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Sunyoung Seo

Soprano

South Korean soprano Sunyoung Seo was born in Pusan; she studied singing at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul and at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf.

Now an internationally-renowned artist, Sunyoung’s many leading roles include her first Aida at the Opéra de Montpellier and her debut with Scottish Opera as both Giorgetta Il tabarro and Angelica Suor Angelica in Sir David McVicar’s award-winning production of Il Trittico, with glowing and universal praise for all three roles from press and audience alike.

She has also recently sung Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly at the Opéra National de Lorraine, Santuzza Cavalleria Rusticana and Elsa Lohengrin in Seoul, 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, Leonore Fidelio and Elena I vespri siciliani in Seoul.

Alongside her busy diary in Korea, Sunyoung returned to Europe in 2025 for a series of concerts with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, with repertoire including Isolde's Liebestod. In June 2026, she will sing Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly at the Opéra de Toulon; in 26-27, she looks forward to working again with Scottish Opera for a new Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly, and also will re-visit the role of Angelica Suor Angelica with the Nederlandse Reisopera.

Sunyoung has worked with leading international conductors including Christian Thielemann, Valery Gergiev, Myung-whun Chung, and Andrea Marcon. She has also performed with presitigious orchestras including the Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and NHK Symphony Orchestra, in venues including the Barbican, Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall,  and Mariinsky Concert Hall.

After her studies in Düsseldorf, she became a member of the ensemble at Theater Basel, where she 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.

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

La soprano coréenne Sunyoung Seo est née à Pusan ; elle a étudié le chant à l'Université de Séoul et à la Robert Schumann Musikhochschule à Düsseldorf.

A présent une artiste au rayonnement international, elle a chanté sa première Aida à l’Opéra de Montpellier avec grand succès et 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. Elle a de plus chanté Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly à l'Opéra National de Lorraine, Santuzza Cavalleria Rusticana et Elsa Lohengrin à Séoul, Liù Turandot pour Opera North, Katia Katia Kabanova au Staatsoper de Hambourg, Ortlinde Die Walküre au Deutsche Oper Berlin, le rôle-titre de Rusalka et Elisabetta Don Carlo à Daegu en Corée, ainsi que Tosca, Leonore Fidelio et Elena I vespri siciliani à Seoul.

Parallèlement à son intense activité en Corée, elle est retournée en Europe en 2025 pour des concerts avec le Royal Scottish National Orchestra (avec entre autres la Mort d'Isolde). Elle chantera en juin 2026 Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly  à l'Opéra de Toulon et en 26-27, elle retournera au Scottish Opera pour une nouvelle Cio-Cio-San Madame Butterfly et reprendra Angelica Suor Angelica , cette fois avec le Nederlandse Reisopera.

Elle a travaillé avec des chefs tels que Christian Thielemann, Valery Gergiev, Myung-whun Chung,et Andrea Marcon ; et chanté avec d'importants orchestres : Philharmonique de Vienne, London Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre du Mariinsky à Saint-Petersbourg, l'Orchestre de la Radio Bavaroise à Munich, l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Séoul, et l'orchestre du NHK à Tokyo, dans des salles prestigieuses telles que le Barbican à Londres, le Konzerthaus de Vienne, Carnegie Hall à New York, la salle Tchaïkovsky à Moscou et la salle du Mariinsky à Saint-Pétersbourg.

Après ses études, elle a intégré la troupe de solistes de l'Opéra de Bâle, où son repertoire comprenait, entre autres, le rôle-titre dans Rusalka, Micaëla dans Carmen, le rôle-titre dans Katia Kabanova, Amelia dans Un ballo in Maschera, Desdemona dans Otello, Elettra dans Idomeneo, Elsa 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).

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.”

Videos & Audio

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

Hello World!

“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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