Yongzhao Yu
Tenor Yongzhao Yu, praised for his “gleaming, powerful voice” and “thrilling top notes” (Opera News), is a rising star with an increasingly global presence.
In the 2025-2026 season he brings his acclaimed portrayal of the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto to San Francisco Opera as well as Vancouver Opera for his Canadian debut, and makes his Austrian debut with Oper im Steinbruch as Cavaradossi in Tosca, a role he also sings with Pacific Opera Victoria. In the 2024–25 season, he debuted with English National Opera as the Duke, returned to The Metropolitan Opera where he was heard as Rodolfo in La bohème and as The Messenger in Aida broadcast globally as part of The Met: Live in HD, sang Alfredo in La traviata for Palm Beach Opera, and starred as Cavaradossi in a new production of Tosca at The Glimmerglass Festival. Yu’s 2023–24 season included a return to Houston Grand Opera for his debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Alfredo with Irish National Opera, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at New Orleans Opera. In 2022–23, he made his Met debut as Flavio in Norma, a role he previously sang for Houston Grand Opera and the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing. A 2015 winner of Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition, Yu received both the Audience Choice Award and the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award.