Chinese soprano Ying Fang has been praised as “indispensable at the Met in Mozart” (The New York Times) and for “a voice that can stop time, pure and rich and open and consummately expressive” (Financial Times). This season, Fang makes her role debut as the title role in a new production of Handel’s Theodora at Grand Théâtre de Genève and returns to The Metropolitan Opera as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier as well as Lyric Opera of Chicago as Norina in Don Pasquale. She continues her illustrious concert career in performances with NHK Symphony conducted by Fabio Luisi, Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Donald Runnicles, and Vienna Philharmonic.
Last season, Fang made her house debut at Houston Grand Opera in the US premiere of Robert Wilson’s staged version of Mozart’s arrangement of Handel’s celebrated Messiah, conducted by Patrick Summers, and sang Ilia in Idomeneo with Wiener Staatsoper. In the U.S., she joined the San Francisco Symphony and Manfred Honeck for Mozart’s Requiem alongside mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, and appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Nézet-Séguin for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in both Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall. She also recorded Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Pittsburgh Symphony with Mo. Honeck, and joined the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy for a concert of all Mozart, which is released by Chandos Records as the first of four all-Mozart discs. Further highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Andris Nelsons, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Pamina in Simon McBurney’s production of Die Zauberflöte under conductor Raphaël Pichon, and Baden-Baden Festival where she joined Yannick Nézet-Séguin for performances of Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Requiem and a lieder recital. She also appeared at the Verbier Festival in Bach’s Mass in B minor and made her role debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi alongside Bryn Terfel in the title role. At the Salzburg Festival, she joined Riccardo Muti in Bruckner’s Mass No. 3 in F minor.
In recent seasons, Fang made her house debut at the Royal Opera Covent Garden as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro in a production by Sir David McVicar, followed by a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago for the same role. She debuted at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and made her role debut as Marzelline in Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera opposite Lise Davidsen, conducted by Susanna Mälkki and broadcasted as part of The Met Live in HD series. She also sang Ilia in Idomeneo in her house debut at San Francisco Opera. On the concert stage, she joined the Sydney Symphony and Sir Donald Runnicles for Mahler’s 4th symphony and Lieder of Richard Strauss, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons as Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s Eighth symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal and Yannick Nézet-Séguin for her first Beethoven 9, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Raphaël Pichon at Carnegie Hall for a program of Schubert, Schumann, and Weber. She toured with Ensemble Pygmalion and Mo. Pichon, bringing Bach’s Johannespassion to venues including Teatro alla Scala, Notre-Dame de Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. She toured with NHK Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, bringing Mahler’s 4th Symphony to the Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Dresden Kulturpalast, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp.
Fang has performed with conductors James Levine, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andrew Davis, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel, Raphaël Pichon, Carlo Rizzi, Alan Gilbert, James Gaffigan, Gianandrea Noseda, Emmanuelle Haïm, Nathalie Stutzmann, Manfred Honeck, Philippe Jordan, Robin Ticciati, and Sir Donald Runnicles. She has sung at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Santa Fe Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Opéra de Lille, Dutch National Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and Washington National Opera in such varied operas as Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna), L’elisir d’amore (Adina), Alcina (Morgana), Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Bellezza), Tannhäuser (Shepherd), Falstaff (Nannetta), Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra), Il Viaggio A Reims (Contessa di Folleville), Zaïde (title role), The Nose (Madame Podtochina’s Daughter), and Don Giovanni (Zerlina). Concert engagements have included appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, New World Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Music of the Baroque Orchestra in works such as Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 2 and 4, Handel’s Messiah, Telemann’s Der Tag des Gerichts, Handel’s Silete Venti, Bernstein’s West Side Story, and more. Fang has given performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Alice Tully Hall, as well as with the Verbier Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Ravinia Festival, and has appeared in recital at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, Cal Performances, and The Dallas Opera.
A native of Ningbo, China, Ms. Fang is the recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award, the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, the Rose Bampton Award of The Sullivan Foundation, The Opera Index Award, and First Prize of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. In 2009, she become one of the youngest singers to win one of China’s most prestigious awards – the China Golden Bell Award for Music. She has been hailed as “the most gifted Chinese soprano of her generation” by Ningbo Daily. Ms. Fang holds a Master’s degree and an Artist Diploma in Opera Study from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s degree from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She is a former member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
