Xiaomeng Zhang

Bio

In a critically acclaimed debut as Chou En-lai in Valentina Carracso’s new staging of Nixon in China under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel for Opera de Paris, Xiaomeng Zhang received the highest of praise, “surely the revelation of the evening remains the baritone Xiaomeng Zhang: an incredible vocal prowess for a singer making his debut in Paris, an indestructible technical control, a captivating timbre” (connessi all’opera).

This followed two seasons as a member of Opernhaus Zürich’s elite Opernstudio – where featured roles included Silvio (I pagliacci) under Paolo Carignani and Marullo (Rigoletto) under Karel Mark Chichon. Zhang recently made his first guest appearance there as Ping in Sebastian Baumgarten’s production of Turandot under Marc Albrecht and made his debut as Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) conducted by Riccardo Minasi and as Donner (Das Rheingold) under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda in Andreas Homoki’s new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen

Hailed as “a miracle of vocal focus and controlled fury” as Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) at the Aspen Music Festival, further principal roles in Zhang’s repertoire include Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) for ARE Opera, Schaunard (La bohème) for the Chautauqua Music Festival, and the eponymous hero of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Columbus a role he returned to at the Macau International Music Festival in the 2023/24 season. In the 2024/25 season, Xiaomeng Zhang will debut the role Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus) at the National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing.

In concert, Xiaomeng Zhang has performed as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Queens College Choral Society, Yellow River Cantata with New Jersey Festival Orchestra, both Mozart’s Requiem and Dvořák’s Te Deum with New York City Master Chorale and, most recently, as the title role in Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion with Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself.

Hailing from Wenzhou, Zhang’s passion for singing has taken him from China’s top-ranking Shanghai Conservatory of Music to the Manhattan School of Music, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees respectively. He continued his training at the prestigious Merola Opera Programme at San Francisco Opera before graduating from the Artist Diploma Course of Julliard School. During his studies at the Julliard School, Zhang debuted as Don Giovanni under Joseph Colaneri, along with Le Fauteuil/Arbre (L’enfant et les sortilèges), Kuligin (Katya Kabanova), Minksman (Flight), Giove (La Calisto) and Presto (Les mamelles de Tirésias). He was a finalist at both the Stanisław Moniuszko and Juan Pons International Singing competitions in 2022. Xiaomeng Zhang is currently serving as an Artist in Residence at the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen.