Hongni Wu

Mezzo-soprano

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Hongni Wu Biography English

“Hongni Wu brought technical agility, warm colourings and an ample sound…she sang with youthful bloom and richness.”
(New York Times)

A former member of Royal Ballet and Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, Hongni Wu’s returns to Covent Garden as a principal guest have brought her unqualified success: as Kuchtik in a new production of Rusalka, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, as Siébel in David McVicar’s production of Faust under Maurizio Benini and as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly conducted by Kevin John Edusei, where she was hailed by The Guardian as “a mezzo of rich mellow dignity”.

Beyond her acclaimed performances at Covent Garden, Hongni Wu has established herself internationally in a wide-ranging repertoire: she has delighted critics with her Rossini portrayals, from her spirited Angelina in La Ceneretola at Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova under Riccardo Minasi to her acclaimed Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia at San Francisco Opera, Macau International Music Festival and Opera Theater of Saint Louis, where she was awarded the Mabel Dorn Reeder Prize for outstanding performance of the season. Other highlights include Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro at Santa Fe Opera under Harry Bicket and at Opera North under Valentina Peleggi as well as Dorabella in Così fan Tutte at Pacific Opera Victoria under Timothy Vernon. At Opéra National de Montpellier, she debuted as Der Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), returning as Farnace (Mitridate, re di Ponto) under Philippe Jaroussky, debuting at The Royal Danish Opera as Suzuki under Paolo Carignani, and reprised the role of Kuchtik at Opera Royal de Wallonie under Giampaolo Bisanti.

Excerpt from Dream of the Red Chamber © San Francisco Opera

Excelling in contemporary repertoire, Wu has created several important roles in recent world premieres including the dual roles of Comrade Chin and Shu Fung in Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera, and at San Francisco Opera both Bao Chai in Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber as well as Crab General/Venus Star in Huang Ruo’s TheMonkey King, directed by Diane Paulus and conducted by Carolyn Kuan. With NorrköpingSymphony Orchestra, Hongni Wu performed as Linea in the world premiere of Marc Blitzstein’s Parabola and Circula, conducted by Karl-Heinz Steffens for performances in Norrköpping and at Berliner Philharmonie, and recorded live for CD release.

In the 2026/2027 season, Hongni Wu debuts at Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Rosina in Annabel Arden’s production of Il barbiere di Siviglia under Chloe Rooke and returns to Royal Ballet & Opera as Suzuki in Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s production of Madama Butterfly under Henrik Nánási.

Recent concert highlights include Mahler, Symphony No 3 with Paavo Järvi and the Philharmonia Orchestra at London’s Royal Festival Hall, a curated programme of Handel and Cherubini with Ensemble Resonanz and Riccardo Minasi at the Kölner Philharmonie and Beethoven, Symphony No 9 with London Philharmonic Orchestra under Tan Dun. In Tan Dun’s epic Buddha Passion, Hongni Wu made her debut with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the composer’s baton. In China, she has performed Ravel’s Shéhérazade with Lan Shui and the Chinese National Symphony Orchestra, Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde with both Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra under Yu Long and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under Tan Dun and she sang her first Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Together with pianist Sergey Rybin, she gave sold-out recitals of works by Brahms, Dvořák and de Falla at Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall and Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall, the latter welcoming her back the following season for a recital with pianist Anna Geniushene as part of the Z+ Festival.

Whilst studying at the Manhattan School of Music, Hongni Wu gave performances as Angelina, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito and La libellule in L’enfant et les sortilèges, garnering praise from the New York Times for her “technical agility, warm colourings, and ample sound,” and was a 2018 winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. As a young artist at Covent Garden, Wu made her main stage debut as Flora in Richard Eyre’s popular production of La traviata under Antonello Manacorda, subsequently appearing as Mercédès in Carmen, Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte and Siébel in Gounod’s Faust. At the LinburyTheatre, she was praised for her gritty interpretation of Hans Werner Henze’s Phaedra and as part of the Young Artists’ Summer Showcase she performed scenes from both Pelléas et Mélisande and Il barbiere di Siviglia.