Guanqun Yu (Chinese:于冠群;pinyin:Yú Guānqún; born 1982)[1] is a Chinesesoprano who has sung inopera houses and concert halls internationally. In 2008 she won the Belvedere International Singing Competition and in 2012 she placed 2nd in theOperalia, The World Opera Competition.[2][3] She is particularly known for portraying heroines in the operas ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Giacomo Puccini, andGiuseppe Verdi.
Born and raised inYantai,Shandong, Yu graduated from theShandong University of Arts [zh][4] before going on to study at theShanghai Conservatory of Music withFugen Wei andZhou Xiaoyan.[5][3] She then became a member of the Young Artist Program at theTeatro Comunale di Bologna where she made her professional opera debut as Elettra inIdomeneo; a role she has subsequently performed at theTeatro Comunale Ferrara, theTeatro Comunale Modena, and theTeatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia.[6] In 2010 she performed the role of Margarete inArthur Honegger’sJeanne d'Arc au bûcher at theMusikverein in Vienna under the baton ofBertrand de Billy.[7] In 2011 she portrayed Leonora in Verdi'sIl trovatore at theTeatro Giuseppe Verdi.[6]
In 2012 Yu made her debut at theMetropolitan Opera as Leonora, and subsequently returned to the Met in 2013-2014 as Fiordiligi inCosì fan tutte.[8] She also appeared as Lina inStiffelio and the Voice of the High Priestess inAida at theTeatro Regio di Parma in 2012. In 2013 she made her debut at thePalau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia as Lucrezia inI due Foscari withPlácido Domingo as Francesco Foscari, and later appeared at that theater as Desdomona inOtello (2013) and Amelia inSimon Boccanegra, again with Plácido Domingo (2014).[9][10]
In 2014 Yu portrayed Fiordiligi at theCologne Opera, Nedda inPagliacci at theStadttheater Klagenfurt, and Countess Almaviva inThe Marriage of Figaro at theNational Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.[11][12] In 2015 she portrayed Liu inTurandot at theBregenz Festival, Mimi inLa bohème at theZurich Opera and theDeutsche Oper Berlin, and both Countess Rosina inJohn Corigliano'sThe Ghosts of Versailles and Countess Almaviva inThe Marriage of Figaro at theLos Angeles Opera.[13][14][15][16] In 2016 she is appeared at theOpéra de Marseille as Fiordiligi, and at theBavarian State Opera as Countess Almaviva.[17]
