BIOGRAPHY
Tenor Xiaofeng Hou joins the UC College-Conservatory of Music in the 2026–27 season as an Artist Diploma candidate in Opera Performance, where he will sing Rodolfo in La bohème. During summer 2026, he is a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, covering Lensky in Eugene Onegin and appearing in La Cenerentola.
His recent stage credits include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Chicago Summer Opera; Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro; the Prince in Rusalka: The Littlest Mermaid; and Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard at New England Conservatory. He has also covered Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and performed opera scenes as Edgardo, Lindoro, Scaramuccio, Fenton and Don Ottavio.
Hou received the Western Region Encouragement Award in the 2026 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition after being named a 2025 San Diego District Winner. In 2026, he worked with Renée Fleming in master class. His performance venues include Vienna’s Golden Hall, Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, Boston’s Jordan Hall and Chicago’s Ganz Hall.
Hou earned his Master of Music in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory and his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from China Conservatory of Music.
Beyond opera, Hou is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and former frontman of the Beijing rock band Gummo, which performed sold-out concerts for audiences of more than 1,000. His original Mandarin singles Begonia (海棠) and No One’s Talking to You (没人和你说话) are available on Spotify and NetEase. He has also led music and choral workshops for Tsinghua University and China’s Ministry of Education.