Sung-yeun Kim
/ SUHNG – yuhn KIM /
South Korean-born soprano Sung-yeun Kim is a dynamic and highly versatile artist, distinguished by her commanding presence, technical excellence, and rare fluency across classical, musical theater, and contemporary repertoire. Recognized for her dramatic acuity and vocal adaptability, she brings a compelling artistic voice that resonates across time and genres. Traveling back and forth from NY to LA, Ms. Kim is rapidly emerging as a distinctive and influential figure in today’s vocal landscape.
Passionate about vocal music from an early age, Ms. Kim and her family moved from the Daegu region to Seoul when she was in middle school to support her professional studies. She has participated in various distinguished competitions in Korea, receiving accolades for her impeccable technique and broad repertoire. Recognized for her musical achievements, she has performed in concerts at the most illustrious halls in South Korea, including Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Art Center and Lotte Concert Hall. Kim was named a winner of the Sung-Jeong, Suri and Korea National Opera competitions.
In 2019, when she was completing her undergraduate degree, she was also named as a second prize winner of the acclaimed KBS-KEPCO (Korean Broadcasting System) competition, and was subsequently invited to perform at the Brucknerhaus and Anton Bruckner University in Linz, Austria.
Most at home on the operatic stage, Kim has explored various musical perspectives through the vast world of opera production, not only as a professional performer but also as an assistant stage manager. Through her first opera, Die Zauberflöte, she began to understand how musical composition and stage expression were more intense and intertwined than any other musical or performance genre. This formative experience led her to question how various elements in opera could work together to create a syncretic art form. Working as an assistant director in the opera, Don Giovanni, helped Kim start to understand what would be necessary for a career as an opera singer, both in terms of musical training but also in terms of understanding character development. Other professional credits include a showcase as the Fox in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Matilde in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. Kim has also appeared as a soloist with the SNU Orchestra, Hankyung Philharmonic and The Orchestra Now performing works by composers ranging from Mahler to Verdi.
After earning her Bachelor's degree from Seoul National University, Kim graduated from the Bard Conservatory of Music Graduate Vocal Arts Program in 2023 as a full-scholarship recipient, studying under Stephanie Blythe and Edith Bers. She performed the role of the Fox in Bard’s production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in March 2022 and participated in both SongFest in Nashville and the Toronto Summer Music Festival.
Kim was honored to be selected as a Festival Artist with Opera Saratoga in both 2024 and 2025. Under the artistic direction of Mary Birnbaum, she appeared in productions that reflect a dynamic and genre-spanning approach to performance, including Musical Guys and Dolls and Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne, where she performed both in the chorus and in the leading role of Gabrielle.
Through these experiences, Kim continues to expand her artistic identity across operatic and musical theater repertoire, demonstrating a growing versatility that signals a compelling and evolving career ahead.