music schools in and out of China. Now the Chorus invites Wu Lingfen as the conductor, with many artists well-known in China and abroad giving instructions. Affiliated to NCPA, the highest palace of performing arts in China, the Chorus adheres to NCPA's guiding principles of 'for the people, for the arts, and for the world'. The Chorus mainly stages operas and concerts, and also takes part in kinds of cultural communication and arts outreach events.
Ever since its establishment, the Chorus has actively performed in more than 20 operas of NCPA production, such as NCPA's commission operas Xi Shi, The Chinese Orphan, and The Ballad of Canal, as well as other classical operas in and out of China: The White-Haired Girl, The Red Guards on Honghu Lake, Le Nozze di Figaro, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, L'italiana in Algeri, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Otello, Der Fliegende Hollander, Lohengrin, Carmen, Turandot andTosca, etc. Its artistic quality receives rave acclaims from both the critics and the audience.
Besides operas, the Chorus has participated in many grand vocal works and themed concerts, such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Mahler's Symphony No.2 and No.8, and the grand music and dance epic Road to Revive, etc. As NCPA's resident chorus, it has been to Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan to participate in performances and arts exchange, both to wide acclaims.
The Chorus has cooperated with many well-known artists ever since its establishment, receiving high praises from them all. Plácido Domingo once said it was his honor to cooperate with these talented young artists; Lorin Maazel ever praised it 'a chorus full of passion', so and so forth. On the stage of NCPA, the Chorus has cooperated with such directors as Francesca Zambello, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Chen Xinyi, Cao Qijing, Liao Xianghong, such conductors as Lorin Maazel, Daniel Oren, Lu Jia, Li Xincao, Zhang Guoyong, such vocalists as Plácido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Inva Mula, Brandon Jovanovich, Dai Yuqiang, Wei Song, Warren Mok, He Hui, Dilbèr, Zhang Liping, to name just a few. With more than a hundred performances each year, the Chorus is surely to play an active role in the further development of NCPA.
China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts of China (NCPA), balancing a busy and distinguished performance schedule with a reputation as one of China's most adventurous and dynamic orchestras. Established in March 2010, the orchestra is composed of distinguished musicians from around the world, performing more than a dozen operas, ballets and regular symphonic seasons every year. Lu Jia took up the post of Principal Conductor in February 2011, succeeding Chen Zuohuang, the current Laureate Conductor, NCPA's Music Artistic Director and also one of the founders of the orchestra. Yuan Ding was appointed assistant conductor in the same year.
The NCPA Orchestra demonstrates an abiding commitment to high levels of artistic excellence and prides itself on its long-term collaborations with the finest musicians of our day. Artists associated with the orchestra in the past two years include Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Gunter Herbig, Gilbert Varga, Lang Lang, Stephen Kovacevich, Leo Nucci, Wang Yuja and Han-Na Chang. Maestro Lorin Maazel praised the orchestra as 'a hard-working excellence with great passion' after a series of concerts and the NCPA's new La Traviata in June 2010.
In its first season of 2011, China NCPA Orchestra gained critical acclaim for its performances in NCPA's new productions of Tosca (directed by Giancarlo Del Monaco), The Barber of Seville (co-produced with Castleton Festival), Die Fledermaus, and a new composed opera The Chinese Orphan. Apart from that, the orchestra was also deeply involved in NCPA's 2011 Gustav Mahler Project. Under the batons of maestros including Christoph Eschenbach, Yoel Levi, Jun Maerkl and Chen Zuohuang, the orchestra completed Mahler's Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10.
In the season of 2012, China NCPA Orchestra won a highly successful acclaim for two NCPA's new productions: Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin, both Wagner's operas were Chinese Premiere. It continually collaborates with prominent musicians around the world for concert programs, including Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier and the legendary pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.
In addition to its extensive domestic performances, the NCPA Orchestra also received a widespread international praise in 2012. The orchestra was invited by Kissingen Summer Music Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in July 2012, and kicked off his first German tour in Nürnberg, Hamburg and Berlin under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach and Chen Zuohuang. This was followed by a successful concert at the Sydney Opera House with Maestro Chen Zuohuang in November.
In the season of 2013, the NCPA orchestra presents colorful programs on the commemoration of Wagner, Verdi and Britten, highlighting the Ring without words with 12 principals from Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel. NCPA's new opera productions that the orchestra is involved include Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Otello and Nabucco, which features his second successful collaboration with Placido Domingo.
The NCPA orchestra aims to build up a world-class orchestra with operation and management conforming to global practices while incorporating Chinese characteristics. Devoted to educational and outreach activities, the Orchestra also has presented a series of Weekend Matinee Concerts since its establishment. With specially selected repertoire, performances of high quality and extremely low ticket prices, these concerts have won great acclaim from both audience and critics. The orchestra is now embarking on a similar path with the complete Beethoven symphonies with Maestro Lu Jia.
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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.
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.