Bass Bariton: Shenyang
As the winner of the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Shenyang came immediately to international attention and a string of high-profile debuts ensued including at Glyndebourne Festival, Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich and Washington National Opera. While his early career focused principally on the operas of Rossini, Mozart and Handel, recent seasons have seen a shift to a more dramatic repertoire. A range of recent debuts has been met with exceptional acclaim: Don Pizarro (Fidelio) with Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel and with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under Paavo Järvi; Jochanaan (Salome) with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Liebreich; Gunther (Götterdämmerung) with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden (released on Naxos), Klingsor (Parsifal) at La Monnaie under Alain Altinoglu and Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) at Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms, conducted by Robin Ticciati. In 2023, Shenyang gave his first performances as Wotan in Wagner’s Das Rheingold in concert with Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sun Yifan.
Highlights of the 2023/24 season include Shenyang’s house debut at Opéra national de Paris as Heerufer in a new staging of Lohengrin under the baton of Alexander Soddy, a European tour of Fidelio with Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel and a return to Glyndebourne Festival as Kurwenal (Ticciati). In concert, he sings Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the world-premiere of Aaron Zigman’s Émigré with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and subsequently New York Philharmonic, both with conductor Yu Long.
The concert stage has always played an important role in this versatile artist’s seasons with recent highlights including Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons, Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with Berliner Philharmoniker/Daniel Harding, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with Orchestre national de Lyon/Simone Young and at Bergen International Festival with Ed Gardner, Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest/Marc Albrecht, Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death with Helsinki Philharmonic/Klaus Mäkelä and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin and New York Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert.
A strong champion of the vocal treasures of his homeland, Shenyang created the title role in Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion at Dresdner Musikfestspiele with subsequent performances with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras under the composer’s own baton. He performed and recorded Xiaogang Ye’s orchestral song cycle The Song of the Earth for Deutsche Grammophon (Yu Long). Other recordings feature A Lost World, a showcase of Schubert songs and duets together with soprano Susanna Phillips and pianist Brian Zeger released on Delos. A recipient of the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Award for his commitment to Lieder, last season Shenyang presented his beautifully curated programme Variations of Jade – The Journey of Tang Poetry at the Macau International Music Festival, Shanghai Symphony Hall and Wigmore Hall receiving praise from audiences and press alike, the Guardian writing “Shenyang communicated emotions vividly, the voice velvet and phrasing always elegant, even in the impassioned outbursts.”
