“Le Bu…again impressed with his imposing voice and forthright delivery.”
New York Classical Review
“…a pianist, whose playing is defined by high level of intelligence and brilliant technique”
Vocal Arts DC presents
Le Bu, Bass-baritone
Artyom Pak, Piano
2026 Gerald Perman Emerging Artist Recital
Gerald & Ann K. Perman Memorial Recital
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
2:00PM
Single tickets for the 2026 Perman Emerging Artist Recital will become available starting July 15!
2024 Operalia First Prize winner, Chinese bass-baritone Le Bu, makes his highly anticipated Washington, DC recital debut as the Vocal Arts DC Gerald Perman Emerging Artist. His performance marks the grand finale of our 35th anniversary season and is dedicated to the memory of our founder and his wife, Gerald and Ann K. Perman. Le Bu’s commanding voice and artistry have captivated audiences worldwide, and this recital offers a rare opportunity to experience his talent in an intimate setting.
Joined by pianist, Artyom Pak, Le Bu will present a compelling program that showcases his vocal depth and emotional range. The afternoon will feature Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death, a haunting and evocative song cycle, along with works highlighting Le’s musical storytelling. Don’t miss this special performance from a rising star.
*Selections TBA!
SOUND WORLD OF LE & MYRA
LISTEN TO LE!
LISTEN TO ARTYOM!
MEET THE ARTISTS
LE BU, BASS-BARITONE
Chinese bass-baritone Le Bu, a First Prize winner of Operalia in 2024, a 2022 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and a recent alumnus of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is fast becoming a major rising star in opera
and in concert.
MORE ABOUT LE!
In the summer, he returns to the Santa Fe Opera as Monterone in Rigoletto and covering Hunding in Die Walküre. Future engagements include returns to the Met, the Washington National Opera and the Santa Fe Opera and debuts with the Salzburg Eatster Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), and the Opéra National de Paris.
Last season, Le Bu returned to the Metropolitan Opera in a number of roles, the Speaker in the holiday presentation of The Magic Flute and the First Nzaraene in Salome, covering Ferrando in Il Trovatore, Angelotti in Tosca, Queequeg in Moby Dick and Colline in La Bohème. During the 2023-24 season, his Metropolitan Opera assignments included the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco, Biterolf in Tannhäuser and the Mandarin in Turandot. He made his Met debut the previous season as a Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo and appeared as the Second Guard in Julie Taymor’s beloved holiday production of The Magic Flute. He repeated the role of the Mandarin in Turandot with the Washington National Opera and appeared as Colline in La Bohème and as the French General in Silent Night at Wolf Trap. In the summer he returns to the Santa Fe Opera as Monterone in Rigoletto and covering Hunding in Die Walküre.
Recent engagements include covering Daland in Der Fliegende Holländer and singing Second Spirit in L’Orfeo at Santa Fe Opera, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro at Aspen Opera Theater, and the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte with the Merola Opera Program.
On the concert stage, he has appeared as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Bard Orchestra, a concert of operatic arias and scenes with the Manchester Music Festival, and the Lindemann Program’s annual spring recital series held at the New York Library for the Performing Arts.
Additional accolades include second place in the 2023 Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, winner of the 2022 Opera Index Competition, and recipient of the Hildegard Zadek Foundation’s young artist scholarship. He is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program, and the Art Song Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was awarded the Hugh Ross Commencement Award.
ARTYOM PAK, PIANO
Praised as “…a pianist, whose playing is defined by high level of intelligence and brilliant technique”, Artyom Pak has successfully performed in the United States of America, Europe, and Central Asia both as a soloist and collaborative pianist.
MORE ABOUT ARTYOM!
Coming Soon!
These performances are external rentals presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center
Campus Rentals Office. Performances are not produced by the Kennedy Center.
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