Franco Kong

• 1st prize (gold medal) at the Bromley (Kent) festival of music and speech 2012 (Carmen Lee)
• 3rd prize ( Bronze medal ) at the Bromley (Kent) festival of music and speech 2012 (Kalvin Lee)
• 1st prize (gold medal ) at the Bromley (Kent) festival of music and speech 2010 (Carmen Duong)
• 2nd prize ( silver medal) at the Bromley (Kent) festival music and speech 2009 (Jade Kong)
• Music scholarship to study at Bournemouth University 2014 (Winston Diep)
• Music scholarship to study at St Dunstan’s College 2012 (Jason Truong)
• Music scholarship to study at City of London school 2010 (Kalvin Chong)
• Music scholarship to study at Bromley High School 2009 (Carmen Liu)

British baritone Franco Kong, a UK resident and recent British citizen, was born into a musical family in China. He received his B.A. degree from the Xinghai Conservatoire in China, after which he was awarded the prestigious Norman Gristwood Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies at Trinity College of Music, London.

Franco is a versatile and accomplished artist in opera, oratorio, and recital. His operatic debut came with the role of Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, and he has since performed across a wide array of roles, including creating the role of Casper in the world premiere of Joe Carpenter and Son. His extensive performance history includes engagements with leading companies such as Wexford Festival Opera, Dublin Grand Opera, Birmingham Opera Company, Chelsea Opera Group, English Touring Opera, and Garsington Opera, among others.

In addition to his opera work, Franco has been featured in numerous recital and oratorio performances, appearing at prestigious venues including the Royal Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Purcell Room, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, St. James Piccadilly, Southwark Cathedral, and Blackheath Concert Hall.

Franco’s repertoire is both extensive and diverse, with operatic roles spanning from the title roles in Rigoletto and Don Pasquale, to Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, Marcello in La Bohème, Germont in La Traviata, and Escamillo in Carmen. He has worked under the direction of notable conductors and directors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Graham Vick, Simon Joly, and Nicholas Braithwaite.

His concert repertoire is equally broad, featuring works like Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.

Recent projects include the title role in Rigoletto in a concert performance in Italy, the title role in Don Pasquale with Apollo Opera, Pluto in Hippolyte et Aricie with Philharmonia Britannica, and Leporello in Don Giovanni with Heritage Opera.