From Lieder masters Schubert and Wolf

“Singer of the World” BBC

Winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2007

19th-century German master composers found inspiration in poetry, sparking the genre known as Lieder – music-dramas in which words, melody and accompaniment play equal parts. In an evening dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poetry, Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang sings music composed by two Lieder masters: Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf. His sorrow-laden Harfenspieler and equally emotional Prometheus prove Shenyang has that rare quality which makes a great Lieder singer.

When Shenyang won the coveted BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007, he joined the elite of the opera world, following in the paths of previous winners Bryn Terfel, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Karita Mattila. Reducing BBC commentator and vocal coach Mary King to tears and causing Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to describe his voice as “one in a million”, left no doubt that Shenyang is a star.

A Tribute to Hans Hotter

Shenyang (bass-baritone)
Vlad Iftinca (piano)