Ao Li (; born 8 February 1988) is a Chinese

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

tic

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thre ...

and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in singi ...

who is particularly known for his performances at the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

. In 2013 he won first prize in the

Operalia, The World Opera Competition Plácido Domingo's Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for opera singers. Founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo, the competition's varied prizes have been given to known artists such as Joseph Calleja, Rola ...

and in 2014 he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Life and career

Born in

Dezhou Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei ...

, Shandong, Li earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from

Shandong Normal University Shandong Normal University (, English acronym SDNU) is a university in Jinan City, Shandong Province, China. It is one of the earliest institutions of higher learning established in Shandong Province since the founding of the People's Republic ...

before pursuing graduate studies in the United States at the

University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the ...

. After completing his master's degree, he attended the Canada Vocal Arts Institute and joined the Merola Opera Program at the

(SFO) where he was coached by César Ulloa. He spent three years working with the SFO as an Adler Fellow. He is currently a member of the

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Perform ...

's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. He drew international attention in 2013 when he won the

, and again in 2014 when he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Li made his professional opera debut in 2011 with the SFO as Le Dancaïre in

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

''. His subsequent appearances with the SFO include Ascanio Petrucci in ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Gover ...

'' (2011), Lorenzo in ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian language, Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for ...

'' (2012), Sciarrone in ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dr ...

'' (2012), The Indian Gardener / Ben Weatherstaff in the world premiere of

Nolan Gasser Nolan Ira Gasser (born November 10, 1964) is an American composer, pianist, and musicologist. He was the chief musicologist for Pandora Media, Inc. and the architect of the Music Genome Project, the proprietary musical analysis system that un ...

's ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in '' The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is one of Burnett's most popular novels an ...

'' (2013), and both Fiorello and Don Basilio in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an '' opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was b ...

'' (2013). He was also a featured soloist in a 2013 concert honoring mezzo-soprano

Zheng Cao Zheng Cao (July 9, 1966February 21, 2013) was a Chinese-born, American operatic mezzo-soprano known for her signature role of Suzuki in ''Madama Butterfly''. She performed this role with opera companies such as San Francisco Opera, Grand Thé ...

at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. He has also appeared at the

Seoul Arts Centre The Seoul Arts Center, also referred to as SAC, is an arts complex in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, in South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the ...

in Korea as Gremin in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by A ...

'', and appeared in that same opera as the Captain of the Guards at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in 2014. In 2015 he created the role of Male Soloist No. 4 in the world premiere of

Huang Ruo Huang Ruo (黃若, born 1976) is a Chinese-born composer, pianist and vocalist who now lives in the United States. Biography Born on Hainan Island off the southern coast of China in 1976, Huang was taught piano and composition from the age ...

's '' Paradise Interrupted'' at the

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Du ...

. Li currently teaches on the voice faculty of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ao 1988 births Living people 21st-century Chinese male opera singers Operatic bass-baritones People from Dezhou Shandong Normal University alumni Academic staff of Shandong Normal University University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music alumni Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Operalia, The World Opera Competition prize-winners