Chinese baritone Yancheng Chen will be a permanent member of the ensemble at the Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken from the 2025/26 season. The young baritone recently won first prize at the Anneliese Rothenberger Competition and second prize at the 23rd Ottavio Ziino International Singing Competition. During the 2023-25 seasons, he was a member of the Opernstudio NRW and also made guest appearances at the Cologne and Bonn opera houses and the Theater Bremen. After completing his bachelor's degree in his home country in 2019, he studied for his master's degree and concert exam at the HfM Cologne with Prof. Mario Hoff.
South Korean tenor Kang Seo has been studying at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Prof. Brigitte Lindner since the winter semester 2024/25. Prior to that, he completed a bachelor's degree at Hanyang University with Prof. Wookyung Kim. Kang Seo has won numerous competitions. In 2022, he won first prize at the Daegu International Vocal Music Competition, the Suri National Music Competition in Suwon, and the Musikjournal National Music Competition.
Soprano Katja Maderer has already performed at festivals such as the Heidelberg Spring Festival and has played with pianists Julius Drake and Wolfram Rieger, the Cosmos Quartet, and renowned orchestras such as the WDR. She is a prize winner of the German National Singing Competition and the Hugo Wolf Academy and has also appeared in major opera productions. Since September, she has been studying at the August Everding Theater Academy in the class of Prof. Lars Woldt. She completed her bachelor's degree in the class of KS Prof. Christiane Iven.
