Jingma Fan
Tenor

In a BBC publication Jingma Fan was called “…. a tenor who has a voice as charming as those of Pavarotti and the legendary Gigli.” He came to international attention as a prizewinner at the third Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, and when he won a silver medal at the Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition and first prize in the Opera Index vocal Competition in New York.
 
After having graduated from the conservatory in his native China, he stayed on as a professor of voice and music theory. He became a national celebrity overnight after winning China’s first Televised National Vocal Competition. He then went to Italy, where he refined his bel canto technique under the guidance of Carlo Bergonzi and then furthered his studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He also studied with the famed tenor, Franco Corelli.
 
Although he has a special affinity for the Italian repertoire, his wide repertoire includes a variety of roles, from the dramatic to the comic. Recently he has also ventured into the very specialized domain of modern Chinese opera. He has performed all over the world in Europe, Britain, Northern America, Australia, Asia, Russia and Africa in opera and concert, where he delighted audiences with his beautiful voice and truthful and vivid characterizations. Opera Now called his portrayal of Goro in the 1997 release of the film Madam Butterfly (by Frédéric Mitterand and with James Conlon) "worthy of an Oscar nomination".
 
He is also an accomplished recitalist and is particularly appreciated for his warm and true renditions of the Neapolitan songs. Critics and fans alike has the highest praise for the collection of Neapolitan songs which he recorded with the Central Ballet Orchestra of Beijing.
 
Mr. Fan was recently invited by the first lady of France to sing at a cancer benefit concert in the Royal Theatre at the Palace of Versailles.
 
Currently, Mr. Fan has been commissioned to make a series of CDs of "The American Modern Classics".

Jingma Fan’s recent activities have included his appearance at The Lincoln Center Festival in the summer of 2002, in the role of Ye Yan in The Night Banquet, a new opera by Wenjing Guo, and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng. He also performed the opera in Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam and Perth, Australia. In the summer of 2003, he sang the role of Don Ottavio in Don Juan in Prague at the Bard Festival, and in the spring of 2004, he created the role of The Journalist in the new opera by Xu Shuya In Memory of Taiping Lake at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He also did a concert of Verdi Arias as well as the Verdi Requiem with the Summit Symphony. He has recently made his return to China for a series of concerts and recitals, where he has also been featured on various television programs and his career was profiled in a national TV program.