Low Voice, High Achievement
Talent, artistry and a DU education have catapulted Hao Jiang Tian, MA ’87, to the top of the opera world.
Worldwide success
Tian, whose powerful bass voice took him from his native China to DU’s Lamont School of Music for a master’s degree in the mid-1980s, has enjoyed international career in opera full of highlights:
- He’s performed classic roles in timeless operas such as Verdi’s Aida, Puccini’s La Boheme and Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
- Tian has starred alongside opera superstars such as Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanwa and the late Luciano Pavarotti.
- He’s maintained a long relationship with America’s premier opera company, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, including 26 roles more than 300 performances.
- Tian has soloed with acclaimed orchestral conductors such as James Levine and Seiji Ozawa.
- He won six international voice competitions early in his career and recorded a solo album in 2006.
Cultural exchange
Listen to an interview with Hao Jiang Tian on the Colorado Public Radio program "Colorado Matters."
Tian, a Beijing native, returned to Colorado this past summer for a world premier near and dear to his heart.
Tian spent several weeks singing the title role in the Central City Opera House’s production of Guo Wenjing’s Poet Li Bai. While it was his first time in a title role and singing opera in Chinese, the part also offered him a chance to share Chinese culture with a Western audience.
“Li Bai opened the door to ancient Chinese literature,” he says. “In my heart, Li Bai was the most important Chinese poet in history.”
Tian was joined in the performance by a chorus of Lamont choral students directed by alumna Catherine Sailer, BM ’95, MM ‘97.
New country, new music
Tian is just one of thousands of international students who have attended the University of Denver. He arrived at DU in 1983 after completing his undergraduate studies at the Central Conservatory of Music back in China. At the time, China was opening up to the rest of the world, but Tian came to DU knowing little about America or opera.
“Before I came to DU, I had never had a performance on stage, had never even seen and opera,” he explains. “It was difficult for me to step into the door of opera because it included acting, singing, interpretation of characters.”
As you can see, he learned his lessons well.
Tian was awarded the Professional Achievement Award during the 2008 Founder's Day gala.
Published on Oct. 10, 2007