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Sunyoung Seo

Soprano

South Korean soprano Sunyoung Seo was born in Pusan, and studied singing at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.

A DAAD scholarship enabled her to come to Europe and to study at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf, where she performed roles such as Contessa Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro, Mimi La bohème and the title role in Angelica Suor Angelica. With support from Westdeutscher Rundfunk, she recorded a CD album of romances and arias and then, as a member of the ensemble at Theater Basel, appeared as the title role in Rusalka, Micaëla Carmen, Salud La vida Breve, Katja Katja Kabanova, Amelia Un ballo in maschera, Desdemona Otello, Elettra Idomeneo, Elsa Lohengrin and Tatiana Eugene Onegin.

Sunyoung has worked with leading international conductors including Christian Thielemann, Valery Gergiev, Myung-whun Chung, John Fiore, Axel Kober, Gabriel Feltz, John Luther, Enrico Delamboye, Giuliano Betta, Andrea Marcon, and Thomas Gabrisch. She has also performed with presitigious orchestras including the Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Mariinsky Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Berner Symphonieorchester, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra, in venues including the Barbican, Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Mariinsky Concert Hall and Konzert Theater Bern.

In competition, she has won first prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and St Petersburg, the Maria Callas Grand Prix and the Francisco Viñas International Competition, and second prize at the International ARD Music Competition in Munich.

Sunyoung is now a freelance soprano and her recent performances and roles include Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly at the Opéra National de Lorraine, Santuzza Cavalleria Rusticana and Elsa Lohengrin in Seoul, her United Kingdom début as Liù Turandot for Opera North, Katja Katja Kabanova at the Hamburger Staatsoper, Ortlinde Die Walküre at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the title role in Rusalka and Elisabetta Don Carlo in Daegu, plus both Tosca and Elena Les Vêpres Siciliennes in Seoul.

Alongside her busy diary in Korea, her recent appearances in Europe include her first Aida at the Opéra de Montpellier to great acclaim and her debut last spring with Scottish Opera as both Giorgetta Il tabarro and Angelica Suor Angelica in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Il Trittico, receiving glowing and universal praise for her two portrayals from press and audience alike. Her future plans include concerts with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Angelica Suor Angelica with the Nederlandse Reisopera.

La soprano coréenne Sunyoung Seo est née à Pusan. Elle a étudié le chant à l’Université de Séoul, où elle a obtenu son Master en 2009 auprès de Hans Choi. Encore étudiante, elle a chanté à Séoul son premier rôle : Adina dans L’Elisir d´Amore.

Titulaire d’une bourse du DAAD, (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst), elle vient compléter ses études en Europe à la Musikhochschule Robert Schumann de Düsseldorf, où elle obtient son Diplôme de Concert auprès de Michaela Krämer en 2011 ; elle y a chanté des rôles tels que la Comtesse dans Le Nozze di Figaro, Mimi dans La Bohème, et le rôle-titre de Suor Angelica.

De 2011 à 2015, elle a fait partie de la troupe de solistes de l’Opéra de Bâle, où son repertoire comprenait, entre autres, le rôle-titre dans RusalkaMicaëla dans Carmen, le rôle-titre dans Katia KabanovaAmelia dans Un ballo in MascheraDesdemona dans OtelloElettra dans IdomeneoElsa dans Lohengrin, et Tatiana dans Eugène Onéguine.

Elle a remporté diverses récompenses : le Premier Prix au Concours International Tchaikovsky à Moscou et Saint-Petersbourg (2011), le Premier Prix au Concours Maria Callas à Athènes (2011), le Premier Prix au concours Francisco Viñas à Barcelone (2010) et le Second Prix au Concours international ARD à Munich (2009).

Elle a travaillé avec des chefs tels que Christian Thielemann, Valery Gergiev, Myung-whun Chung, John Fiore, Axel Kober, Gabriel Feltz, John Luther, Enrico Delamboye, Giuliano Betta, Andrea Marcon, et Thomas Gabrisch, et chanté avec d’importants orchestres : Philharmonique de Vienne, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Bâle, l’Orchestre du Mariinsky à Saint-Petersbourg, l’Orchestre de la Radio Bavaroise à Munich, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Berne, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Séoul, et l’orchestre du NHK à Tokyo. Elle s’est produite dans des salles prestigieuses telles que le Barbican Centre, le Konzerthaus de Vienne, Carnegie Hall à New York, la salle Tchaïkovsky à Moscou et la salle du Mariinsky à Saint-Pétersbourg.

Parmi ses récents engagements, un immense succès dans le rôle-titre de Butterfly à l’Opéra de Nancy, Santuzza dans Cavalleria rusticana et Elsa dans Lohengrin à Séoul, le rôle-titre de Katia Kabanova à Hambourg, Ortlinde dans Die Walküre à Berlin, Liù dans Turandot pour Opera North en Angleterre, ainsi que Tosca (rôle-titre) et Les Vêpres Siciliennes (Elena) à Séoul.

A l’automne 2022, Sunyoung Seo a chanté sa première Aida à l’Opéra de Montpellier avec grand succès ; et elle a tout récemment fait ses débuts au Scottish Opera à Glasgow et Edimbourg dans Giorgetta Il tabarro et Angelica Suor Angelica dans la nouvelle production du Trittico mise en scène par Sir David McVicar, rencontrant un immense succès public et critique.

Reviews | Il Trittico | The Times | Scottish Opera 2023

“the finest performances of the evening come from Sunyoung Seo as a powerfully smouldering Giorgetta and a desperately poignant Sister Angelica. She sings and acts with her whole being, so that Angelica’s aria and suicide carry the power of a punch to the gut.”

Reviews | Il Trittico | The Telegraph | Scottish Opera 2023

“…fully developed characterisations…notably the stunning soprano Sunyoung Seo, who takes on both Giorgetta in Il tabarro and the title role in Suor Angelica. She has an almost hysterical fervour in the voice as Giorgetta is riven with her passion for Luigi or haunted by the memory of her son who was snatched from her in Suor Angelica. Her confrontation with her aunt, the Princess is agonising”

Reviews | Il Trittico | The Guardian | Scottish Opera 2023

Sunyoung Seo shines…particularly in the heart-breaking aria Senza Mamma: her impeccably controlled voice commanding attention from her loudest outpourings to her quietest utterings.”

Reviews | Aida | Concert Classic | Opéra de Montpellier

Sunyoung Seo‘s Aida, in a role debut for the young South Korean, is the epitome of seduction, with a full-bodied sound, coloured without a hint of acidity, and superb breath-control.”

Reviews | Aida | ForumOpera | Opéra de Montpellier

“In the title role,  Sunyoung Seo quickly makes an immediate impression with the power of her performance. Her range is extensive, and also supple and expressive…what more could one ask for?”

Reviews | Madama Butterfly | ForumOpera | Opéra National de Lorraine

Sunyoung Seo is a wonderful Butterfly. A nuanced actress, she is charming in her Act 1 infatuation, before being deeply touching as a woman wounded to her very core.  Her breath-control and legato phrasing are stunning, her mezza voce refined…her soprano voice, ardent and radiant, yet heart-breaking at the same time.”

Reviews | Turandot | The Guardian | Opera North

Sunyoung Seo’s Liu is everything you want from the character: limpid, liquid-toned and self-sacrificial.”

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What the critics say

“In the title role, Sunyoung Seo quickly makes an immediate impression with the power of her performance. Her range is extensive, and also supple and expressive…"

Aida | ForumOpera | Opéra de Montpellier

“the finest performances of the evening come from Sunyoung Seo as a powerfully smouldering Giorgetta and a desperately poignant Sister Angelica. She sings and acts with her whole being, so that Angelica’s aria and suicide carry the power of a punch to the gut.”

Il Trittico | The Times | Scottish Opera 2023

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