Warren Mok
Tenor
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Warren Mok is a world renowned tenor from Hong Kong. His lyrico-spinto tenor voice has been praised by the press: "His technique is rock solid, with beautiful even timbre, and an engaging enthusiasm on stage; ringing top notes were attacked and held in rocklike Pavarotti vein." (The Guardian in England). And from Opera Magazine: "...he seems to have modeled his performance on that of La Scala's Raoul and the late Franco Corelli, and comes amazingly close to the ideal. Suffice it to say that Mok has a ringing, rather baritonal timbre and pours forth tone generously. His Raoul is a visceral experience not least for its secure, expansive high notes..."
Since his European debut in 1987 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin where he sang many leading roles, he has been making frequent guest appearances in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, such as New York Carnegie Hall, London Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musik Verein, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Paris Opera, Leipzig Opera, Lyon Opera, Nice Opera, Sydney Opera House, The Netherlands Opera, Teatro Colon in Argentina, Teatro di Bologna Comunale in Italy, Royal Danish Opera, Bolshoi Theatre, Warsaw National Theatre, San Carlo Theater in Lisbon, Seattle Opera, Teatro di Cagliari Italy, Bilbao Opera ABAO, Teartro di Palma de Mallorca, Teatro Ventidio Basso Italy, Nancy Opera France, St. Etienne Esplanade France, Bergen Opera Norway, Opera Lyra Ottawa in Canada, Latvian National Opera, Lithuanian National Opera, Orlando Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, National Opera of China, Shanghai Opera House, and Singapore Lyric Opera. He also sang in the Vienna Festival, New Zealand International Arts Festival, Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago Italy, Wiesbaden May Festival, Athens Music Festival, Martina Franca Festival, Riga Opera Festival, Dalhala Festival Sweden, Track Festival in Lithuania, Xanten Festival in Germany, Seoul Arts Center Opera Festival, Macau International Music Festival, Beijing Music Festival, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, Hong Kong and Taiwan Festivals. He possesses a unique and beautiful lyrical-spinto tenor voice and an operatic repertoire of more than 50 leading roles, including Calaf in Turandot, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La Bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto, Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, Don Carlos, Radames in Aida, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino, Don José in Carmen, Romeo, Faust, Werther, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Canio in I Pagliacci, and Sou-Chong in Das Land des Laechelns.
In constant demand, Mr. Mok also appears frequently in concerts throughout the world. He has sung in world famous concert halls such as New York Carnegie Hall, London Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musik Verein, Munich, Hamburg, Tokyo, Prague, Zurich, Vancouver, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Among the important orchestras with which he has worked are Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Radio Philharmonic Leipzig, St. Martins in the Fields Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Russian Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Portugal Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Lithuanian State Symphony, Orchestra International Of Italy, Strauss Festival Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, China National Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Singapore Symphony, National Hall Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and Taiwan Symphony. His oratorio credits include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Handel's Messiah and Jeptha, Haydn's Creation, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 8, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Verdi's Requiem and many other works.
Among the well known conductors with whom he has worked are G. Sinopoli, N. Marriner, J. Lopez-Cobos, C. Hogwood, R. Palumbo, K. Weise, E. Queler, M. Guidarini, P. Olmi, Yu Long, and Tan Dun.
He has recorded four solo albums, one duet album and 8 opera CD's on Dynamic, Hugo, D.G., BMG, Koch International, and other labels. He also appears regularly on TV and radio shows worldwide.
In recent years, Mr. Mok has been appearing regularly at the Martina Franca Festival in Italy, where he sang and recorded five complete opera CD's, singing the roles of Manrico in Il Trovatore, Gabriele in Simon Boccanegra, Lentulus in Roma by Massenet, the title role in Robert le Diable, and Raul in Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer. All these CDs are available worldwide on Dynamic label.
He made his New York Carnegie Hall debut with the Opera Orchestra of New York singing the leading tenor role in Adelia by Donizetti. His London debut was in Turandot as Calaf at the Royal Albert Hall with great success. He portrayed Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, and sang the tenor solo in Verdi's Requiem at the Macau Festival opposite Tomowa-Sintow. He recently appeared with the Berlin Rundfunk Orchestra in Das Lied von der Erde in Berlin, and joined the orchestra on its tour of China. In December 1999, he sang Alfredo in La Traviata in a co-production with Covent Garden in Shanghai. In the new millennium, he sang Werther in Bergen, Norway. In April, 2000 Mr. Mok returned to the Royal Danish Opera singing the role of Alvaro in La Forza del Destino. In May 2000, he made his debut at the Bydgoski Festival in Poland. He then returned to the Martina Franca Festival singing the title role of Robert le Diable by Meyerbeer. He also returned to Riga Opera Festival for La Bohème and Verdi's Requiem, and to the Dalhala Festival in Sweden for Turandot and Lucia di Lammermoor. He sang the Duca in Rigoletto at Saint-Eteinne, France, and Don José at the Arles Festival, France. In July 2001, he sang a Verdi Gala Concert in Berlin with Berlin Symphonie Orchestra. In 2001/2002, he sang Arrigo in I Vespri Siciliani in Bilbao Spain. He then returned to Royal Albert Hall for Turandot, and played Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Seoul Opera Festival.
In 2002, he sang Nabucco in Ravenna, Il Trovatore in Cagliari, Les Huegenots in Martina Franca Italy, Carmen in Mallorca, Spain, Samson et Dalila in Singapore, and La Bohème at the Macau International Music Festival and the Shanghai International Arts Festival.
In 2003, he returned to Seoul Arts Center for La Traviata, and to Opera Lyra Ottawa Canada and Riga Opera Festival for Un Ballo in Maschera. He performed in Turandot in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, I Pagliacci in Orlando Opera, and made his debut in Aida at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In fall 2003, he performed Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde in Paris Opera, Warsaw Opera Theatre, and Vienna Musik Verein on a tour with China Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2004, he sang in Turandot at Lithuanian National Opera, Rigoletto at Opera Lyra Ottawa, Tea by Tan Dun at Opera Lyon, Edgar by Puccini at Tivoli Festival in Italy, produced and sang Roméo et Juliette at Macau International Music Festival, and produced and sang Samson et Delila and La Traviata with Opera Hong Kong.
In 2005, he sang the leading role in Tan Dun's Tea in the Netherlands Opera, Turandot in Hawaii Opera Theatre and also at Nice Opera. In the fall he produced and sang in Turandot in an Opera Hong Kong production.
In 2006, Mr. Mok sang Turandot at the Sydney Opera House as well as at the Puccini Festival in Italy and at Rome Opera. He then sang Tosca in Teatro di Bologna and Tea by Tan Dun in New Zealand Arts Festival and at Tokyo Suntory Hall. He finished off the year by singing in Carmen with Opera Hong Kong and then in Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci at the Macau International Music Festival.
In 2007 he will make his debut with Opera di Roma and Opera Ireland as Calaf in Turandot, and with Teatro di Massimo in Palermo as Canio in I Pagliacci. He will produce and sing in Aida and Roméo et Juliette with Opera Hong Kong, and Rigoletto in the Macau International Music Festival.
In recent years, Mr. Mok has been very active in Asia, not only as a singer, but as a producer as well. He is the advisor for the Shanghai Opera House, Shanghai Symphony and China National Opera House. He produced and sang in Roméo et Juliette, Carmen, and La Bohème in Shanghai with the Shanghai Opera House and Shanghai International Arts Festival. He also produced many concerts with world reknown conductors and singers. In Beijing he sang Calaf in Turandot with the National Opera Theater and Rodolfo in La Bohème, and Don José in Carmen in the Beijing Music Festival. He has also been making frequent appearances at the Macau Festival, singing Cavarodossi and Riccardo opposite the world famous soprano Tomowa-Sintow, and also in Tosca and Un Ballo in Maschera. In Hong Kong, he has been appearing on TV and radio frequently, and was the featured soloist for the 1997 Hong Kong Repatriation Ceremonies which were televised and seen worldwide. In Asia, he has been singing operas and concerts in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan, becoming one of the most distinguished Chinese tenors in the world, and an active promoter of western operas and music in China.
Mr. Mok has been the Artistic Director of the Macau International Music Festival since 2000. He has been successfully leading the festival to a new international standard, with artists from around the world participating such as Maael, Slatkin, Tovey, Palumbo, Maisky, Kavakos, and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, NRD Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Luxumburg Philharmonic, and the Borodin Quartet, with a wide range of repertoire from Opera and symphony concerts to Jazz, with great success. He is also the general director of Belcanto Company, which currently ran the program and marketing for the Macau Cultural Center. It has been very successful for Macau audiences to witness diversified programs with high standards.
In Hong Kong, he has produced many concerts with the support of the Hong Kong Government. Most recently he brought in the Latvian National Opera tour in Hong Kong, fully supported by the HKLCSD, with huge success by press and audience alike. In 2003, he created the first opera company in Hong Kong, named Opera Hong Kong, which will produce operas annually, making a mile stone for Hong Kong.
He holds a Masters of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and a Bachelor's from the University of Hawaii.