Mozart: Don Giovanni - Opera Australia National Tour - Jul-Sep ‘26

conductor: Simon Bruckard | Opera Australia Chamber Orchestra | director: Michael Gow | designer: Robert Kemp

The Scoop

“Cathy-Di Zhang and Benjamin Del Borrello make Zerlina and Masetto the production’s most convincing couple. Their chemistry is volatile, funny and physical. Zhang has a warm, expansive soprano, She maintains remarkable vocal control even while reclining across Masetto’s arms. Her singing carries both sensuality and emotional intelligence” James Murphy

InDaily SA

“Meanwhile, Zerlina is most excellently sung by Cathy-Di Zhang: her clear, light soprano and vivacity make her a natural fit for Mozart” Graham Strahle

Scenestr

“Cathy-Di Zhang sang with a bright crystalline tone which made the production shine. 'Batti, batti, o bel Masetto', one of the more tender arias in the opera, showcased the elegance in her voice. Not a moment for vocal gymnastics but one instead, for warmth” Kara White

5mbs

Zerlina (Cathy-Di Zhang) is a clever minx, tempted, as so many before her, but saved from disgrace and ruin. Vocally she is ideal for the two arias and famous duet with the would-be seducer” Emily Sutherland

Opera Gala - Snow Concert Hall, Canberra - May ‘26

mezzo-soprano: Helen Sherman | Pianist: Thomas Victor Johnson

Limelight

“While Sherman and Zhang both sang beautifully throughout the evening, two items stood out. Zhang gave a moving rendition of Un bel di vedremo from Madama Butterfly. There was no extravagant acting as she sang, just a feeling of hope for the return of the man she loved, US Naval Officer Lieutenant Pinkerton – which we know will not happen. It was an extremely poignant performance.

Secondly, I enjoyed the duet from Norma in which two female characters, Norma and Adalgisa, interact when Norma learns she has been betrayed by her lover. Pledging solidarity with each other, there was a strong connection between the two singers, which drew me into the story very easily.” Michelle Potter

Australian Arts Review

“What made this gala especially intriguing was that it marked the first time the two had shared the stage. They clearly relished the opportunity, and their delightful rapport was evident throughout.

Both artists introduced their items with brief, delightfully cheeky remarks and performed with compelling dramatic commitment, inviting the audience not only to savour the beauty of their singing but also to admire the artistry of their characterisations.

Among the solos, Sherman offered an arresting Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and the demanding mezzo aria Parto, parto from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, while Zhang enchanted with Song to the Moon from Dvořák’s Rusalka and drew tears with One Fine Day from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

That aria was preceded by the Act III Prelude from Madama Butterfly, played by Thomas Victor Johnson, who provided masterful piano accompaniment throughout for a memorable concert which concluded with a superb encore rendition of the famous Barcarolle from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann.” Bill Stephens OAM

Gilbert & Sullivan “A Musical Celebration” - Opera Australia - 'May ‘26

conductor: Chad Kelly | Orchestra Victoria | director: Stuart Maunder

Classic Melbourne

“A more pensive note came with Cathy-Di Zhang’s beautiful singing of “The Moon and I”, Yum Yum’s aria from The Mikado. The pace was leisurely, allowing her to linger and demonstrate just how expressive Sullivan’s music can be. A true operatic soprano, she took the interpretation of this aria to a new level. It was a complete contrast in style to the preceding Mikado trio.” Heather Leviston

Australian Arts Review

“Zhang, meanwhile, sang Yum-Yum’s The Sun, Whose Rays Are All Ablaze with radiant tone and poised lyricism, one of the evening’s loveliest moments” Paul Selar

Man in Chair

“Beautifully balancing the merriment, Cathy-Di Zhang artfully performs lead soprano arias ‘The hours creep on apace’ (HMS Pinafore) and ‘The sun whose rays’ (The Mikado)” Simon Parris

Brahms: A German Requiem - Sydney Philharmonia choirs - Oct ‘25

conductor: Brett Weymark | Sydney Youth Orchestra | Festival Chorus

J-Wire

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, in her first appearance with SPC, made her solo in the fifth movement unforgettable. Entering from the side of the stage in a striking one-shoulder, bright-red gown, she sang with a silken tone, her voice floating effortlessly over the orchestra. As she walked slowly across the stage, her gentle phrasing transformed “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” (“You now have sorrow”) into a moment of pure solace — as though she were in an intimate conversation with the audience” Shirley Politzer

ClassikON

“The highlight of the performance was, for me, when soprano, Cathy-Di Zhang, gracefully walked onto the stage, singing that she will comfort us like a mother. She sang in clear crystalline tones, without a score, and slowly walked the entire length of the stage, disappearing through the door at the other side. She was accompanied most delicately by the choir” Heidi Hereth

Sydney Arts Guide

“Cathy-Di  Zhang’s trajectory across the front of the stage was well choreographed as she sang the movement dripping with gentle gestures that concludes with ‘…I will comfort you like a mother comforts her child’. Once again brilliantly balanced with the choir and celebrating Brahms’ seamless blend of both, her phrasing, movement across her range and touching placement of melody and feeling made for an excellent moment” Paul Nolan

Purcell: Fairy Queen - Pinchgut Opera - May ‘25

conductor: Erin Helyard | director and designer: Netia Jones

Australian Stage

“All these were sung superbly by the cast, which as we have come to expect from Pinchgut contained not a weak link. If Kanen Breen and Cathy Di Zhang always steal the show with their integration of spontaneous acting ability with vocal beauty and flexibility, those singers with lesser thespian skills unfailingly rivetted attention in their solos.” Nicholas Routley

Sydney Arts Guide

“A few special mentions. Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, who has featured in a few Pinchgut seasons already, has taken a big leap in her acting skills. Her performance was grounded, solid and mature. Wonderful to see.” Annabelle Drumm

Theatre Thoughts

“Cathy-Di Zhang‘s acting chops shine as bright as her vibrant tone as she coasts through Purcell’s flittering coloratura with ease.” Claira Prider

The Daily Telegraph

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang was lithe and acrobatic – both vocally and physically – in her multiple roles, especially the tipsy fiancée-cum-bride” Steve Moffatt

Sydney Morning Herald

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang was bright-voiced with penetrating sound, even in moments of alcohol-fuelled languor.” Peter McCallum

Luke Di Somma: Siegfriend & Roy (The Unauthorised Opera) - Sydney Festival - Jan ’25

conductor: Luke di Somma | director: Constantine Costi | designer: Pip Runciman

ArtsHub

“A highlight is soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, who does a fantastic job as Nancy White/Lynette Chappel (Siegfried’s assistant) who is sawn in half onstage – without missing a note – thanks to magic consultant Adam Mada, who has made the most of this lo-fi environment for illusions” Gina Fairley

Australian Arts Review

“…while Cathy-Di Zhang, surely the only soprano ever to sing a stratospheric aria while cut in half, portrays their manager and confidant, Nancy White.” Bill Stephens OAM

StageNoise

“And an eye-popping turn from Cathy-Di Zhang as Nancy who maintains the soprano voice that’s made her an Opera Australia favourite even while being sawn in half!” Diana Simmonds

Deborah Jones

“There is also the unique treat of seeing zippy soprano Zhang being sawn in half while singing merrily in high operatic style (Adam Mada is the magic consultant). Yes, it’s a favourite old magic trick and no, we still don’t know how it’s done that close to an audience on a catwalk. What fun” Deborah jones

Sydney Morning Herald

“Cathy-Di Zhang swans in on her trademark glamour as magician’s assistant Nancy” Chantal Nguyen

Limelight

“Siegfried & Roy’s various onstage assistants and leading lady/personal manager Lynette Chappell (the world’s most levitated and sawn-in-half performer) become the sassy ‘Nancy White’ – [spoiler alert] a role tailor-made for Cathy-Di Zhang, whose audition while being sawn in half has to be seen to be believed” Jansson J. Antmann

Handel: Messiah - Melbourne Symphony Orhcestra - Dec ‘24

conductor: Erin Helyard | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Classic Melbourne

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang possessed a beautifully cultivated tone in much of her work. Her performance marked itself as an alternative to interpretations of arias like ‘Rejoice greatly’ where interpretations are often taken in the literal sense.  Zhang’s tone was like an inner well-spring that offered many moments of lyrical beauty” Steven Marino

ArtsHub

“The soloists were highly accomplished for this arrangement, but a particular standout was soprano Cathy-Di Zhang. Her graceful reverie as she glided in a scarlet silk dress to sing ‘And suddenly there was with the angel’, was breathtaking” Leila Lois

Puccini: La bohème - Opera Australia National Tour - Jul-Sep ‘24 and ‘25

conductor: Simon Bruckard | Opera Australia Chamber Orchestra | director: Dean Bryant | designer: Isabel Hudson

Canberra Critics Circle

“Cathy-Di Zhang is utterly bewitching as the flighty singer and actress Musetta. Her trickery, playfulness  and deception in Momus is sensitively contrasted with her deep concern for Mimi in the final scene.” Peter Wilkins

Australian Arts Review

“As his on-again, off-again lover, Cathy-Di Zhang is a lithe, appropriately radiant and big-hearted Musetta.” Paul Selar

Theatre Thoughts

“Equally impressive are the supporting cast; the fiery Musetta and the bohemian painter Marcello with their tumultuous relationship, add another layer of complexity to the narrative.” Chanele Mao

Gluck: Orpheus & Euridyce - Opera Australia - Jan ‘24

conductor: Dane Lam | Australian Ballet and Opera Orchestra | director: Yaron Lifschitz | designer: Libby McDonnell

The Daily Telegraph

“Equally impressive was Zhang, who missed the opening night through illness. Her creamy even soprano and fine acting skills are highlighted in the third act in the duet where she can’t understand why her lover won’t look at her, effectively played out in the confines of the miniature house, and her anguished aria Che fiero momento? (What kind of life is this?) in which she believes Orpheus has been unfaithful.” Steve Moffatt 

Charpentier: The Pleasures of Versailles - Pinchgut Opera - Sep '23

conductor: Erin Helyard | orchestra: Orchestra of the Antipodes | director: Shannon Burns | designer: Melanie Liertz

Sydney Morning Herald - 4 stars

“Soprano Lauren Lodge-Campbell portrayed Music with a quiet luminous voice of attractive shades and a poised stage presence of haughty disdain, while Cathy-Di Zhang as Conversation sang with engaging vivacious brightness…In Love Conquers All Lodge-Campbell and Zhang became shepherdesses fending off the advances of Linco, sung with suave softness by contralto Hannah Fraser, and Silvo, sung by Michael Petruccelli with a lightly glowing, richly coloured tenor sound. Lodge-Campbell and Zhang combined in a duet of light virtuosity and the whole cast came together in ensembles of cohesive polish and impressive agility.” Peter McCallum

Limelight - 4 stars

“The protagonists are La Musique, a stately Lauren Lodge-Campbell, and La Conversation, the ebullient Cathy-Di Zhang. The sheer beauty of Lodge-Campbell’s performance makes a convincing case for listening to music in respectful silence. However, the charm of Zhang’s backchat is hard to resist. The action culminates in a laughing chorus and a slick quintet in praise of the Sun King.” Harriet Cunningham

Stage Whispers

“The first allegorical opera, The Pleasures of Versailles, has Music (an accomplished Lauren Lodge-Campbell) wanting to sing endless acclaim to the Sun King while Conversation (an ebullient Cathy-Di Zhang) interrupts with her chatter and flattery.” Martin Portus

ClassikON

“In Pleasures of Versailles two characters playing La Musique and La Conversation have a ‘sing off’ to determine who pleases the king the most. The honey toned Lauren Lodge-Campbell as La Musique for me had the upper hand in the battle of Music over Conversation but only because Charpentier made it so. Cathy-Di Zhang, La Conversation, revelled in this churlish role and like all the singers was glorious.” Alan Holley

Sydney Arts Guide - 4 stars

“Soprano Lodge-Campbell created a very likeable character filled with the joy of singing without becoming self absorbed. Soprano Zhang developed a strong character, like a child, free to fully express her likes and dislikes which would change on a whim (usually bribed with chocolate).” Annabelle Drumm

Australian Arts Review

“…fittingly contrasted sopranos and characterful actors Cathy-Di Zhang and Lauren Lodge-Campbell took centre stage in the roles of La Conversation and La Musique respectively in Les plaisirs de Versailles…As the first bars of Amor vince ogni cosa got underway, the singers made minor costume adjustments for a quaint and ludicrous episode in which two shepherdesses, Filli and Eurilla, unconvinced by the need for lovers, have an abrupt change of mind when their suitors, Linco and Silvo, save their flocks…Zhang’s lithe and richly voiced Eurilla, Petrucelli’s ardent Silvo and Fraser’s soldierly Linco made up the quartet of lovers, enacting the generously thoughtful and brisk direction from movement director Shannon Burns. Paul Selar

ACO at Ukaria - Wanderers of the Night - Jun '23

Australian Chamber Orchestra | Guest Soprano: Cathy-Di Zhang

The Advertiser

“On this occasion they were joined by star soprano Cathy-Di Zhang whose four numbers with them helped to unify their bewilderingly wide-ranging program, from Merula and Arañés to Golijov by way of Strauss. Her presence was absorbing, and her voice was flexible and multi-coloured enough to provide electrifying immediacy to Golijov’s Lúa Descolorida, which he wrote with Dawn Upshaw’s voice in mind. Golijov would have been delighted. Moreover Zhang projected the spiritual quality of Merula’s Hor ch’è tempo di domire, and the folksy high spirits of Arañés’ Chacona: a la vida bona with equal ease and conviction. Her intensity in Strauss’s Morgen!, always an emotional hot-spot, was palpable and underscored general agreement she is a soprano to watch.” Rodney Smith

Australian Book Review

“A word also about Zhang, an Opera Australia artist. She is an intensely expressive, accomplished performer who is able to meet Tognetti and the ACO on their level. She was at home in this more contained early Baroque style of Merula and Juan Arañes’s infectiously rhythmic ‘Chacona: a la vida bona’, as she was in Golijov’s sumptuous ‘Lúa Descolorida’ and Richard Strauss’s even riper ‘Morgen’.” Graham Strahle

Opera Up Late for World Pride - Opera Australia - Feb '23

piano: Paul Fitzsimon | host: Reuben Kaye | director: Shaun Rennie

CityHub

“Joan Sutherland would be pearl-clutching in her grave if she could see what was happening in her name-sake theatre. Reuben Kaye and a band of errant Opera Australia singers take an already extreme artform to its outer limits in this delightful night-cap show. Opera Up Late is a 60-minute romp through some of opera’s favourite tunes plus one or two pop songs. It is irreverent, super camp, and utterly hilarious. Master of ceremonies, Reuben Kaye, is indeed just that – a ceremonial master. Flamboyant, charismatic, with a razor wit that occasionally nicks and draws blood, Kaye has the audience in his thrall.

With him on stage are five prestige Opera Australia artists who prove that opera isn’t as serious and high-brow and many people might think. Annie Aitken, Tomas Dalton, Angela Hogan, Benjamin Rasheed, and Cathy-Di Zhang are like a troupe of seasoned burlesque/vaudeville players, hamming it up, dressing it down, and being so out there’s no turning back. Performing hits from Carmen, La Traviata, Turandot, Lakmé, La Bohéme, and more, with some Lady Gaga thrown in for good measure, these singers, along with Kaye, have true comic delivery and timing while still bringing the big opera vocals… 

…The ubiquitous Shaun Rennie, who seems to be directing everything worth seeing at the moment is responsible for this gem.” Rita Bratovich

The Queer Review - 4 stars

“Opera Up Late takes opera’s biggest hits and sprinkles them with some late night fairy dust. Stars of the Sydney Opera House’s Dame Joan Sutherland theatre are dragging up, getting down and belting the high notes for an evening of delights that’s making an early claim to be the real highlight of Sydney WorldPride’s cultural calendar!

Drag comedian Reuben Kaye puts opera’s inherent campiness under the microscope as Opera Australia’s Annie Aitken, Tomas Dalton, Angela Hogan, Benjamin Rasheed, and Cathy-Di Zhango flip arias in queer directions, throwing in some Sondheim, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga and more along the way. One thing that’s immediately apparent is that these may be professional opera stars and have the vocal chops to prove it, but deep down they’re all comedy queens, gleefully poking fun at their art form and revelling in the chance to let loose.

The night opens with a lip-sync: Tomas Dalton is in full regency drag, while Cathy-Di Zhango hits the notes from the balcony, the two of them battling for the audience’s attention.” Chad Armstrong

Mozart: Don Giovanni - Zerlina - Opera Australia - Jan-Feb '23

conductor: Guillaume Tourniaire | orchestra: Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra | director: Warwick Doddrell (original: David McVicar) | designer: Robert Jones

OperaWire

“There was, though, the occasional chink of light at the top of those tempting stairs. Most notably, the stage brightened for the peasant “white wedding” between Zerlina (soprano Cathy-Di Zhang) and Masetto (baritone Andrew Williams), where we were able to gauge well the depravity of the Don’s pursuits as Kymach and Kissin – as two bully-boys – turned this innocently enthusiastic scene into something sinister and menacing.

This was arguably the most effective scene in the whole production where we could get the full measure of Giovanni’s corruption – the Don crosses class boundaries – can’t even “pick on someone his own size.” Perhaps this was the production’s key, a glimpse into how an ordered world should be, before it is corrupted…

And while the Giovanni/Zerlina duet “Là ci darem la mano,” sung after Giovanni has gotten fiancé Masetto out of the way, may be one of the most charming extractable items from the overall opera, there was real terror in the eyes of Zerlina (Cathy-Di Zhang) as Giovanni reached for her “mano.” Perhaps the only character who comes across as truly sympathetic in this whole production, Zerlina’s dilemma, in Zhang’s interpretation, was palpable: “I want to and don’t want to.” What does it take to stop us all being Giovannis?” Gordon Williams

Stage Noise - 4 stars

“Cathy-Di Zhang is outstanding as the powerless, preyed-upon Zerlina. It’s amazing that such a compelling soprano comes out of such a slight frame.” Diana Simmonds

Bachtrack

“Cathy-Di Zhang was suitably comic as Zerlina, and Andrew Williams a sulky, contradictory foil in an interestingly complex take on the character of Masetto.” Chantal Nguyen

Daily Telegraph

“Cathy-Di Zhang, seen recently in Pinchgut productions Charpentier’s Medee and Rameau’s Platee, was a delight as the peasant girl Zerlina, while her cuckolded fiance Masetto was nicely handled by young Australian baritone Andrew Williams. Her aria Batti, batti in which she invites him to beat her takes on a disturbing relevance in light of current anti-domestic and gender-based violence campaigns.” Steve Moffatt

Sydney Arts Guide

“The pair of fiancees, namely peasant couple Zerlina with Masetto and higher class Donna Anna with Don Ottavio are well drawn…The first pair (Cathy-Di Zhang and Andrew Williams) present with an urgent physicality and believable, lovable sentiment. The dynamic nature of their playful love and its sabotage by Don Giovanni is mirrorred musically in energetic vocal exchanges,  successfully tracing Mozart’s fiendishly fast banter as well as their joyful duets. The clarity of tenderness and innocence is to be enjoyed here.” Paul Nolan

Arts Hub - 5 stars

“There are also strong roles here for Don Giovanni’s conquests – or attempted conquests – with soprano Cathy-Di Zhang as Zerlina and emerging principal Bronwyn Douglass as Donna Elvira and the young singer Sophie Salvesani as Donna Anna.” Diana Carroll

Charpentier: Médée - Créuse - Pinchgut Opera - Dec '22

conductor: Erin Helyard | orchestra: Orchestra of the Antipodes | director: Justin Way | designer: Charles Edward Davis

OperaWire

“The production was aided by finely-detailed performances; and, of course, there seems to be a lot of motivational detail in the text. In a YouTube interview, soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, L’Amour in last year’s “Platée”, describes her character Créuse as “the ultimate mean girl.” Perhaps there’s an argument for that view and it would fit with the production’s view of Médée as victim as much as perpetrator, but for me Zhang embodied an unexpected vulnerability in a rival for Jason’s heart who was out of her depth. Granted, there seemed to be a predatory insinuating quality for example in the way she encroached on Jason’s notes in their Act two scene five duet, but the secret wave to the kids in her first scene came across as suitably gauche, while we could still sympathize with the heart-stealer inflamed with the poison Médée has embedded in the robe.” Gordon Williams

The Saturday Paper

“The king’s daughter, Princess Créuse, is performed by Cathy-Di Zhang. A glamorous figure in all her performances, Zhang’s Princess is a whip-thin, stylish beauty, with long, glossy hair, swaying atop a pair of very high heels. Her voice, fittingly, is a clear, nimble soprano, knowingly beguiling Jason with the siren song of a younger woman… Her death scene, where she cradles herself in the arms of her father’s still-warm corpse, is very moving.” Chantal Ngyuen

The Conversation

“In this production, Médée is presented as a crone – white haired and having lost her physical allure, juxtaposed against the younger princess Créuse (Cathy-Di Zhang), stunning in a royal purple dress. It is only in pursuit of Créuse that Petrucelli’s Jason shows virility and arduous persuasion. Zhang’s Créuse is sexy and cunning, negotiating well the political manoeuvres of the court.” Daniela Kaleva

Sydney Morning Herald

“As arch-cad Jason, Michael Petruccelli betrays her with a finely grained, well-finished voice, blending sensuously in duets with both Carby and with Cathy-Di Zhang (his new princess, Créuse)…Zhang’s sound has a softer glow, with pure colours surrounded by a hint of mistiness.” Peter McCallum

Australian Arts Review

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang gilds the role of Créuse, Princess of Corinth, with her fine penetrating soprano and seductive spell” Paul Selar

Daily Telegraph

“Creuse of Corinth, sung admirably by Aussie soprano Cathy-Di Zhang…Petruccelli and Zhang were also well matched vocally and physically in this production, directed by Justin Way, who worked for 15 years at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Their steamy affair sets off a tragic and violent course of events in which Medee uses her supernatural powers to commit murder and mayhem.” Steve Moffatt

Limelight

“The soloists are a coterie of very fine voices and acting talent…Cathy-Di Zhang with her nimble technique is a fickle Princess Créuse” Shamistha de Soysa

Opera Magazine February ‘23

“Michael Petruccelli’s smoothly sung, complacently two-faced Jason was wuick to fall in lust wiht Cathy-Di Zhang’s sexy, tangy Créuse…” Deborah Jones

Australian Stage

“Catherine Carby gives a towering performance in the title role. From her first aria "Qu'ille cherche", she harnesses her rich, true mezzo-soprano to the portrayal of a woman who knows her own strength and is never to be trifled with. This contrasts beautifully with the silvery liquidity of Cathy-Di Zhang's soprano, which gives the princess Creuse the character of a woman whose only power is that of seduction.” Nicholas Routley

Richard Mills: The Butterfly Lovers - Zhu YingTai - Victorian Opera - Oct '22

conductor: Richard Mills | orchestra: Victorian Opera Orchestra | director: Ivan Heng | designer: Brian Gothong Tan

The Age

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang brings a sense of inner strength and fortitude to the role of Yingtai. Her performance – a standout – is sensitive and affecting.” Nadia Bailey

Limelight

“The platonic lovers are interpreted with understated emotion for most of the opera’s 80 minutes, which makes their growing anxiety and eventual grief moving. As Yingtai, Australian Cathy-Di Zhang seems vocally and dramatically demure, but there’s always an undercurrent of strength that ultimately builds into dramatic-soprano impact.” Patricia Maunder

Melbourne Theatre info

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang (Yingtai) and counter-tenor Meili Li (Shanbo) are the lovers, their voices soaring, dipping, blending. Their costumes and makeup are so similar, their voices so perfectly matched, they are truly each other’s second self. Director Ivan Hen emphasises the homoerotic tension in their relationship, and the gender fluidity of the tale echoes with contemporary resonance.” Dina Ross

Rossini: Barber of Seville - Rosina - Opera Australia National Tour - Jul-Sep '22

conductor: Luke Spicer | orchestra: Opera Australia Chamber Orchestra | director: Priscilla Jackman | designer: Michael Scott-Mitchell

The Age

“Rosina could be a tragic figure – trapped, oppressed, and at the mercy of two different men who want to marry her – but she’s not. Rossini’s Rosina is already puckish and in control of her own story – at least to a degree – tricking her guardian and ultimately getting her own way. In director Priscilla Jackman’s version, Rosina’s autonomy is amped up – instead of being set in Dr Bartolo’s house, the entire opera takes place in and around “Rosina’s Sevillised Libations” and she enjoys tripping, teasing and manipulating Bartolo. Zhang excels at the physical comedy required of the role and in the vocal challenges.” Elizabeth Flux

Puccini: La bohème at Glenelg beach - Mimi - State Opera South Australia - Mar '22

conductor: Simon Bruckard | orchestra: Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | director: Stuart Maunder | designer: Simone Romaniuk

The Advertiser

“The Mimi, Cathy-Di Zhang is a revelation. Her slight, slender frame produces a lustrous and compelling sound. The physical rapport with her Rodolfo reinforces her frailty.” Ewart Shaw

INdaily - Adelaide Independent News

“Rosario La Spina (tenor) shone as poet Rodolfo, his voice a great match for the inspiring Cathy-Di Zhang (soprano) as the ailing seamstress Mimi … The solos from La Spina, Zhang, Dundas and Frahn were completely absorbing. Another highlight was the interweaving duets in Act Three, as the two couples sing of their own different concerns.” Steve Evans

Rameau: Platée - L’amour/La folie - Pinchgut Opera - Dec '21

conductor: Erin Helyard | orchestra: Orchestra of the Antipodes | director: Neil Armfield | designer: Stephen Curtis

Sydney Morning Herald

“Going beyond Breen’s brilliance, this production overall is very fine. Singing the gods of love and of madness, Cathy-Di Zhang combined a fiery and focused stage persona with a beguilingly attractive, soft-edged voice, her wedding song on the fate of Daphne a tour-de-force of changing emotion.” Peter McCallum

Daily Telegraph

“Also making a debut for Pinchgut was exciting Aussie soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, who returned recently from London where she is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. Sexy and with a voice that can melt your heart, she was sensational in the twin roles of L’Amour and La Folie, sporting an electric guitar, instead of a lyre, in the brilliant aria where she tells of Apollo’s unsuccessful attempts to seduce Dafne.” Steve Moffatt

The Australian

“Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang impressed as both a pure-toned L’Amour and a more richly coloured La Folie” Murray Black

OperaWire

“But a huge weight falls also on La Folie (Madness), the role assigned to soprano L’Amour at the wedding recovery part, and here Cathy-Di Zhang playing L’Amour playing Madness is formidable. “J’attriste l’allégresse même” she sings when warning what happened to Daphne when she rejected Apollo’s love – I can turn joy into sadness, she advises and that warning is totally, chillingly believable! Nor was Zhang’s vocal armory exhausted yet. And we know she can also turn sorrow back. There may be more than vocal virtuosity to ally Madness/Amour (Zhang) with Platée (Breen).” Gordon Williams

Limelight

“Assembled around Breen is a cast that’s exceptional even by Pinchgut’s usual high standards…Cathy-Di Zhang is a rock-star La Folie with appropriately dark tones in her willowy soprano” Deborah Jones

Bachtrack

“Cathy-Di Zhang plays Love/Madness (Amour/La Folie) with reckless glamour. I liked her especially as Madness where – black lipsticked, swaying on a table, and wildly brandishing an electric guitar (“Apollo’s lyre, which I have just stolen”) – she channelled a rock goddess and sang “Let our music outshine all other concerts!” in a creamily dark coloratura.” Chantal Nguyen

Artshub

“Possibly to increase the absurdity of the plot, Rameau chose to set Platée and Amour/Cupid as travesti roles, that is, taking on opposite genders. In this production by Neil Armfield, it was these two roles that excelled in breaking out of the mould…

Cathy-Di Zhang was extraordinary as La Folie (Madness) a male role sung by a soprano. This was her first appearance in a Pinchgut production; we hope that she returns soon. Unimaginable athleticism in voice and physical movement in Act Two while shackled to an electric guitar, standing on a wedding table and moshing into the chorus was a show stopper, even in this show full of stoppers.” David Barmby

Australian Arts Review

“Cathy-Di Zhang is both lithe and lively with a smattering of lunacy as La Folie and Amour, her assured and lush soprano radiant in the high tessitura and performing for dear life in a late show-stealing aria in rock star mode as she sings her aria for which La Folie can turn mourning into joy.” Paul Selar

Stage Noise

“…then Love and Madness – brought to soaring soprano life in a Siouxsie Sioux of a performance by Cathy-Di Zhang.” Diana Simmonds

Australian Stage

“Kanen Breen is a genuine haute-contre, that voice beloved in the 18th century by the French which is between a high tenor and a counter-tenor. He would have stolen any show, but in this production he was matched by the amazing soprano Cathy-Di Zhang. She played two roles, Cupid and Madness, and the only adjustment she made to her diaphanous white costume between the two roles was to paint her lips black (for Madness). The effect of this was to conflate the idea of love with madness, and to give the audience to understand that her roles were an alter ego to Platée. Furthermore, in the big picture her conflation of the two roles underlined the madness inherent in treating love in the way the gods do in this opera.” Nicholas Routley

The Conversation

“…and performing both Love and Madness, Cathy-Di Zhang, has a commanding vocal and physical presence.” Daniela Kaleva

Mozart: Così fan tutte - Fiordiligi - Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg - Jul '18

conductor: Ivo Hentschel | orchestra: Kammerakademie Potsdam | director: Arila Siegert | designer: Moritz Nitsche

Kulturradio, Germany

“Dagegen eine echte Entdeckung war Cathy-Di Zhang, eine australische Sopranistin mit chinesischen Wurzeln als Fiordiligi. Sie hat ein lyrisches Timbre mit großer Wärme und viel Substanz, da blieben keine Wünsche offen, was die Gestaltung der Partie anging” Claus Fischer

Der Tagesspiegel Potsdamer, Germany

“Cathy-Di Zhang’s schlanker Sopran erklimmt ebenso mühelos höchste Höhen wie später tiefste Tiefen und zeigt dabei einen leichten, hier sehr passenden Hang zum Überdramatischen; schön harmoniert dazu der kernigere, mattschimmernde Mezzo der Joanna Talarkiewicz” Isabel Herzfeld

Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg Matinée Concert - Jul '18

Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany

“Wie eine gelernte Finanzprüferin sieht Cathy-Di Zhang nicht aus, wie sie da hochemotional die Arie der Mimi fleht, flirtet, flötet. Gedankt sei es ihrem Chef, der der jungen, bei der Arbeit singenden Frau empfahl, doch einmal vorzusingen. Die Chinesin, die in Sydney aufwuchs, mit einem Italiener verheiratet ist und in den Niederlanden lebt, tat das in London und bekam von der Royal Academy of Music stehenden Fußes ein Stipendium fürs Opernstudium. Was für ein Gewinn für die Kammeroper, bei der die Sopranistin in diesem Jahr eine der beiden Fiordiligis in Mozarts „Cosi fan tutte“ singen wird…so wie auch der unter die Haut gehende Vortrag der Mimi, die ihren Blumenstrauß zerpflückt, als wäre der ein Sinnbild für das Leben und die Liebe” Regine Buddeke

Rencontres Musicales de Chaon, Chaon, France - Jun '16

conductor: Marius Stieghorst | orchestra: l'Orchestre Symphonique d'Orléans

La nouvelle République Newspaper, France - FULL ARTICLE HERE

"Mais le moment fort de ce week-end a très certainement été le concert de clôture avec l'orchestre symphonique d'Orléans, dirigé par Marius Stieghorst, exceptionnellement accompagné par la virtuose soprano australienne, Cathy Di Zhang, et l'excellent violoncelliste, Alberto Casadéi, qui s'en sont donné à cœur joie pour émouvoir le public : « Je suis toute retournée, j'ai la chair de poule », s'exclamait une festivalière pendant le concert. Et en effet, il y avait de quoi réjouir même les non connaisseurs qui se souviendront sûrement de cet après-midi où ils ont entendu pour la première fois la voix de la soprano Cathy Di Zhang …air de Juliette « Je veux vivre » de Massenet, interprété de façon originale, mais non moins renversante,…La 5e édition des Rencontres Musicales de Chaon restera dans les mémoires comme exceptionnelle" Alexis Couturier

"Chamber songs" Recital, Sonora '16 Festival, Merano, Italy - Jun '16

soprano: Cathy-Di Zhang | violin: Marcello Fera | cello: Alberto Casadei | piano: Filippo Faes

Alto Adige Newspaper, Italy

"Il soprano australiano Cathy-Di Zhang innanzitutto, che abbina una tecnica impeccabile a sensibilità, grande eleganza di fraseggio e una voce dal timbro morbido, sicura e uniforme su tutti i registri..." Marzio Terrani

Italian classical music magazine "Amadeus", Italy

"i primi brani sono state cinque delle Canzoni irlandesi WoO 152, 153 e 154 di Ludwig van Beethoven…Ottima scelta come ouverture, le canzoni hanno avuto il merito di mostrare fin da subito la raffinata vocalità di Zhang, che ha reso con cullante tono narrativo il carattere popolare, supportata con cura dal trio… le Cinq mélodies populaires grecques di Ravel…Sul repertorio francese (cinq mélodies populaires Grecques di Ravel) il soprano si è trovato particolarmente a suo agio, cantando con grande raffinatezza e presenza scenica..." Alessandro Tommasi

Puccini: Gianni Schicchi - Lauretta - Royal Academy Opera - Nov '14

conductor: Peter Robinson | director: William Kerley | designer: Jason Southgate

Bachtrack - 4 stars - FULL ARTICLE HERE

“But it was the orchestra and the main trio of voices that turned a competent performance into an outstanding one…As Lauretta, Cathy-Di Zhang’s big moment is “O mio babbino caro”: it may not be the most technically challenging soprano aria in the repertoire, but it’s one of the most charming, and Zhang delivered it with grace and winning warmth. At the end of the aria, as Lauretta snuggles persuasively up to her father, Wang delivered a slight shrug of the shoulders and a raised eyebrow, as if to say “well, what can you do after that”? After Zhang’s lovely singing, it brought the house down…” David Karlin

The Guardian - 4 stars 

“Among the standout singers to watch for as they come on to the opera circuit are the tenor Oliver Johnston, whose virile young lover Rinuccio made a good match with Cathy-Di Zhang’s sweet toned Lauretta…” Stephen Pritchard

Express  

“Cathy-Di Zhang as Lauretta and Oliver Johnston as Rinuccio are an engaging pair of young lovers…” Clare Calvin

The Spectator 

“Cathy-Di Zhang was his delightful daughter Lauretta, who managed a skilful and individual ‘O mio babbino caro’…” Michael Tanner

Opera Magazine 

“There was an intriguing touch of steel in Cathy-Di Zhang’s Lauretta…” Yehuda Shapiro
 

Richard Lewis / Jean Shanks Award 2014 - Royal Academy of Music - Mar '14

richardlewis-tenor.co.uk 

“The soprano Cathy-Di Zhang sounded promising and has an intelligent and beautifully placed voice, her Bach controlled and even.”

Massenet: Cendrillon - Royal Academy Opera - Nov '13

conductor: Gareth Hancock | director: Christopher Cowell | designer: Bridget Kimak

The Times - 4 Stars

"The Royal Academy is sticking its neck out in mounting the opera (which follows Covent Garden’s star-spangled production in 2011). The gamble is worth it for the voices giving it their considerable all. Leading the first cast, Cathy-Di Zhang is beautifully affecting as Cinders, or Lucette as she is in this version. Zhang’s silvery tone is shiveringly transporting, her phrasing natural and graceful, and so is her musicality — here is a soprano unafraid to let you focus in as she scales back for a rapt pianissimo...” Neil Fisher

Opera Magazine

‘a staging superior in wit, invention and emotional impact to Lauren Pelly’s 2011 Covent Garden extravaganza... In her best moments as Lucette (Cendrillon), the soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, a presence of natural grace and reticence, combined pathos with singing of pearly beauty... the ensemble singing was remarkable for depth of sound, precision and vocal clarity... the orchestra sounding like a real theatre band...’ Yehuda Shapiro

Bachtrack - 4 stars - FULL ARTICLE HERE

“...What helped, of course, was that Act III features the three best singers in the production, who lifted the whole evening out of the ordinary...In the title role, Cathy-Di Zhang summoned up depths of romantic expression and phrasing. Zhang throws a lot into varying her vocal timbre in line with what’s happening in the music: it’s very effective...” David Karlin

Brian Dickie’s Blog

“The Royal Academy of Music's terrific graduate opera programme put on an an immensely enjoyable production of Massenet's Cendrillon last night...The Royal Academy chose to cast Lucette (Cendrillon) with a soprano and the Prince with a tenor...But this solution worked, in no small part due to the convincing performances of Cathy-Di Zhang and Richard Dowling, well sung and really moving in the passionate world of Act 3.” Brian Dickie

Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel - Gretel - Pacific Opera - Aug '10

conductor: Russell Gerr | director: Christine Douglas | designer: Simone Romaniuk

Media Culture Reviews 

"...and his sister Gretel (the golden voiced Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang)...Pacific Opera’s glorious production is especially alive with the many talents of Soprano Cathy-Di Zhang who vicariously energises the audience with her youthful and boundless live wire zest. A superb actress, she also vocally shines when initially convincing Hansel to ‘lighten up’ as they both vocally embrace the first of many happy Tra La La La ‘s..." Nick Terrell