Lyric tenor Kang Wang joins 19 finalists in the popular international opera competition.

Australian tenor Kang Wang is one of 20 finalists in this year’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Established in 1983 to identify future star singers, it has become one of the most popular classical music competitions in the world. Past victors include Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and German soprano Anja Harteros. Many past participants have also gone on to great success, most notably Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel – who won the Lieder Prize in 1989 – Latvian mezzo Elīna Garanča, and Swedish soprano Nina Stemme.

Chinese born and Australian raised, Wang is a lyric tenor and the son of two professional opera singers. A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium, he has appeared as a guest soloist in over 20 concerts with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. No stranger to accolades, Wang can boast of a People’s Choice Award from the Dame Joan Sutherland Award competition, an Italian Opera Foundation Australia Scholarship, and the 2014 Clonter Opera Prize.

Since 2015, he has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. He made his house debut as Narraboth in Strauss’ Salome, the suicidal soldier smitten with the title character. Singled out for his “beautiful and clear tenor” by Bachtrack, Broadway World also commended his “ardently sung and full-throated” assumption of the difficult role. Kang has also appeared in Beethoven’s Fidelio and as a soloist in the 50th anniversary gala of Lincoln Centre.

This year, Wang is the only Australian and one of only four tenors in BBC’s Cardiff Singer of the World. On the panel are opera director David Pountney, mezzo Grace Bumbry, soprano Sumi Jo, baritone Thomas Quasthoff, and conductor Anu Tali. Wang will perform in the Main Prize – Round Four recital on June 15.