"Strikingly attractive voice of ebony colour" (Abendzeitung) - "Standing out in opera, concert and song recitals alike with her colourful timbre, flawless voice, and remarkable receptivity, the young mezzo-soprano is critically acclaimed as a "voice that is something to look out for.” (Operawire).

The mezzo-soprano, Yajie Zhang, was an ensemble member of the Leipzig Opera from 2022-2024, where she sang Angelina in "La Cenerentola", Hänsel in Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel", and Suzuki in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", amoung others. Yajie Zhang began the 2024/25 Season as Floßhilde in Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold" at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing (NCPA), therafter returning to the Bavarian State Opera with the same role in a new production of "Das Rheingold" directed by Tobias Kratzer. In addition, Yajie Zhang will debut as Aouda in the opera "Around the World in 80 Days" at the Zurich Opera House. Highlights of recent years include her debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Nancy Tang in "Nixon in China" with Thomas Hampson and Renée Fleming, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. At the NCPA in Beijing she was most recently seen as Nicklausse/Muse in Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" under Pinchas Steinberg, as Cherubino in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" and as Stéphano in Gounod's opera "Roméo et Juliette". In the summer of 2025 she will return to Beijing, again as Cherubino.

“Yajie Zhang's personality and her richly facetted mezzo-soprano were captivating from the very beginning.” (RBB Kultur).

Concerts and recitals have brought her to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Pierre Boulez Hall in Berlin, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. In the 2024/25 season she will give recitals together with Hartmut Höll in Montreal, Frankfurt, and Kassel. She will also perform with the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra and the Festival Philharmonie Westfalen and make her debut at the Vienna Musikverein as a soloist in Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony. She sang Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with the China Philharmonic Orchestra under Yu Long at the Beijing Music Festival in 2019, followed by a spectacular appearance with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under Jukka-Pekka Saraste with Mahler's "Rückert Lieder". She was a guest at the Shanghai Baroque Festival with the Shanghai Camerata under David Stern.

The young mezzo-soprano has received numerous awards at various competitions, including the 2018 DEBUT Classical Singing Competition, the 2019 song competition "Das Lied" in Heidelberg, the Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, and the CLIP International Opera Competition in Portofino, Italy. By 2017, she had already attracted international attention as the youngest contestant at the International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch, where she was awarded the Grand Prix (1st Prize) as well as the Opera and Junior Jury prizes.

Born in the Anhui province of China, Yajie Zhang began her vocal studies in Shanghai, during which time she was also an artist in residence at the Zhou Xiao Yan Opera Centre. She completed her studies with a master's and artist diploma degrees from the conservatories in Hanover and Karlsruhe, Germany.