The 3 Chinese Tenors

The Colombo Hilton – Sri Lanka

On Monday 7 December 2009 the 3 Chinese Tenors perform for one night only at the Colombo Hilton – Waters Edge. The 3 Chinese Tenors is an internationally recognised ensemble that has inspired audiences across Australia and South East Asia for over fifteen years, performing the most beautiful and evocative classical pieces ever written.

The group was formed in the early 1990s when the three singers were invited to perform as part of Australia’s bid to win the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Since that time the group has performed across Australia as well as in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The 3 Chinese Tenors perform a rich and diverse ‘menu’ of classical and popular works including: La donna e mobile (Verdi), Nessun dorma (Puccini), E lucevan le stelle (Puccini), Flower Song (Bizet), Au fond du temple saint (Bizet) and Va pensiero (Verdi).

"I have always dreamed of singing the duet from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers in the country it was written for. This is a dream come true for me"says Zhou.

The 3 Chinese Tenors were created by Hao Zhou. Hao’s boyhood dream growing up in Chang Sha, China was to learn opera under the tutelage of Dame Joan Sutherland and sing at the Sydney Opera House under the direction of Richard Bonynge. Hao came to Australia aged 20 and took up a kitchen hand role at the Victorian Arts Centre washing dishes at night. In this time the Italian cooks would sing Neapolitan folk songs and opera arias. One day Hao decided to perform ‘O Sole Mio’ to his kitchen associates with the response from management being instant. Within days Melbourne’s media had termed Hao the ‘Kitchen Caruso’. Within a month he was invited to sing at the Australian Vocal Symposium under the tutelage of Dame Joan Sutherland. From this time Hao became a principal operatic performer with the Victorian State Opera and Opera Australia performing concerts directed by Richard Bonynge.

‘People are amazed that the 3 Chinese Tenors perform songs in Italian, French, German, English and Chinese, all in the one program. We take our audiences on a journey of music, beauty and delight. Our program showcases a wide range of traditional opera composers including Puccini, Bizet and Verdi. We also actively engage our audiences by performing humorous drinking songs including La donna e mobile and Brindisi”, says Zhou.

The 3 Chinese Tenors bring energy, passion and operatic fireworks to the stage. A night spent in the company of these talented performers will have audiences captivated from the very first note by the beauty of the pieces, the power of the music and the energy of the performers. Don’t miss the 3 Chinese Tenors.