The 2023 Ningbo International Vocal Competition opened in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Dec 3. Forty-nine competitors and around 1,000 music lovers shared the stage during the opening gala.

Between Dec 4 and 10 there will be three rounds of competition and winners will be announced on Dec 11 during a gala event.

Mongolian bass singer Tsend-Ayush Amarbeld, who won the competition in 2018, performed at the opening concert.

Veteran singers, including tenor Xu Chang, soprano Liu Yanhua and mezzo- soprano Shi Lin, appeared with the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yu Feng, performing arias and excerpts from operas like Wagner's Die Walkure, and Verdi's Aida.

Yu, who is also president of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, is committee chairman of the Ningbo International Vocal Competition. Eight musicians from around the world, including China, the United States, and Italy, serve as judges.

First launched in 2000, and formerly known as the China International Vocal Competition, the event has been held in Ningbo since 2005, when it was renamed. To date, some 1,600 competitors from 40 countries have participated in the competition.