Korean-American tenor Seiyoung Kim is currently pursuing his Master of Musical Arts degree in Opera at Yale University. This season at Yale, Mr. Kim performed the title role of Comte Ory in Le Comte Ory and sang in the Yale Opera Gala with the Yale Philharmonic as Count Almaviva from Il Barbiere di Siviglia and as Comte Ory from Le Comte Ory. In the 2021-2022 season at Yale, Mr. Kim sang the role of Oronte in Alcina, was featured in the Yale Opera Gala with the Yale Philharmonic as Lindoro from L'italiana in Algeri, Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni, Fenton from Falstaff, and Ernesto from Don Pasquale, and performed in the Yale Scenes Program as Comte Ory from Le Comte Ory, Fenton from Falstaff, and Brighella from Ariadne auf Naxos. Mr. Kim was also named as a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Connecticut District).
In the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Kim was named as a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Tulsa District). Mr. Kim was invited by Korea National Opera to participate in their newly-launched masterclass series, which ended with a gala concert in Inchoon Art Hall, a newly opened recital hall at the prestigious Seoul Arts Center. Mr. Kim was also invited by the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation to sing in their opera gala as Count Almaviva from Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
In the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Kim made his debut at Wolf Trap Opera as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos. At Wolf Trap, He also sang in the Scenes Program as Dan Leno from Elizabeth Cree and Flute from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and was selected to sing in Lawrence Brownlee’s public masterclass. Mr. Kim participated in the workshops of Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly in New York City, which was set to be premiered at Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2020. Mr. Kim was scheduled to make his return to Santa Fe Opera as a second year apprentice artist but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Kim was selected by Auditorium, one of Asia's most prestigious performing arts magazines, as one of their rising opera stars.
In the 2018-2019 season, Mr. Kim performed the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro, covered the title role in Candide, and sang in the Scenes Program as Ramiro from La Cenerentola and Tonio from La fille du régiment at New England Conservatory. He was also chosen to participate in Gregory Kunde’s public masterclass in historic Jordan Hall and was invited by Dartmouth College to perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle as the tenor soloist. Mr. Kim was a first year apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera where he covered the roles of Brighella and Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos and sang in the Apprentice Scenes Program as Jim Casy from The Grapes of Wrath.
In the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Kim made his Boston debut as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Cutler Majestic Theater. He performed the role of Jimmy O’Keefe in Later the Same Evening in the Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre at New England Conservatory, was chosen as a soloist for New England Conservatory’s 150th Anniversary Gala in Jordan Hall, and was selected to sing in a public masterclass of tenor Lawrence Brownlee. Mr. Kim participated in the workshop of Permadeath as Niobe with White Snake Projects, and performed the roles of Tanzmeister and Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos with Berlin Opera Academy in Berlin.
At The Juilliard School, Mr. Kim sang the role of Fileno in La fedeltà premiata and covered the role of Mercurio in La Calisto. He was also seen in the Scenes Program as Fritz from L’amico Fritz, Lurcanio from Ariodante, and in the Liederabend series singing the songs of Beethoven, Schubert, and Wolf. Mr. Kim was on tour with Juilliard 415 and Royal Academy of Music performing the music of Bach in New York, Boston, London, and Leipzig, and as a Gluck fellow, he presented a number of recitals at community centers and healthcare facilities throughout New York City.
At the age of 17, Mr. Kim was invited by the Korean Government to sing the Korean national anthem at the national ceremony of the 4343rd Anniversary of the National Foundation, which was broadcast all over Korea. Mr. Kim was a concerto competition winner at Seoul Arts High School, where he made his concert debut at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall under Maestro Nanse Gum in 2011. That year, he also performed as a soloist with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra and was awarded 1st prizes from the Korea Voice (Lee Dae-Woong) Competition, the Sungjeong Competition, the Suri Music Concours, the Ewha and Kyunghyang Music Concours, and the Korea Herald Music competition. His education in Korea was supported by the Woongjin Foundation and the Sungjung Foundation. Childhood roles, beginning with his first operatic appearance as one of the children in La Boheme at the age of 5, include the roles of Commissionario in La traviata, Zwei Knabe in Die Zauberflöte, Kurt in The Sound of Music, and Young Scrooge in The Christmas Carol. In addition, as a chorus member, Mr. Kim has performed in numerous operas and concerts, including La bohème , Andrea Chénier, Youngjo Lee’s Tcheo Yong, Le nozze di Figaro, Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Janacek’s Katya Kabanova, Madama Butterfly, Candide, and Doctor Atomic.
Mr. Kim received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School and received his Master of Music degree with Academic Honors at New England Conservatory. He has received additional training at Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’’ Vocal Academy, Wolf Trap Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. This summer, Mr. Kim will be a vocal fellow at the Lakes Area Music Festival where he will cover the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale as well as perform in concerts with the LAMF orchestra under the baton of Maestro Christain Reif. In February 2024, Mr. Kim will make his Houston debut as the roles of Monkey and Rat in the world premiere of Meilina Tsui’s The Big Swim at Houston Grand Opera.