Institute for Concert Artists Recital: Jingdan Dani Zhang, Soprano | A Journey from Longing to Belonging

Artist(s)

Jingdan Dani Zhang, soprano

Rafe Lei Schaberg, piano
Yoshino Toi, piano
Ashly Zhang, piano

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Dani Jingdan Zhang is a Hong Kong soprano, born in Shenzhen. She made her debut with Opera Hong Kong as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at Hong Kong City Hall, followed by an acclaimed performance as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Her other operatic roles include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Poppea (Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea), Ruth Baldwin (Later the Same Evening), Ilia (Idomeneo), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), and Nedda (I Pagliacci). She has also performed scenes as Nannetta (Falstaff), Micaëla (Carmen), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), and Cunegonde (Candide). She recently sang Agnes in Ulysses Kay's Frederick Douglass with Odyssey Opera and Valencienne in Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow with Opera Hong Kong. In the upcoming season, she is an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera and an Emerging Artist at Boston Lyric Opera.

As a concert soloist, she made her debut under the baton of Yu Long with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), singing the soprano solo in Fauré’s Requiem at HKU MUSE. During the HK Phil’s 50th anniversary season, she was invited back to perform in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Sylvia Chang and Lio Kuokman, and later appeared as soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria with Chloé Dufresne. In addition, Dani performed Bach’s Mass in B minor in collaboration with the Hong Kong Bach Choir conducted by Jerome Hoberman. In Macao, she performed Bach’s Easter Oratorio and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah with the Macao Orchestra and Learners Chorus. She also featured in the Opera Hong Kong 20th Anniversary Gala Concert, and performed soprano solo in Carmina Burana with the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra under Shinik Hahm at the Sichuan Cultural and Arts Center. At NEC, Zhang appeared as soprano soloist in the Philharmonia’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 under Hugh Wolff. Most recently, she sang the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Santa Cruz Symphony under Daniel Stewart.

Dani has been recognized in both international and national competitions. She is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Boston District) and First Prize winner of the Chinese Golden Bell Award for Music (Hong Kong), the Finalist Award at the 2022 Donizetti International Singing Competition (Italy), the Gold Award at the 2023 PREMIA International Young Artists Music Festival Competition, which also invited her to perform at the Prizewinners Gala Concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. A star of Radio Television Hong Kong’s 2019 Young Music Makers, she has been featured in numerous television and radio productions, including The Sound of Art, The GBA Concert Hall, and the interview series Musicians’ Terrace. As an emerging artist, she performed at the Beijing Great Wall Cultural Festival and the Shenzhen Cultural Center. Dani is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at NEC under the tutelage of Professor Bradley Williams. She graduated with distinction from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under Soprano Nancy Yuen.