GUO SEN
Vocal
Renommierten Koloratursopranstin
Professor an der Shanghai Conservatory
Guo Sen is an internationally acclaimed soprano, currently serving as Deputy Director of the Opera School and Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, as well as Doctoral Advisor at the China Conservatory of Music, where she also completed her Master's and doctoral studies.
She received her undergraduate education at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under Professor Liu Ruo’e, and continued her postgraduate studies with the legendary coloratura soprano and pedagogue Professor Zhou Xiaoyan. In 2011, she earned a Master’s degree in Opera and Art Song from the Zurich University of the Arts, studying under the esteemed bass-baritone Polgár László.
From 2001 to 2002, she was a member of the Zurich Opera House ensemble, where she performed key roles such as Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Dardane in Die Pilger von Mekka. In 2002, she made a successful debut as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute at the Semperoper Dresden, marking the start of her international opera career.
Since then, she has become a highly sought-after interpreter of the Queen of the Night, performing in major opera houses such as the Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden, Theater St. Gallen (Switzerland), Latvian National Opera (Riga), Salzburg Festival, Shanghai Grand Theatre, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing).
Guo Sen has been under contract with the Zurich Opera House since 2002, making her the longest-tenured Chinese soprano in the company’s history. She has performed leading roles in dozens of productions, including Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Olympia), Un Ballo in Maschera (Oscar), Lucio Silla (Giulio), Arabella (Fiakermilli), La Scala di Seta(Giulia), Parsifal, Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta), Rigoletto (Gilda), Falstaff (Nannetta), Mosè in Egitto (Amaltea), and The Magic Flute (Pamina). Her extensive operatic career has earned her acclaim for both vocal artistry and dramatic interpretation.
In 2007, she returned to China at the invitation of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, where she sang Gilda in a concert performance of Rigoletto. In 2012, she was invited by the Salzburg Festival to sing Musetta’s arias at the opening gala. In 2015, she gave a successful recital of German and French art songs at the Tonhalle Zürich, and was praised by European music media as “a lyrical coloratura soprano with a silver voice.” In 2017, she joined Cecilia Bartoli on a European tour of Rossini’s La Cenerentola.
In 2018, Guo Sen performed in the world premiere of Tan Dun’s symphonic work Song of Praise in Dresden, and later collaborated with Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles. North American media described her voice as “clear, expressive, and filled with both silver brilliance and Puccini-like warmth and drama.”
In addition to performing, Guo Sen has given masterclasses in Florence, Italy, as well as at leading conservatories in China, including the China Conservatory of Music, Shanghai Conservatory, Tianjin Conservatory, and Zhejiang Conservatory.
She has worked with many of the world’s leading conductors and singers, including:
Yu Long, Tan Dun, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zubin Mehta, Adam Fischer, Antonio Pappano, Franz Welser-Möst, Philippe Jordan, Nello Santi, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph von Dohnányi, Michel Plasson, Jonas Kaufmann, Cecilia Bartoli, Leo Nucci, Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Piotr Beczała, and many others.
