Kwangchul Youn
Worldwide Representation
The Korean bass Kwangchul Youn is widely recognized in the international operatic and concert world.
The 2023/24 season begins for the sought-after singer at the Opéra de Paris, which has engaged him as King Heinrich for the new production of Lohengrin directed by Kirill Serebrennikov. Grand Opera Houston presents the artist as Gurnemanz in a new production of Parsifal. Under the baton of Kirill Petrenko, he will sing Hunding in a concert performance of Act I Walküre with the Berlin Philharmonic. He returns to the Vienna State Opera as Fiesco in Simone Boccanegra and is expected to sing Sarastro in the San Francisco Opera's new production of The Magic Flute.
In recent years, the sought-after bass has been heard at all renowned opera houses in Europe and overseas, including Vienna, London, Berlin, Milan, Munich, Dresden, Paris, Barcelona, Turin, New York and Chicago. He also performed at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals and the Salzburg Easter Festival as well as the Tongyeong Festival. Highlights of recent seasons were Gurnemanz in a new production of Parsifal at Opéra de Paris, Rocco in Fidelio and Banco in Macbeth at Staatsoper Berlin, Comte des Grieux in Massenet's Manon at the MET, Abimélech at the Berlin State Opera in a new production Samson et Dalila under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, Ramfis in Aida at Liceu Barcelona and Daland in a new production of the Flying Dutchman as well as Landgraf in the revival of Tannhäuser at the Hamburg State Opera.
Kwangchul Youn was a member of the ensemble of the Staatsoper Berlin from 1993 until 2004, where he presented a large selection of his wide ranging repertoire. In 2018 he was named “Berliner Kammersänger”. The main focus of his repertoire is Wagner and Verdi, which includes roles such as Gurnemanz, König Heinrich, Marke, Daland and Pogner as well as Filippo, Fiesco, Ferrando, Banco, Ramfis. He is also well known for his portrayal of Sarastro.
In recent years, Mr. Youn has been in demand at all the major opera houses across Europe and overseas, such as Vienna, London, Berlin, Milan, Munich, Dresden, Paris, Barcelona, Torino, New York and Chicago. He also appeared at the festivals in Bayreuth and Salzburg.
Alongside his opera engagements Mr. Youn also performs frequently in concert with well-known orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the Accademia Santa Cecilia Roma, the orchestra of La Scala Milano, the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Köln, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the RAI Torino and at BBC Proms.
Mr. Youn can be heard on such recordings as the Bayreuth Festival’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim (Warner Classics), Croesus with Rene Jacobs (harmonia mundi), Fidelio (Warner Classics), Le nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni and Tiefland under the baton of Bertrand de Billy (Arte Nova), and Daphne with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and Semyon Bychkov (Decca).
2023/24
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