Bass-baritone Ao Li (China), participant of the closing concert of the Musical Olympus festival on June 1, has won the hearts of the audience with his artistry and magnificent voice, and became the winner of the Audience Award. He will receive the silver Easter egg handcrafted by the famous jeweler Vladimir Mikhailov, and will have the opportunity to perform at the festival concerts in Switzerland, Germany, and the US.

The audience traditionally voted at every festival concert, and the winner was defined by the highest number of votes.

During the final concert of the Musical Olympus Festival at the Grand hall of the Shostakovich St Petersburg Academic Philharmonia, Ao Li presented Aleko’s cavatina from ‘Aleko’ by S. Rachmaninoff, Leporello’s aria from ‘Don Giovanni’ by W. A. Mozart, and Belcore’s aria from ‘L'elisir d'amore’ by  G. Donizetti.

Ao Li studied singing at the Shandong University. He was a member of the Merola and Adler programmes at the San Francisco Opera. His engagements included the roles of Lorenzo in ‘I Capuleti e I Montecchi’, Masetto and Papageno in ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘Die Zauberflote’, as well as Uberto in ‘La serva pardona’, and Belcore in ‘L'elisir d'amore’.

In 2013, Ao Li won 1 prize at the Placido Domingo’s Operalia, the World Opera Competition in Verona (Italy).

The XIX International Musical Olympus Festival was held in St Petersburg on May, 22 – June, 1 featuring 35 participants from 18 countries. About 5 thousand people attended the concerts. Festival concerts will take place in Zurich (October) and Berlin (November).