NCPA Opera Festival 2015
Venue
Dates
Duration
Approximate 165 mins (Intermission Included)About
Synopsis
Conductor
Artist
Presenter
L'elisir d'Amore is a classic creation of the renowned Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti. It was premiered in Milan on May 12, 1832. During 30 years in his life, Donizetti, a very productive opera composer, created more than 70 operas. One of his most excellent operas was finished with only seven days and another with only six weeks. Donizetti's most popular operas include Lucia Di Lammermoorr (1833), Don Pasquale (1843), L'elisir d'Amore (1832) and La Fille du Regiment (1840), which were all finished in the 10 years of his most active creation period. During the 30 to 40 years in 19th century, Donizetti and Bellini were the major figures among the whole Italian opera circle. Donizetti and Bellini both have strong ability in melody composition. However, Donizetti is better in dramatic aspect and his orchestration is more outstanding and thoroughly considered due to the instruction of his teacher Simon Mayr, which also depends on Donizetti's extreme familiarity with all kinds of musical instruments. There is an example of his good application in instrumental casting: In Nemorino's famous aria Una furtiva lagrima in L'elisir d'Amore, Donizetti uses bassoon to lead out the aria with harp as the background.
Credits
Conductor: Pier Giorgio Bruno Morandi
Director: Pier Francesco Maestrini
Set Design: Juan Guillermo Nova
Costume Design: Wei Chunyan
Lighting Design: Vinicio Cheli
Cast
Adina by Serena Gamberoni/Huang Ying
Nemorino by Francesco Meli/Zhang Jianyi
Belcore by Liu Songhu/Wang Hexiang
Dr Dulcamara by Enzo Capuano/Filippo Polinelli
Giannetta by Ma Min
A poor peasant Nemorino is in love with Adina but the beautiful landowner torments Nemorino with her indifference. Nemorino is also afraid she loves the self-important Sergeant Belcore who appears with his regiment and immediately proposes marriage to Adina in front of everyone.
The traveling quack salesman, Dulcamara arrives, selling his bottled 'love potion' to the townspeople. Nemorino drinks it, feeling its effects immediately. His confidence that he will win Adina causes him to act indifferently toward her. This upsets Adina and she ups the ante as well by agreeing to Sergeant Belcore's alternate suggestion: that they marry immediately as he has just received orders that the regiment must ship off the next morning.
Nemorino realizes that he has lost Adina. He sees the Doctor and begs him for another 'love potion'. When Nemorino says he has no money Belcore immediately suggests that if he joins the army he'll be paid immediately.
When Nemorino says he's seeking a better life in the army, Adina responds by telling him he is loved and that she has purchased his military contract. Seeing the two in an embrace, the Sergeant leaves. Dr. Dulcamara's potion makes him a rich man.
Pier Giorgio Morandi studied composition at Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, and as conductor at Salzburg Mozarteum with Maestro Ferdinand Leitner. He played for ten years as principal oboist in Orchestra del TeatroallaScala in Milan, during which period, he was assistant conductor of Mr. Riccardo Muti later of Mr. Giuseppe Patanè.
In 1987 he studied in USA (Tanglewood) with Maestro Leonard Bernstein and Maestro Ozawa Seiji. In the same year, he won the "Tanglewood Competition", known as "Bernstein Prize". In 1989 he became Principal Conductor at Teatrodell'Opera in Rome, where he conducted Ernani, Madama Butterfly and several symphonic concerts. In 1990 he recorded his first opera with Roma Opera House: Don Chisciotte by Paisiello. From 1991 and for the following five years, he was Principal Guest Conductor at Budapest National Opera House.
Morandi has a wide Italian opera repertoire and he has been working as regular guest conductor in all the major opera houses in Italy, Europe and worldwide: La Maestranza in Seville, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, National Opera Theatre in Seoul, Colon in Buenos Aires, Stockholm Royal Opera House, Theatre Royal de La Monnaie in Brussels, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper in Frankfurt, Staatsoper in Vienna, Macerata Opera Festival, Arena di Verona, Zurich Opera House, TeatroRegio di Parma, Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Copenhagen Royal Opera House, Seattle Opera, Albert Hall in London.
He also conducted several symphonic concerts with London Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Radio Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest State Orchestra, Flamish Radio Orchestra, Roma's Santa Cecilia Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Filarmonico di Verona, Reggio Calabria Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has been Principal Guest Conductor at Stockholm Royal Opera House. He is also at present Principal Guest Conductor at Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra.
Most recent highlights include Aida in Oslo and in Qatar, Tosca in Stockholm, L'elisir D'amore, La Bohème and Don Carlo in Dresden, Maria Stuarda in Frankfurt, and Un Ballo in Maschera in Stockholm.
His future plans include: La fanciulla del West in Frankfurt, a symphonic concert at Musikverein in Graz, Madama Butterfly in Dresden, Rigoletto in Naples, Attila at Palace of Arts in Budapest, Otello in Copenhagen, Macbeth at La Scala, Manon Lescaut at New National Theatre in Tokyo.
Pier Francesco Maestrini made his NCPA debut as the revival director of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He has been the director of NCPA's Don Pasquale.
Born in Firenze, Italian opera director Pier Francesco Maestrini started his career in 1993, at Tokyo's Bunkamura Orchard Hall, with Rossini's masterpiece Il Barbiere di Siviglia, starring Angelo Romero, Rockwell Blake and Alfonso Antoniozzi. By then, he staged over 80 productions in Italy and around the world, from baroque repertoire to Italian verismo. In 2013, opens with Otello in Modena, Pavarotti and Freni's hometown, where expert opera fans and qualified reviewers acclaimed the production. 2012 saw his vampire version of Don Giovanni having a huge impact on Chilean audience, where stunning sets and costumes matched the strong concept behind the unusual but logical parallel between two eternal myths: Mozart's libertine and Bram Stoker's Dracula. In the same year his Rigoletto in Rio de Janeiro, delivered a desperate and suffered portrayal of Verdi's hunch backed.
In June 2012, L'elisir d'amore in Maribor was a huge success entertaining a surprised audience with an unexpected Country-western version of Donizetti's masterpiece, that was considered one of the best operas staged in their Slovenian National Theatre. In 2011 again in Maribor for La Forza del Destino. The movie-like production earned great consents among audience and critics, and has been restaged in April, 2013 in Liege, Belgium.
Another landmark was achieved in 2010 with Attila at the Verdi Opera Festival of Parma, played in the small theatre of Busseto, Verdi's hometown. As for the previous Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the production has animated movie projections especially featured in 3D computer graphic, in a fantasy like style for the great response from the audience that led the production to be considered the best of the year.
2010 was the year of a large project, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, that was performed over 100 times in Brasil, in every major town, produced by the Companhia Brasileira de Opera. His idea of animated cartoons interacting with the singers was highly entertaining either for adults and children, and gained large popularity even in a country where opera is considered only a happening for a selected audience.
Born in Jerez de La Frontera, Spain, Juan Guillermo Nova graduated in the former Escola de Arte de Santo Domingo in Art History and technical and artistic drawing; and in Escuela Trazos, in digital post-production and 3D projection. He started his career at Teatro Real de Madrid and collaborated with maestro Hugo de Ana's opera productions as scenic assistant. Later on he started working on his own set designs. He worked in Fausto's production at the Teatro Regio di Parma; Tosca at Arena di Verona; La Bohème at Teatro Colón; Don Quixote's ballet, A Viúva Alegre e L'Elisir d'Amore in Slovenia; and La Forza del Destino in ópera Royal de Wallonie. In 2012 he worked as set designer in Don Giovanni at Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile. In 2013 he became technical director at Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, where he also designed sets for Jupyra/Cavalleria Rusticana and Don Giovanni. In 2014 he was the set designer for L'italiana in Algeri at the Maribor Slovene National Theatre; and for Carmen and Cavalleria/ Pagliacci at the Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, where he will be designing his following works: Manon Lescaut and Cosi fan tutte.
From 2011 to 2013, Vinicio Cheli has been the lighting designer for NCPA productions of Tosca, Der Fliegende Hollander, Un Ballo in Maschera, Lohengrin, Otello and L'Italiana in Algeri.
From 1974 to 1979, Vinicio Cheli works at the 'Maggio Musicale Fiorentino' involved in all productions. Since 1979 he joined the 'Piccolo Teatro' of Milan and became the light collaborator of Giorgio Strehler , he making the entire production of Piccolo until 1989. Since 1987, for four years, he worked with the 'Rossini Opera Festival' to produce shows with several directors.
At the same time since 1989 he worked at the Salzburg Festival, Theatre Champs-Elysees, Chalet Theatre in Paris with the set design by Pier Luigi Pizzi, then respondeed to the La Scala in Milan. Recollaborated some years with the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
The 90s of the last century saw himwork in the Opera Bastille, National Theatre of Prague,Festival of Aix en Provance, Ravenna Festival, the Opera of Monte Carlo, Opera of Geneva, Maggio Musical Fiorentino, Baroque Festival of Versailles, Opera Garnier in Paris, Easter Festival in Salzburg, Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Atticus Theater in Athens, Ginza Saison Theater in Tokyo, Theatre of the axes of Brussels, Amsterdam Opera, Teatro Comunale of Bologna, Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, Opera of Toulouse, National Theatre of Catalunya in Barcelona,Teatro Real Madrid, Metropolitain in New York, and collaborated with P.L.Pizzi,Ezio, Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, KM Gruber, Henning Brockaus, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, to name just a few.
In the new miennium, Vinicio Cheli continued to expand his collaboration with Ezio Frigerio, Hugo de Ana, F. Zeffirelli, V. Gergiev, Claudio Abbado, Nicola Joel, Quirino Conti, Mario Gas, in productions covering a vast realm of the opera repertoire.
In 2010, he set up La donna del lago of Rossini direqued by Luis Pasqual with scenes by Ezio Frigerio and costumes by Franca Squarciapino; Boris Godunojv directed by Andrei Konchalovsky
In the beginning of 2011, he worked in Senso a new opera directed scenes and costumes by Hugo De Ana. July 2011 'Medea' directed by Theodorakis in Syros Festival of the Aegean. In November of 2011, he worked in 'The sleeping beauty', first ballet of reopening of Bolshoi Theater. Vinicio Cheli also taught theatrical lighting at the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and at the Professional School of La Scala.
After graduating in violin with Maestro Zoran Milenkovic, she has begun the opera singing studies at the 'F. A. Bomporti' School of Music in Trento in 1996. In 1999 she has graduated in Singing at the Riva del Garda School of Music, with M° Paola Fornasari, and has also attended classes held by Franca Mattiucci, Luigi Alva, Renato Bruson, Piero Cappuccilli, Maria Chiara, Ghena Dimitrova and Gabriella Tucci. She studied with soprano Alida Ferrarini and actually with Raina Kabaivanska.
In 2000 she has made her debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni in Verona, replied in several cities, and taken part at Rigoletto in Turin as well as at several solo concerts for the Voice Academy in Turin.
In 2004, after winning several International Competitions, she has won the at the European 'Aslico' Competition, and made her debut as Adina in L'elisir d'amore and Sophie in Werther. She has then made her debut as Gilda in Rigoletto in Caracas, aside Aquiles Machado.
She has made her debut at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova as Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, where she has then been Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in 2005, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera in 2006 and Norina in Don Pasquale, as well as in Parma with Mendelssohn's Lobgesang and in St.Gallen in an opera gala. She made her debut in Turin with L'elisir d'amore, in Bologna and Montpellier in Orfeo ed Euridice aside Roberto Alagna, released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophone, and in Così fan tutte in Parma. She has sung Musetta in La Bohéme in Turin and Stresa conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, L'elisir d'amore in Catania, Ancona and Verona, Falstaff at the Rome Opera and in Verona, Werther in Parma, Die Zauberfl?te and Romeo et Juliette in Cremona and recitals in Japan.
She has been Musetta in La Bohéme in new productions at the Arena di Verona as well as Macerata, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera in Parma Verdi Festival for twice, Turin, Arena di Verona and for her debuts at La Scala and Covent Garden.
Huang Ying has established herself as one of the world's most sought after sopranos today with an international career both in opera and on the concert stage. She first came to international attention at age 27, when she made a sensational debut as Cio-Cio San in Frédéric Mitterrand's 1995 acclaimed feature film Madame Butterfly. Another notable achievement was her creation of the role of Du Liniang in Tan Dun's Peony Pavilion in a 1998 world premiere production at the Vienna Festival directed by world renowned director, Peter Sellars.
Huang Ying marked her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Pamina in the 2006-2007 season singing in the new English language version of The Magic Flute which also was the MET's first high-definition simulcast in movie theaters across North America and the United Kingdom. She has also sung this role with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra with Ton Koopman. Ms Huang is one of the most in-demand soprano for portrayals of Mozart roles, such as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaroand Zerlina in Don Giovanni. In July 2007, she performed in the world premiere of Chinese OperaPoet Li Bai with Central City Opera.
In the 2008-2009 Season, Ms Huang returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing performances of Amor in Orfeoed Euridice and Giannette in L'Elisir d'Amore. In the 2009-2010 Season, she performed the title role in Semele at Théatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels Belgium, followed by performances as Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute with Opera Hong Kong. She then performs the title role in the world premiere of Zhou Long's Madame White Snake, with Opera Boston.
Ms. Huang has been in demand in symphonic repertoire, performing with the Chicago, San Francisco, Mostly Mozart Festival, Houston, Detroit Symphony Orchestras and the Cologne Philharmonic under the baton of such conductors as Christoph Eschenbach, Neeme Jarvi, Michael Tilson Thomas and James Conlon.
She has also made many special appearances, including a gala concert with Andrea Bocelli in 2008 for the 2010 Shanghai Expo, and Christmas in Vienna, a television special with Placido Domingo. She recently performed with the Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore and the Montreal Symphony inThe Lord of the Rings: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus.
As an artist for Sony Classical, Huang Ying has recorded the soundtrack of Madame Butterfly,Operatic Arias with James Conlon and the London Symphony Orchestra, and Bitter Love, a collection of songs composed and conducted by Tan Dun. Her most recent Sony release includes Roger Waters' Ca Ira with Bryn Terfel and Paul Groves.
Ms. Huang maintains an active career in Asia, singing many solo and orchestral performances throughout China, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. She is a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and now a regular special guest soloist at the Shanghai Opera House and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. She is widely considered one of China's pre-eminent cultural ambassador and singer.
Born in Genova in 1980, he started his singing studies at the age of seventeen with soprano Norma Palacios at his hometown's conservatory.
In 2002 he debuted in Macbeth, Petite Messe Solemnelle and Puccini's Messa di gloria at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto and then he sings in Lisbon, Bologna, Venice, Florence, Naples, Verona and Turin.
He made his debut at La Scala in Les dialogues des Carmelites under the baton of M° Riccardo Muti and he returns again later on for the productions of Otello, Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, Maria Stuarda and Der Rosenkavalier.
In 2005 he sang at the opening season at Rossini Opera Festival in a new production of Bianca e Falliero and at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa in Don Giovanni.
He debuted in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Zurich, in Don Giovanni in Paris and at the Barbican, La sonnambula in Lyon released on CD by Virgin with Natalie Dessay, in Così fan tutte in Wien under the baton of M° Riccardo Muti, where he comes back later on for a new production of Anna Bolena, in Maometto II in Tokyo and in Rigoletto in London.
Since 2009 he leaves bel canto repertoire replacing it with other lyric roles: after his debut in I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Simon Boccanegra and Werther in Parma, he sang again I Lombardi alla prima crociata in Macerata, Rigoletto at Met in New York, Simon Boccanegra in Wien, Un ballo in maschera in Parma, Il Trovatore at Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, debuted in Werther in Washington and in I due Foscari in Los Angeles.
In Verdi's year 2013 he sang for the opening season at Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and in a new production of Simon Boccanegra conducted by M° Riccardo Muti.
He sings as a solist in many recitals in London, Tokyo, Oslo, Poznan and in Verdi's Requiem conducted by Daniele Gatti, Lorin Maazel, Gianandrea Noseda and Yuri Temirkanov.
He records a DVD of Verdi's Requiem, Anna Bolena for Deutsche Grammophone and I Lombardi alla prima crociata for Unitel.
Among his recent and future engagements: four Verdi's titles with Riccardo Muti in Rome, Chicago and Salzburg, Un ballo in maschera at Accademia di Santa Cecilia under the baton of Antonio Pappano, Il Trovatore in Salzburg, La Traviata in Paris, I due Foscari in London, Verdi's Requiem in London, Turin and Parma, Ernani at Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and at Met, Giovanna d'arco and Carmen at La Scala and several comebacks in London, Wien, Paris, Washington, New York, Verona, Parma, Turin and Milan.
Tenor Zhang Jianyi is a regular guest at the world's leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, National Opéra Paris-Bastille, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, National Opéra de Lyon, Teatro Comunale di Firenze,Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, Seattle Opera, New York City Opera, and many more.
Mr. Zhang is the only Chinese singer who represented by the world most famous classical music recording company of Universal. Along with his world-wide published solo album – "Great Tenor Arias" by Decca label, he also recorded a live performance of the role of Leopold in Vienna State Opera's La Juive on DVD for the DG label of Universal. Recently, he has also partnered with the recording company Denon where he made the Liszt's Faust Symphony with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Five individual albums of art song, include various languuages such as French, Italian, German and Chinese, which published by Shanghai Music Publishing House.
Mr. Zhang is currently regarded as one of the finest interpreters of the role Gounod's Faust. He has performed the role as his debut with the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper Munichand National Opéra Paris-Bastille. He also sang Faust for Washington Opera, Seattle Opera, Miami Greand Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Pacific, Savonlinna Opera Festival, New Jersey State Opera, Chatele Music Theater of Paris, and the most cultural activity of China-French by Shanghai Great Theater.
Mr. Zhang is a graduate from the Julliard Opera Centre and Shanghai Conservatory of Music. His lifelong achievement awards include winning the 1st prize at Belvedere International Opera Competition in Vienna in 1984 as well as a grant winner of Pavarotti International Vocal Competition in Philadelphia in 1988, and the First Prize Winner MEF Vocal Contest, Sullivan Award, the Opera Index Vocal Contest of NY, and the Winner of MET Audition and Liderklause Foudation all in 1989.
As NCPA's resident baritone, Liu Songhu has sang in NCPA's productions of A Village Teacher, Xi Shi, Turandot, Die Fledermaus, Lohengrin, Un Ballo in Maschera, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, L'italina in Algeri, Pagliacci, Don Pasquale, and Der Rosenkavalier.
He was an associate professor of the Academy of Opera, Peking University, had been the resident solo of Nurnberg State Opera and visiting lecturer of Nurnberg Academy of Music. So far, he has starred in over 500 operas, with The Fall of the House of Usher been elected as the annual 'Best Opera' by the German Ministry of Culture. In addition, he won a series of awards at German 'New Voice' International Voice Competition, Toulouse International Voice Competition and other competitions. In 2007, as the first Chinese singer, he won the top award at the Germany 'La Voce' International Artistic Songs Competition.
Wang Hexiang is a resident opera singer of NCPA. He graduated from China Central Conservatory, where he studied with renowned bass-baritone Zhao Dengying. He has sung roles of many operas presented by NCPA, including Gianni Schicchi (Betto), Carmen (Zuniga), Xi Shi (Fan Li), La Cenerentola (Dandini), Un Ballo in Maschera (Cristiano), and Ballad of the Canal(Zhang Suiyao), etc. Invited by Opera Troupe of Central Political Department of PLA, he has performed in the national tour of Daughter of the CCP. Wang has been acclaimed by Italian conductor Andrea Licata as a potential Rossini Baritone. He sung many themed songs of film and television show, like World Community in the film Confucius and Long Journey. In 2013, he visited France, presenting a solo performance opening a Poems Evening Gala commemorating the Sino-French diplomatic relationship organized by UNESCO in Paris.
Enzo Capuano was born in Catanzaro. Graduated in Industrial Chemistry, in 1980 he enrolled at the "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory in Milan where he graduated first in electronic music and then, in 1985, in singing. After 1986, he studied with the soprano, Maria Luisa Cioni. Since then, he has sung at the Rossini Opera Festival at the La Scala theatre, Bordeaux, Bologna, Firenze, Toulon, Montpellier, Venezia, Parma, Palermo, Genova, Roma, Napoli, Bilbao, Siviglia, Toronto, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Torino, Trieste, Toulouse, Innsbruck, Montecarlo, Praga and Budapest.
Enzo Capuano has taken part in audio and video recordings of Les Vêpres siciliennes, La Traviata and Lodoiska with Riccardo Muti and of La Gazza Ladra with Luigi Gelmetti, Npzze Istriane with Severini, Stabat Mater di Dvorak with Kovacev, Manon Lesacaut with S. Mercurio La Stellidaura vendicante with A. De Marchi, Andrea Chenier, La Sonnambula with m° Ferro, La cenerentola .
His future engagement include Cenerentola in Salzburg with Cecilia Bartoli, Barbiere di Siviglia in Dresden, and Cenerentola in Hamburg.
Born in Tortona in 1984, he began his studies as a bass to continue them as a baritone. In 2006 he undertook his professional activity, debuting in Massenet'sManon Lescaut at La Scala, in Verdi’s Otello in Rovigo, at Teatro Sociale of Bolzano, Rimini, Ravenna, Trento, Livorno and in Savona.
In 2007 he debuted in Teatro Regio of Parma in La Pietradelparagone by G. Rossini, in La Gazzetta by G. Rossini and in Don Chisciotte by Mercadante at the Bad WildbadBelcanto Opera Festival.
He collaborated with prominent orchestra conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Yuri Temirkanov, Ion Marin, Donato Renzetti, and directors such as Nicolas Jo?l, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Ursel and Karl-Ernst Herman.
His recordings include La Pietra del paragone in DVD with Na?ve, La Gazzetta and Don Chisciotte withNaxos and La Forza del destino with RAI Trade.
In 2009 he sang in Le Convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali at La Scala.
In 2012 he sang in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Petruzzelli with M. Lorin Maazel, Don Pasquale at La Scala and he sang in Tokyo for the Gala Plácido Domingo.
In 2013 he sang in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Royal Opera House Muscat with San Carlo Theatre, Un Giorno di regno at TeatroFilarmonico in Veronasome concerts in United States and La Scala di seta at La Scala.
Some of his future engagements include Don Pasquale,Madama Butterfly and some concerts in Japan and Korea.
Ma Min is deputy chief of Soprano Part of NCPA Choir. She graduated from the PLA Academy of Arts, where she studied under the tutelage of famous mezzo-soprano Liu Shan. During the university, she won the title of Outstanding Student for three consecutive years and obtained scholarship. In 2008, she won gold medal of CCTV Young Singer Grand Prix (Choral Group) as a member of the PLA Academy of Arts Choir. In 2009, she was admitted by NCPA Choir, and has becomes a member of NCPA Choir since then. She stars in more than 30 domestic and foreign classical operas produced by NCPA, and visits South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and other countries and regions as a member of NCPA delegations. She respectively plays the following roles in many works: Gianetta (L'elisir D'amore); Ida (Die Fledermaus), Rural Girl (Xi Shi) and Court Maid (Turandot). She sings in the role of "Concubine Yang" in the oratorio Everlasting Regret. She serves as a soloist and leading singer in many concerts, who is highly praised by the audiences and experts.
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 (NCPA), Beijing. Established in March 2010, the orchestra consists of highly accomplished musicians from around the world, who perform in more than a dozen opera productions presented by its home venue each year as well as in ballets and regular orchestral concerts in its own season. With a notably busy schedule, the young ensemble has fast established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country. Lü Jia took up the post of Chief Conductor in February 2012, succeeding Chen Zuohuang, the current Conductor Laureate, NCPA's Music 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 the highest levels of artistic excellence and takes pride in its long-term collaborations with the finest musicians of our time. Artists associated with the orchestra in the past two years have included Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Gunter Herbig, Gilbert Varga, Lang Lang, Stephen Kovacevich, Leo Nucci, Yuja Wang and Han-Na Chang, among many others. Maestro Lorin Maazel praised the orchestra for its "amazing professionalism and great passion in music'. After working with them in a series of concerts and the NCPA's new production of La Traviata in June 2010. Maestro Christoph Eschenbach also declared it "one of the finestorchestras in Asia".
In 2011 alone, the first season after its establishment, 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 newly commissioned opera The Chinese Orphan. In addition, the orchestra also played a key part in NCPA's 2011 Gustav Mahler Project, performing his Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10 under the batons of Christoph Eschenbach, Yoel Levi, Jun Maerkl and Chen Zuohuang respectively. These were followed by performances of two Wagner operas in 2012, in their Chinese premieres,Der Fliegende Hollander and Lohengrin. Most recently in 2013, the orchestra presented varied programmes marking major anniversaries of Wagner, Verdi and Britten, including a performance of the mammoth Ring without Words under the baton of its creator, Lorin Maazel. It continues to build on important partnerships with prominent musicians such as Mehta, Eschenbach, Ashkenazy, Placido Domingo and the pianist Rudolf Buchbinder.
Most recently, the NCPA Orchestra has flexed its wings on the international stage with high-profile touring work, receiving widespread international praise for its performances. In 2012, the orchestra was invited by Kissingen Summer Music Festival and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and its first German tour continued with concerts in Nürnberg, Hamburg and Berlin, followed by appearances at the Sydney Opera House. In 2013, the orchestra undertook its first Asian tour with concerts in Singapore, Seoul and Macau. During the 2014/15 season, the orchestra has participated in NCPA's opera productions including Eugene Onegin, Aida and Cavalleria Rusticana, as well as appearing on concert stage with conductors and soloists such as Lü Jia, Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Myun-Whung Chung, Anthony Wit, Lang Lang, Wang Jian and Yuja Wang. The orchestra has completed its very first North American tour in November 2014, under the baton of its Chief Conductor Lü Jia.
Box officeNorth Gate of NCPA, No. 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing, China
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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.