iSING! Festival's 15th Anniversary — Partnering with SKP Wuhan for an Opera Gala
January 7, 2023 — iSING! Festival collaborated with The Philadelphia Orchestra for the first time, presenting Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York. Photo Credits: Chris Lee
Announcing “iSING! Festival's 15th Anniversary”
The iSING! International Young Artists Festival (aka iSING! Festival) is the first international vocal arts festival of its kind in China. Established in 2011, it receives world-recognition across both East and West.
2026 marks the iSING! Festival’s 15th anniversary.
With the mission of Training Western Singers to Sing in Mandarin and Preparing Young Chinese Singers for the Global Stage, the iSING! Festival integrates world-class training, production, and performance. The festival founder and artistic director is renowned opera bass Hao Jiang Tian, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera for over 20 consecutive seasons, with more than 1,400 performances of 50 roles worldwide. iSING! Festival is produced by the non-profit organization Asian Performing Arts Council (APAC) in the United States. Since its inception in 2011, the iSING! Festival has successfully presented over 60 concerts at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, as well as the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Tens of thousands of young singers worldwide have applied for the festival's auditions; more than 400 singers from 38 countries—including outstanding young Chinese singers—have been selected to participate, all receiving full scholarships.
“Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems” presented by iSING!
In January 2020, iSING! Festival launched the iSING! International Composition Competition, inviting young composers worldwide to create modern symphonic and vocal works based on Tang dynasty poetry. After two rounds of judging, 16 works by 14 composers were awarded, and the world premiere of iSING!'s “Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems” was staged in Suzhou.
In 2023, iSING! collaborated with the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra to premiere the “Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems” New Year concert at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and Lincoln Center in New York. Singers from ten countries performed in mandarin famous Tang poems — such as Quiet Thoughts by Night, Drink To Me, and Docking by Bridge at Night. Audiences responded enthusiastically to the concert in both China and the United States.
January 2023 — iSING! and The Philadelphia Orchestra at the North American premiere of the Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems at Lincoln Center, New York.
In October 2023, iSING! partnered with SKP Chengdu to present a grand opera gala, building an open-air opera stage between SKP's signature vintage points "Water Curtain Wall" and "Grand Central Staircase" — Chengdu's first world-class outdoor opera performance.
2023 iSING! SKP Chengdu Opera Night
In November 2023, at the invitation of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, The Philadelphia Orchestra visited China and, together with iSING! Festival, they performed four works from Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems with the China National Symphony Orchestra at the 50th anniversary of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic 1973 Tour of China. The special concert received congratulatory letters from the heads of state of both China and the United States.
November 2023 — Commemorating the 50th-Anniversary of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic 1973 Tour of China with iSING! Festival at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing.
In November 2024, The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to China and joined iSING! Festival singers once more in “Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems”, bringing the world premiere of a Tang poem Spring River Flowers by Moonlight. Commissioned by the China International Culture Association and The Philadelphia Orchestra, the work was composed by American composer Mason Bates, conducted by Maestro Marin Alsop at the Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.
American soprano Maureen Kelly and Latvian baritone Valdis Jansons perform
Spring River Flowers by Moonlight.
In February 2026, marking iSING! Festival's 15th anniversary, Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems made its European debut in London — the start of a cross-cultural poetic journey reaching ever more stages.
Group photo of the London organizers, distinguished guests, and all the artists.
With a Spirit of Public Service — Nurturing the Next Generation of Vocal Talent
For fifteen years, iSING! Festival nurtures young singers with both Eastern and Western cultural perspectives. The festival is a not-for-profit group: every carefully selected young singer receives a full scholarship, and the Festival provides stipend and cover performance expenses on travel and hotel accommodations.
To date, more than 20 singers trained by iSING! Festival have taken leading roles at major opera houses around the world; seven iSING! singers are soloists at the Metropolitan Opera. iSING! will continue to build bridges for young vocal talent worldwide to reach the international stage, using song to bridge different cultures and connects the world.
This Fall, Reuniting with SKP — A Date in Wuhan
In October 2026, iSING! Festival will once again partner with SKP to present a world-class opera gala at SKP Wuhan. Following the acclaim of the 2023 SKP Chengdu Opera Gala, iSING! brings this artistic rendezvous of fashion and opera from the "Rongcheng" (Chengdu) to the "Jiangcheng" (Wuhan), continuing a cross-over dialogue between classic opera and fashion. On the evenings of October 21 and 22, 2026, seventeen outstanding young singers from eight countries will gather at SKP Wuhan to present a musical feast spanning the classics of East and West.
A World-Class Creative Team
In this opera gala, the legendary opera director Hugo De Ana, will return to be the stage director, set designer, and costume designer. Paolo Mazzon of the Arena di Verona will be our lighting designer; Michele Cosentino will be our choreographer. Katherine Chu, Dean of Tianjin Juilliard School, serves as Music Director and Head Coach. Conductor Ding Yuan, Principal Resident Conductor of the China National Opera House, will lead the Hubei Symphony Orchestra, performing alongside the 17 iSING! singers from 8 countries, the choir of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, and dancers from the Wuhan Sports Dance Art School. iSING! Festival Artistic Director Hao Jiang Tian serves as Producer and Artistic Director of the opera gala.
Program Highlights
Seventeen young singers from eight countries — China, the United States, Italy, Canada,
Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic — will perform arias from the
great masters, including Offenbach, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Mascagni, Catalani, and
Rossini:
Légende de Kleinzack
Duetto e Barcarola
Jacques Offenbach From LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN
Noi siamo zingarelle
Giuseppe Verdi From LA TRAVIATA
Recitativo and Aria: Fin ch’han dal vino
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart From DON GIOVANNI
Sull'aria
Fandango
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart From LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
O mio babbino caro
Lauretta mia sempre qui
Giacomo Puccini From GIANNI SCHICCHI
Intermezzo
Viva! il vino sfumeggiante
Pietro Mascagni From CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Ebben, ne andrò lontana
Alfredo Catalani From LA WALLY
Largo al factotum
Ma, Signor
Gioachino Rossini From IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA
Signore, ascolta!
Non piangere, Liù!
Giacomo Puccini From TURANDOT
