About

Hao Zhou

The 3 Chinese Tenors are a truly unique group of performers. For a first-time opera experience, or for the avid lover of this fine art, these dazzling voices will take you on a journey that begins in the West and ends in the East, from classical operatic arias to traditional Neapolitan songs, popular contemporary pieces and ancient Chinese folk songs. Their musical performances combine beautiful music with witty repartee, storytelling and amusing translations as only these performers can.

“Quite an extraordinary phenomenon and they are just fantastic tenors.” The Australian

“The superb sound of The Three Chinese Tenors… is a show that has wide appeal.” James Buick, Clocktower Theatre, Victoria.

“Drink more champagne and then you’ll love everything we sing!” Hao Zhou to the audience

About the Founder, Hao Zhou

As a young Beijing opera singer, The 3 Chinese Tenors’ founder, Hao Zhou, became interested in Western opera when he heard a recording of Dame Joan Sutherland singing Mozart arias and, from that point, knew that Western opera was what he most wanted to sing.

He left his performing career in China and migrated to Australia, where he found himself taking menial jobs to make ends meet. He was finally discovered when people heard the little kitchen hand who spoke almost no English singing tenor arias while washing dishes in the Victorian Arts Centre kitchen.

News quickly spread and soon the press had dubbed him ‘The Kitchen Caruso’. Within a month, he was invited to a national vocal symposium with Dame Joan Sutherland and went on to become a member of the Young Artists’ Program for the Victoria State Opera. And so Hao began his singing career in Australia.

As a principal operatic tenor, he has since performed many roles in productions both with the Victoria State Opera and Opera Australia and, as a tenor soloist, he has appeared with most of Australia’s major orchestras including at the Sydney Opera House with Maestro Richard Bonynge.

Hao’s operatic career with the Australian Opera and Victorian State Opera spanned over ten years with lead roles in: Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri, Count Almaviva in Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Leicester in Maria Stuarda, Brighella in Ariadne Auf Naxos, Tonio in La Fille du Regiment, Pylade in Iphigenie en Tauride and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola.

Hao has performed for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, the Australian Pops Orchestra, Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and a series of concerts with Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Opera House Symphony Orchestra.

About the Author, Stephen Wu

Stephen Wu

Stephen was performing in a modern opera, Motherland, for Chamber Made when Hao invited him to sing with him in The 3 Chinese Tenors.  For the next ten years, Stephen was a regular on 3CT’s Australian tours, as well as in a number of international gigs. Stephen and Hao developed into fast friends from their beginning as work and drinking buddies, with Stephen frequently amused by Hao’s cheeky, even cavalier, approach to life and his comical tales of mischief and mischance, which only tended to emerge after Hao had had several glasses of champagne or spirits!  It was from a desire to capture some of these moments that Stephen decided to start a blog for The 3 Chinese Tenors.

About The 3 Chinese Tenors

Image via Wikipedia

In 1993, The 3 Chinese Tenors were invited to participate in Sydney’s bid for the 2000 Olympics. Their performance was attended by a crowd of 250,000 people. From that beginning, The 3 Chinese Tenors became a regular act, touring in Australia and South-East Asia.

Hao has also expanded his role to designing and touring international performers. Since 2003, he has toured a series of large-scale acts including: Ghost Dance, Acrobatic Troupe of Imperial China, Spirit of Shaolin, Heavenly Beauty and Shaolin Kung Fu.