Biography
At the age of eight, Yi Ping Li began ballet and violin training, and at fourteen, voice. She entered the Shanghai Conservatory at the age of seventeen, studying under Prof. Zhi Lan Gao, and graduated with Distinction six years later. Soon thereafter, she traveled to New York to attend master classes with Daniele Ferro (Julliard School of Music) and later came to Zurich for courses with Franco Corelli and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. While in Zurich, she studied further under Prof. Rolf Sartorius and has studied 'Lieder' for many years with Daniel Fueter.
Among operatic roles, Yi Ping Li sang Siébel from Gounod's 'Faust' in Shanghai, unter Kurt H. Adler of the San Francisco Opera. Other successes included Stephano in 'Roméo et Juliette', Carmen and Cherubino from 'Le Nozze di Figaro'. At the Zurich Opera where she has been a member of the International Opera Studio, she has sung roles in 'Salome', 'Katja Kabanowa', 'Der Rosenkavalier', 'Rusalka', 'Fedora', 'Die vier Grobiane' and 'Kaiser von Atlantis'. In St. Gallen (Switzerland) she appeared as Dulcinea in 'Don Quichotte', at the Teatro Fenice as Suzuki in 'Madama Butterfly' and in Leipzig as Mercedes in 'Carmen' as Hänsel in 'Hänsel and Gretel', as Olga in 'Eugen Onegin' as the landlady in 'Boris Godunow' and as Flora in 'La Traviata'. Yiping Li was awarded third prize at the International Bellini Competition in Sicily, and won the International Leyla Gencer Competition in Istanbul.
After many concert successes in China, her first important concert appearance in Europe was in the role of Dido in 'Dido and Aeneas'. There followed acclaimed performances in Rossini's 'Stabat Mater', Mozart's 'Krönungsmesse', Schumann's 'Faust' and Beethoven's 'Ninth Symphony'. Yiping Li gave recitals and gala concerts with orchestras in Germany, Romania, Finnland, Denmark, China, Hong Kong and Switzerland, and sang in Verdi's 'Requiem' in the KKL Luzern and the Klosterkirche Einsiedeln. Susequent concert engagements included performances as Carmen und as Angelina in 'La Cenerontola' in Romania and at the Verdi Festival in Copenhagen as Eboli from 'Don Carlos'. Other opera aria concerts with orchestra included appearances in St. Gallen, Schaffhausen (Switzerland) and Bregenz.
Subsequent performances include the 'Petit Messe solennelle' by Rossini in Lausanne, Bruckner's 'Te Deum' in Beijing, 'La Cenerentola' in Rjeka, 'Wildschütz' in Eastern Switzerland, 'Carmen' in Shanghai, lieder and arias with orchestral accompaniment in Constance, and an extensive tour throughout Japan, performing with different Japanese orchestra. Recent highlights include her appearance with the Orchester della Svizzera Italiana at the EXPO 02 in Biel, benefit concerts in New York and Shanghai, as well as Christmas gala concerts in Bonn and Solingen, accompanied by a mixed orchestra from Cologne and Wuppertal. In 2003, Yiping Li sang Wagner's 'Wesendonck Lieder' at the Zurich Tonhalle. She followed this performance with further gala concerts in Denmark, Shanghai, France and Hong Kong. In 2004, she performed to popular acclaim in the 'Starkonzert' at the Opern Air in Solothurn (Switzerland). At the end of that year, the Mezzosoprano gave a large gala concert in China, followed by an appearance as Dalila in 'Samson and Dalila' and Lieder concerts in Italy, Switzerland, China and Denmark. At the end of April 2005, she was invited to return to China for various performances. In June and July she performend Berlioz's 'Les Nuits d'été' in the 'Musikkonservatorium' in Zurich and Basel, respectively with the Neuen Sinfonieorchester Basel. Most recently Yi-Ping Li peformed in Zurich´s Tonhalle and had several concerts in China.
