Founded in 1952 and affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the China National Opera House (“CNOH”) has become the largest, best-staffed and most influential state-level arts troupe in the Asia Pacific’s region.

In the past 60 plus years of development, the CNOH has created a myriad of phenomenal plays, recognized by more than 100 national level prizes, including the “Five-One Project” Award, Wenhua Award, Wenhua New Play Award, Wenhua Performing Award, etc. CNOH has delivered successful performances at major events in China, including the BRICS Summit, Boao Forum for Asia, the APEC Summit, the Celebration for the 20^th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to China, and the 19^th CPC National Congress, etc. CNOH has performed world classic operas including Turandot, La Dame aux Camélias, Carmen, Der Ring Des Nibelungen, etc.; commissioned excellent operas including The White-Haired Girl, Marco Polo, Hongbang Tailors, The Red Army Fearless of The Long March, Red Detachment of Women, Manas, Destiny, The Road, XIAO Hong, etc., as well as original dance dramas such as Mulan.

With a pioneering spirit and open-mindedness in going global, the CNOH remains active on the global art exchange stage on behalf of China, and has given brilliant performances at the Palace of the United Nations, the Festival Puccini, the Budapest Spring Music Festival, the Ljubljana Festival, etc., amplifying the voice of China worldwide.

The CNOH’s Opera Troupe, Chorus, Symphony Orchestra, Stage Art Design & Production Centre and Stage Design Factory are home to a line-up of singers, performers, composers, conductors, directors, librettists and set designers who are greatly influential at home and abroad. The CNOH is headed by President LIU Yunzhi (noted violinist), Vice President ZHENG Qichao, Vice President YAO Hong (noted singer), Vice President LI Danyang, and Deputy Party Secretary and Disciplinary Inspection Secretary WANG Xiaohong.

The China National Opera House is directly under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The CNOH Chorus is one of the main sections of the Opera House and is the largest and most influential professional chorus in China. As one of the most active and popular choruss in China’s opera scene and all kinds of concerts, it is well received by audiences and the media.

Since its inception, the chorus has remained active on the opera and concert stages. In addition to its expertise in opera, the chorus regularly presents domestic and foreign works from different periods, such as those by Beethoven and Prokofiev, and frequently holds choral concerts of operatic works and other artworks.

In terms of opera composition, the chorus has participated in the performance of many national operas including WANG Gui and LI Xiangxiang, LIU Hulan, Song of the Prairie, Spring Thunder, Clouds of Missing, Ayiguli, The Great Wall in Southern China Sea, The God Protecting Flowers and The Hundredth Bride, which were kindly received and encouraged by the Party and State leaders. The chorus has also introduced famous foreign operas to the Chinese audience, such as La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, The Vendor and the Lady, Eugene Onegin, Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen, La Bohème, Pagliacci, The Taming of the Shrew, Rigoletto, Turandot, Cavalleria Rusticana and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In recent years, the chorus has staged operas DU Shiniang, Farewell My Concubine, Love Song of Rawap, Dream of the Mountains and Forests, The Xinhai Revolution, The Nine Songs of Yinzhou, Taihang, My Mother, The Red Army Fears Not the Trials of the Long March, and a revival of the opera The White-Haired Girl, which were all enthusiastically praised by the audiences. In 2009, the chorus was invited to appear in a production of Turandot directed by ZHANG Yimou at the National Stadium Bird’s Nest and in Taiwan. Since 2010, the chorus has performed in Syria, Turkey, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Korea and Thailand, receiving high praise from local experts and audiences alike. From 2011 onwards, the China National Opera House produced the very challenging Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser and his masterpiece Ring cycle. The chorus’s excellent performance in these operas contributed greatly to the awards won by the Opera House in the first China Opera Festival. Some of the productions mentioned above have won awards from the former Ministry of Culture.

The China National Opera House Chorus is a highly trained and professional ensemble. It has built up a wide repertoire of operas and concert pieces through its many years of performances. The chorus boasts a large proportion of national first and second-class performers; it is well received wherever it goes. Today, the chorus features many outstanding young singers who continue to win prizes and distinguish themselves in major international vocal competitions and are increasingly active on the opera and concert stages in China and abroad.