Fan Jingma came to international attention as a prize winner at the Third Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1987, upon which Placido Domingo commented as “a tenor rarely heard in Europe during the past decade,” which was followed by the Silver Medal at the Second Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition (NYC, 1988), the First Prize at the Opera Index Vocal Competition (NYC, 1990), and the Finalist Award at the Luciano Pavarotti International Vocal Competition (Philadelphia, 1995).

After having graduated from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in his native China in 1982, Fan Jingma stayed on as a professor of voice. He became a national celebrity overnight after winning China’s First Televised National Youth Vocal Competition in 1984. He went to Italy in 1987 and studied at the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito di PARMA, where he refined his bel canto technique under the guidance of Carlo Bergonzi, and then went on to the Juilliard School of Music to further his education in 1991 and studied with the famed tenor, Franco Corelli, from 1992-1993 while in New York. Continue reading →