The Voice and Opera Department of CCOM combines teaching and performance functions. It provides five-year undergraduate program and three-year graduate program. The department includes four teaching divisions: vocal(bel canto), vocal (Chinese singing), piano accompanying and opera coaching and acting. The current faculty of Voice and Opera Department totals 61, includes professor Guo Shuzhen, Meng Ling, Zhang Liping, Hei Haitao, Wang Xianlin, Ma Honghai, Liu Dong, Zhao Dengying, Peng Kangliang, Cheng Da, Yuan Chenye, Huang Li, Huang Huali, Wang Lida, Wang Wei, Sun Dongfang, Xie Tian, Xu Chang, Sun Yuanyuan, Song Yuanming; the vocal professors also include Dilber, (Finland), Zhang Jianyi (U.S.A.), Liu Yue (Germany); the visiting guest professor Wang Xiufen, Yan Weiwen. The associate professors of vocal teaching group include Wang Chuangyue, Yang Xiaoping, Li Guoling, Chen Lili,Zhang Zhang and lecuters and teaching assistants Yuan Chenxing, Zhang Yuan, Pu Feiling, Wu He, Shi Lin. The piano accompanying and opera coaching group include professor Hu Shixi, Zhang Jialin, Wang Nanan, associate professors Wang Yunxi, Wei Wei, Chen Xi, Xu Gengyan, Zhang Jiajia, Pan Xiaoqing, lecturers Sui Chao, Jiang Ying, Qiang Hong,Liu Quan, Qin Yu, Jian Yi, Wang Wei, Wang Yingxin, Jiang Lu, Tian Nan, Li Mu, etc. The acting teaching group includes Professor Qiao Lumin, assocate professor Wang Hui and lecturers Xu Xiaopeng, Lin Jia, Zhai Huanhuan. The Voice and Opera Department is the authorized institute for granting master degree and doctoral degree approved by Academic Degree Committee of the State Council of PRC.Now, the department has total 186 undergraduate students and 19 graduate students.
The required major courses include vocal, chorus, opera acting, body shaping, singing diction, history of vocal and opera art, acting basis. The required fundamental courses include piano, fundamental Italian, fundamental German, fundamental French, sight-singing and ear-training, harmony, music form and analysis, Chinese traditional music, history of Chinese music, history of Western music, vocal mechanism and voice protection.
The Voice and Opera Department was established in 1950. Since the establishment, the department has cultivated numerous outstanding vocalists and opera singers and some of them have stepped on the music stages of world-renowned opera houses. Some of the distinguished vocalists come back from abroad and join the faculty of department in recent years which straightened the potentials of the team. The professors and students of voice and opera department have achieved many awards and honors in the competitions at home and abroad. In addition, the faculty members are constantly invited to serve on the judging panel of many musical competitions, to visit and give lectures and performances all over the world. Their activities are well received by the participants. There is the Youth Chorus of CCOM affiliated to the department that consists of outstanding students and some of professors. In recently years, the Chorus participates in many important performances sponsored by CCTV and other social organizations frequently. The department always pay great attention to cultivate students' comprehensive professional accomplishment and technique through rehearsing and performing operas acted by the students. The operas they produced and performed are well received by the audiences, such as Regret for the Past, Cosi Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Boheme, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Carmen, La clemenza di Tito, Die Zauberfl?te, Madame Butterfly, Aida, Eugen Onegin, Dido and Aeneas,Semele, Gianni Scchichi, La Cenaretolla,etc.
At the beginning of the establishment, the Voice and Opera Department was called Vocal Department and the Chair was Professor Yu Yixuan. In 1977, some of the professors separated from the faculty of vocal department and found opera department. The Chair was Professor Du Li. In 1984, the vocal department and opera department reunited again and found voice and opera department, and the leadership consists of Shen Xiang, Jiang Ying, Guo Shuzhen, Li Xinchang. Professor Shen Xiang was the acting Chair. In 1986, Prfessor Li Xinchang became the Chair. From 2001 to 2004, the leadership of department consists of Liu Dong (as acting vice chair)and Ma Honghai (Vice Chair). From 2005 to 2019, the leadership consist of Professor Zhang Liping (Chair), Hei Haitao and Ma Honghai (Vice Chairs and Secretary of Party Branch).Currently Professor Xie Tian is the vice chair and Chen Bing as Secretary of Party.
Aiming at cultivating high quality vocal talents the department pays attention to improve the students' artistic accomplishment. Many outstanding graduates of the department have performed actively on the opera stage and worked in well-known opera houses. In addition, the department consistently enriches and strengthens the faculty team over the decades.
