Chorus master of Dutch National Opera appointed at the Opéra National de Paris
Ching-Lien Wu, Chorus master of Dutch National Opera, will be moving to Paris on 26 April 2021 where she has been appointed ‘Chef des choeurs’ at Opéra National de Paris. Wu has been working at Dutch National Opera (DNO) for seven seasons and in this time has taken the chorus to great heights, with recognition as Opera Chorus of the Year by Opernwelt as crowning achievement.
DNO director Sophie de Lint: ‘Congratulations to Ching-Lien on this thrilling new appointment at the Paris opera, it is so well deserved. Ching-Lien has worked tirelessly, always striving for higher quality and with full dedication to our one-of-a-kind chorus. And this has not gone unnoticed! I wish ChingLien the best of luck and fulfilment in this beautiful new challenge in her career, and on behalf of DNO thank her for her especially inspiring work. We will definitely miss her.’
Ching-Lien Wu: ‘By chance, I was at a DNO rehearsal years ago, and since then dreamed of working there. This dream came true in 2014, when I was appointed as artistic manager of the chorus! Over all these years it has been a delight to work with exceptional conductors, directors, singers and artistic teams. It’s a great pleasure to lead this chorus which has such huge potential. Each individual ensures that it is able to blossom. Each voice helps to make the sound richer. Together we aim to touch our audience’s hearts. I’m so happy that I was part of this fantastic team!’
International career
Ching-Lien Wu studied in Taipei and at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Lyon. She was appointed chorus conductor at Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and subsequently at Grand Théâtre de Genève. Following this she was guest chorus director at the opera houses of Montpellier, Rouen and Shanghai, among others. In Taiwan, the country of her birth, Wu was responsible for rehearsing various opera productions and also directed a production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. In 2013 Wu made her debut at DNO with Prokofiev’s L’Amour des trois oranges, followed in early 2014 by Gounod’s Faust, after which she was appointed artistic manager of the Dutch National Opera Chorus on 1 October 2014.
Artistic manager of the Choir
In her role as artistic manager, Wu has enabled the Chorus of Dutch National Opera to shine in many fantastic productions in which the chorus played an essential role. These included Borodin’s Prince Igor, Handel’s Jephtha, Henze’s Das Floß der Medusa, Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, Verdi’s La forza del destino and Nabucco, and Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Parsifal. One particular highlight came in 2016, when fifty international opera critics in Opernwelt voted the Chorus of Dutch National Opera as the best opera chorus in the world.
To mark Ching-Lien Wu’s departure for Paris, Dutch National Opera plans to hold a farewell concert in April. More details will be announced in the coming period.
Foto: Alexandra Noël