Armando Chin Yong
Encyclopedia
Armando Chin Yong (6 July 1958 – 2 February 2011), also known as Chen Rong to the Chinese-speaking, was a Malaysian opera
singer, the only tenor
with an international reputation forged in European and Asian opera houses and concert halls. He received much of his singing education in Rome
, Italy
and Vienna
, Austria
. He died unexpectedly, aged 52, of a heart attack after walking his dog in Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia on 2 February 2011 leaving his widow, Chu Shoo Woan and their 12-year old son, Ian Chin Yi. Armando Chin was a devout Christian and worshipped at Gereja Kristen Grace Taman Bukit Maluri (Taman Bukit Maluri Grace Christian Church), Kepong
, Kuala Lumpur.
school under Italian tenor, Angelo Marenzi, who was himself a student of the legendary Italian baritone
, Tito Gobbi
. During his time in Rome he also studied operatic stage performance at the Osimo Opera Art Academy. In 1988, he entered the National Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria to study vocal music and operatic stage performance under Professor Ralf Döring.
Armando Chin has earned high accolades from European music critics. The Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta" pointed out that when performing the operas of Donizetti and Cilea, he had such an artistic way of controlling the dynamics that it was very close to perfection. In 1987, after a performance of Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi
in Teatro la nuova Fenice in Osimo
, Italy, he was hailed by the newspaper Il Messaggero as Italy's most outstanding young tenor. Later in the same year he was again hailed for his performance in Bellini
's La Sonnambula
at the Bilbao National Opera House, Bilbao
, Spain
. In 1989, Armando Chin was invited to sing at the Wexford Festival Opera
in Wexford
, the Republic of Ireland
.
From 1990 to 1992, Armando Chin was engaged full time by the Dresden Staatsoper or the Dresden State Opera in Dresden
, Germany
.
Following his return to Malaysia in 1993, he gave a performance in Taipei, Taiwan followed by a role in Verdi's opera, Rigoletto
, in Singapore. In 1994, he sang in Handel's Messiah in Shanghai
, China
and in Beethoven's 9th Symphony in Hong Kong
.
Armando Chin was invited to sing in the 1995 Taipei
Charity Concert by Mirella Freni
and Nicolai Ghiaurov
and sang the encore Libiamo ne' lieti calici
(Drinking Song) from Verdi's opera, La traviata
, with Mirella Freni
. In 1996, he was the solo tenor in the Suntory
-sponsored grand production of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with a choir of 10,000 voices performed in Osaka
, Japan
. In the same year he also took part in the "Remembering Mario Lanza
in Concert" tour of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. He was the Steersman in the 1997 production of Wagner's opera, Der fliegender Holländer (The Flying Dutchman
), in Taipei, Taiwan
. He was also Rodolfo
in Puccini's opera, La Boheme
, in a 1997 Taipei production, a role he reprised in 1999.
In 2000, Armando Chin was performing in solo concerts in Taiwan again. He performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore
in 2003. He sang for former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
at a banquet in 2004, and was highly praised by the Prime Minister.
In January 2005, Armando Chin sang in a Chinese-language opera Lei Yu staged in Singapore
's Esplanade Concert Hall. His April 2005 vocal recital at Xi'an
, China
was highly lauded not only by the public and the students of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, but also by the professors of music and singing of China. In 2008, he was actively involved in fund-raising concerts for the Sichuan
earthquake fund.
But for his untimely death, Armando Chin had planned a return to the opera stage in Paris and Vienna in 2011.
1st runner-up, 6° Concorso Internazionale di Canto "Ismaele Voltolini" (6th Ismaele Voltolini International Singing Contest) in Mantova, Italy from 8 to 13 September 1986.
2nd Prize (tied, no 1st prize awarded), 1° Concurso Internacional de Canto de Bilbao (1st Bilbao International Singing Competition) from 29 November to 6 December 1986 in Bilbao
, Spain
.
Diploma di Merito, Concorso Internazionale per Pianisti e Cantanti Lirici "Francesco Paolo Neglia" (Diploma of Merit, Francesco Paolo Neglia International Competition for Pianists and Singers) on 12 July 1987, Enna
, Italy.
2. Preis, 8. Internationale Hans Gabor Belvedere Gesangswettbewerb (2nd Prize, 8th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition), 1989 in Vienna.
1. Preis, Förderungspreis für junge Opernsänger (1st Prize, Scholarship Prize for Young Opera Singers) on 1 July 1989 in Vienna.
He also trained seven of the singers in Malaysia's top international chamber choir, Cantus Musicus
, including its Music Director, Lisa Ho and its Assistant Choral Director, Timothy Ooi. Maestro
Chin was to have had further singing collaborations with Cantus Musicus in 2011 and 2012.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer, the only tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
with an international reputation forged in European and Asian opera houses and concert halls. He received much of his singing education in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He died unexpectedly, aged 52, of a heart attack after walking his dog in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia on 2 February 2011 leaving his widow, Chu Shoo Woan and their 12-year old son, Ian Chin Yi. Armando Chin was a devout Christian and worshipped at Gereja Kristen Grace Taman Bukit Maluri (Taman Bukit Maluri Grace Christian Church), Kepong
Kepong
Kepong is a major township in the borders Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, located about 6 km from the KLCC, to the south of Sungai Buloh, to the east of Bukit Lanjan, to the west of Selayang and to the north of Jalan Duta. The main access roads to Kepong are Damansara-Puchong Expressway, Jalan...
, Kuala Lumpur.
Biography
Born in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, Armando Chin grew up under difficult circumstances and had to leave school at age 14 to work to help support his family He was noted for his natural vocal talent even as a teenager. After considerable hardship, he managed to enroll in the Malaysian Institute of Arts and graduated in 1983, majoring in classical singing. He won the annual Southeast Asian Singing Competition in 1984. In 1985 he went to Rome for advanced vocal studies of the Bel CantoBel Canto
Bel Canto may refer to:*Bel canto, an opera term that literally means "beautiful singing"*Bel Canto , a novel by Ann Patchett*Bel Canto , a Norwegian pop/electronica band*Bel Canto , 2006 Roberto Alagna album...
school under Italian tenor, Angelo Marenzi, who was himself a student of the legendary Italian baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
. During his time in Rome he also studied operatic stage performance at the Osimo Opera Art Academy. In 1988, he entered the National Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria to study vocal music and operatic stage performance under Professor Ralf Döring.
Armando Chin has earned high accolades from European music critics. The Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta" pointed out that when performing the operas of Donizetti and Cilea, he had such an artistic way of controlling the dynamics that it was very close to perfection. In 1987, after a performance of Puccini's one-act opera Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
in Teatro la nuova Fenice in Osimo
Osimo
Osimo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the province of Ancona, 15 km south of that town by rail. It is situated on a hill near the Adriatic Sea.Silk-spinning and the raising of cocoons are carried on.-History:...
, Italy, he was hailed by the newspaper Il Messaggero as Italy's most outstanding young tenor. Later in the same year he was again hailed for his performance in Bellini
Bellini
-People:*Vincenzo Bellini , opera composer*a family of Italian painters:**Jacopo Bellini , father of Gentile and Giovanni**Gentile Bellini **Giovanni Bellini , the most famous of the three...
's La Sonnambula
La sonnambula
La sonnambula is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the bel canto tradition by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ballet-pantomime by Eugène Scribe and Jean-Pierre Aumer called La somnambule, ou L'arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur.The first...
at the Bilbao National Opera House, Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In 1989, Armando Chin was invited to sing at the Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
in Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
From 1990 to 1992, Armando Chin was engaged full time by the Dresden Staatsoper or the Dresden State Opera in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Following his return to Malaysia in 1993, he gave a performance in Taipei, Taiwan followed by a role in Verdi's opera, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, in Singapore. In 1994, he sang in Handel's Messiah in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and in Beethoven's 9th Symphony in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Armando Chin was invited to sing in the 1995 Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
Charity Concert by Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni, birth name Mirella Fregni, is an Italian opera soprano whose repertoire includes Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
and Nicolai Ghiaurov
Nicolai Ghiaurov
Nicolai Ghiaurov was a Bulgarian opera singer and one of the most famous bass singers of the postwar period. He was admired for his powerful, sumptuous voice, and was particularly associated with roles of Verdi.Ghiaurov married the Italian soprano Mirella Freni in 1978...
and sang the encore Libiamo ne' lieti calici
Libiamo ne' lieti calici
Libiamo ne'lieti calici is the most famous duet from Verdi's La traviata, one of the most well known fragments of opera around the world, and an obligatory performance for any great tenor. The song is categorised as a Brindisi, which encourages alcoholic drinking...
(Drinking Song) from Verdi's opera, La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, with Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni, birth name Mirella Fregni, is an Italian opera soprano whose repertoire includes Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
. In 1996, he was the solo tenor in the Suntory
Suntory
is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...
-sponsored grand production of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with a choir of 10,000 voices performed in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In the same year he also took part in the "Remembering Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
in Concert" tour of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. He was the Steersman in the 1997 production of Wagner's opera, Der fliegender Holländer (The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman
The legend of the Flying Dutchman concerns a ghost ship that can never make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever. It probably originates from 17th-century nautical folklore. The oldest extant version dates to the late 18th century....
), in Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. He was also Rodolfo
Rodolfo
Rodolfo is a given name, may refer to:*Rodolfo Raphael Macalintal Brother of Miggy*Rodolfo Vieira , Portuguese violinist*Rodolfo , Hungarian illusionist*Rodolfo Dantas Bispo , Brazilian footballer...
in Puccini's opera, La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, in a 1997 Taipei production, a role he reprised in 1999.
In 2000, Armando Chin was performing in solo concerts in Taiwan again. He performed at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 2003. He sang for former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
at a banquet in 2004, and was highly praised by the Prime Minister.
In January 2005, Armando Chin sang in a Chinese-language opera Lei Yu staged in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's Esplanade Concert Hall. His April 2005 vocal recital at Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
was highly lauded not only by the public and the students of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, but also by the professors of music and singing of China. In 2008, he was actively involved in fund-raising concerts for the Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
earthquake fund.
But for his untimely death, Armando Chin had planned a return to the opera stage in Paris and Vienna in 2011.
Competition Prizes
1st Prize, Southeast Asian Singing Competition 19841st runner-up, 6° Concorso Internazionale di Canto "Ismaele Voltolini" (6th Ismaele Voltolini International Singing Contest) in Mantova, Italy from 8 to 13 September 1986.
2nd Prize (tied, no 1st prize awarded), 1° Concurso Internacional de Canto de Bilbao (1st Bilbao International Singing Competition) from 29 November to 6 December 1986 in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Diploma di Merito, Concorso Internazionale per Pianisti e Cantanti Lirici "Francesco Paolo Neglia" (Diploma of Merit, Francesco Paolo Neglia International Competition for Pianists and Singers) on 12 July 1987, Enna
Enna
Enna is a city and comune located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside...
, Italy.
2. Preis, 8. Internationale Hans Gabor Belvedere Gesangswettbewerb (2nd Prize, 8th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition), 1989 in Vienna.
1. Preis, Förderungspreis für junge Opernsänger (1st Prize, Scholarship Prize for Young Opera Singers) on 1 July 1989 in Vienna.
Choral Associations
Armando Chin Yong was the Vice-President of the Yin Qi Music Centre Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur which runs the Yin Qi Christian Choir, a non-denominational choir specialising in large sacred works. Armando Chin Yong was a guest soloist in several of their productions.He also trained seven of the singers in Malaysia's top international chamber choir, Cantus Musicus
Cantus Musicus
Cantus Musicus, an international mixed chamber choir based in Kuala Lumpur.Malaysian choral composer Yii Kah Hoe says it is the best choir in Malaysia...
, including its Music Director, Lisa Ho and its Assistant Choral Director, Timothy Ooi. Maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
Chin was to have had further singing collaborations with Cantus Musicus in 2011 and 2012.