The tenor Cheng Li, who initially studied in the art song class taught by Prof. Dr. h.c. Mitsuko Shirai and Prof. Hartmut Höll and subsequently in the vocal class taught by Prof. Christian Elsner, graduating with distinction from his soloist studies, has been appointed to a permanent professorship at Xinjiang Arts University.
The lyric tenor Cheng Li joined the art song class of Prof. Mitsuko Shirai and Prof. Hartmut Höll in 2021 and subsequently studied for his soloist’s diploma in singing under Prof. Christian Elsner.
As a concert soloist, he has performed with, amongst others, the Jena Philharmonic and the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the opening concert of the Schumann Festival in Zwickau.
Together with his lieder duet partner Yuriko Watanabe, the tenor was awarded third prize at the 54th Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary, and he was a member of the Live Music Now Foundation.
In 2023, the singer made his highly successful debut as Belmonte in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio at the Munich Chamber Opera, and in 2025 as Alessandro in Mozart’s Zaide at the Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera.