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Tenor
Konu Kim
"secure with a delicious creamy tone to the middle and upper parts of his voice — you just want him to keep singing." - Louise Flind
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Representation
ARTIST OVERVIEW - ARTIST PROFILE
Artist Profile
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Past
Nov 2023
3.
19:30
19:30
Diego Ceretta, Conductor
Bruno Ravella, Stage Director
Oct 2023
31.
19:30
19:30
Diego Ceretta, Conductor
Bruno Ravella, Stage Director
Oct 2023
27.
19:30
19:30
Diego Ceretta, Conductor
Bruno Ravella, Stage Director
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Biography Highlights
Upcoming Engagements
Return to Royal Swedish Opera as Count Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as to Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Tonio La Fille du Regiment, and Wexford Festival Opera and Donizetti Opera Festival Bergamo as Almuzir Zoraida di Granata.
Recent Engagements
Return to the Royal Opera House as Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia, debut at Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Tonio La fille du régiment, debut with Irish National Opera as Arnold Melchtal Guillaume Tell, Petite Messe Solennelle with Wexford Festival Opera, debut at Glyndebourne Festival as Ferrando Così fan tutte, Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House, Ernesto Don Pasquale at Glyndebourne Festival and Finnish National Opera, Ferrando Così fan tutte with San Diego Opera, house debut with San Francisco Opera as Bao Yu Dream of the Red Chamber, Donizetti Opera Festival Bergamo as Leone L’Ange de Nisida, debut with Royal Swedish Opera, Elvino La Sonnambula at Müpa Budapest, Nadir Les pêcheurs de perles with Korea National Opera.
Awards
Awards include first prizes at Placido Domingo’s Operalia competition in 2016, the Concours musical international de Montréal, second prize at the Seoul International Music Competition.
Portraits
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Guillaume Tell
Operalia Gala-concert
Guillaume Tell
Operalia Gala-concert
CD PREVIEW
CD PREVIEW
Rigoletto
Il Duca
Rigoletto
Il Duca
Reviews & Press
Rossini - William Tell/Guillaume Tell - Arnold Melchtal
But the evening was seized by Konu Kim's astonishing, ringing Arnold, a great, concentrated physical performance expressed through fabulously vivid and fearless singing, including a ten-second top C and some real distilled angst as Tell and Walter worked him over to rouse his patriotism.
Opera Now
Glyndebourne on Tour - Donizetti - Don Pasquale - Ernesto
Konu Kim gave a terrific, Italianate account of Ernesto; his big moments “Sogno soave e castro” and particularly “Povero Ernesto!” were sung with a real attention to the text and a bold ardent tone ... some very accomplished singing.
- Dominic Lowe , Bachtrack
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Konu Kim flaunts a high-flying tenor as Ernesto: his personality and charm combine with remarkable vocal gifts to suggest a star career in the making.
The Stage
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Kim rose to his set-piece arias, and bathed the gorgeous garden serenade “Com’è gentil” with a lovely sunset glow to match the painted clouds.
The Arts Desk
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Müpa Budapest - Bellini - La sonnambula - Elvino
Elvino, Konu Kim from South Korea, is the greatest discovery of la sonnambula performances with his impressively flexible, affectionate, melodious bel canto tenor material, full of emotions, with warm velocity
- Bóka Gábor , operavilag.net
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Donizetti Festival - Donizetti - Ange de Nisida - Leone
la sua è una prestazione maiuscola per adesione all’estetica di un Belcanto che già si piega ai languori e ai furori di un pieno Romanticismo. La voce è bella, omogenea, svettante in acuto, encomiabile l’attenzione alla parola e alla musicalità della lingua francese.
- Fabio Larovere , Connessi all'Opera
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Konu Kim sang Leone with a lavish timbre and vocal power, splendidly delivered mezze-voci, piercing high notes and a big personality.
- Renato Verga , Bachtrack
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"A Shining Tenor" Konu Kim gave a profound performance filled with different colors and emotions. No one could ever anticipate what Kim would do with the role as he first entered Act one, singing with a bright timbre and giving each phrase a smooth and delicate color. His phrases starting out with a piano sound and would eventually crescendo to a forte with smoothness and facility. That bright optimism could be seen in the aforementioned duet with Sylvia. While Fridman sang with delicacy and darker hues, Kim’s timbre contrasted with gleam, his high notes projecting beautifully into the hall. That brightness continued into his first aria “Quelle ivresse et quel délire,” a marchlike cavatina. Here, Kim displayed power and heroism in his tone. He did, however, show some torment in the B section, singing with a more desperate and breathy timbre, his interpolated high note adding to that desperation. But that happiness for his renewed freedom returned in the ensuing section. That authoritative and controlled vocal quality returned particularly as he ascended into his high notes and a final gleaming B. During the finale to Act three when Leone discovers that Sylvia is in fact the king’s mistress, Kim sang with desperation, repeating “La maîtresse del re” each time with more fury and agony. The voice rang into the hall with great power and one could understand the suffering that he was conveying. The final act finally saw the Kim’s Leone turn to a man filled with pain. One of the highlights of the evening was without a doubt his aria, “Hélas! Envolez-vous, beaux songes!” He began the aria with a delicate, piano sound that was reminiscent of a whimper. Then when he was asked to ascend into the higher tessitura, he gave the high notes a forte dynamic that expressed a cry of desperation. At one point he delivered an exquisite mezza di voce that while a display of virtuosity, effectively conveyed how he felt more and more trapped after becoming a monk. This was of course beautifully displayed in the images of kings that continuously appeared and surrounding him. In his final duet with Sylvia, Kim initially sang with anger, accenting the text and singing with shorter lines. His timbre also took on a heavier and darker hue. But in the final portion part of the duet, his voice returned to that brightness from the beginning and he sang with that same elegance, gorgeous pianos, and gleaming high notes. There was also a tenderness to this moment as his voice harmonized gorgeously with Fridman’s. That would once again turn to torment when Sylvia dies. Kim’s Leone’s final notes were pleas and cries of lament. (...) this is a tenor to look out for in the coming years."
- Francisco Salazar , Opera Wire
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Royal Opera House - Jette Parker Young Artists Programme Recital
Being in the audience for South Korean tenor Konu Kim’s Jette Parker recital was like having a luxuriously warm bath on a dank January day — an excuse to wallow. Kim has a beautiful voice He’s one of those rare tenors who’s secure with a delicious creamy tone to the middle and upper parts of his voice — you just want him to keep singing Kim studied in Germany, which explains his exemplary German, and has just started on the ROH Programme. With his easy charm and stage presence, natural musicality and that voice - watch this space.
