20 Feb From U.S. to Europe, soprano brings it on
Opera singer Kathleen Kim has a dream: to use her gift to help less privileged children including those in Africa.
Kim has clinched the role of Olympia in Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” to be staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from December. For a rising prima donna on the New York opera circuit, her dream seems almost humble.
She will be the fourth Korean soprano to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, after Shin Youngok in 1984, Sumi Jo in 1989, and Hong Hei-kyung in 1990.
The three are now Korea’s leading opera singers on the world stage, and role models for aspiring opera singers back home.
And with another Korean star after a 19-year gap, the country is thrilled.
For Kim, 33, the high expectations are exciting yet challenging.
“I am very nervous to be working with world-renowned performers as well as producers, particularly Bartlett Sher, who recently won a Tony Award,” she said.
Born in Seoul, Kim went to Seoul Arts High School. In her junior year, she went to the United States and studied at the Manhattan School of Music and then the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
She made her debut with the Chicago Opera Theatre as Madame Mao Tse-tung in “Nixon in China.”
Her other operatic roles include Queen of the Night and Pamina in “The Magic Flute,” Oscar in “A Masked Ball” and Barbarina in “The Marriage of Figaro” at various opera houses across the U.S.
And she’s now going even further.
This year, she begins her European career with the Bilbao Opera in Spain as Marie in “The Daughter of the Regiment.”
Most recently, she made her Mexico debut as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra.
“Before, vocal capabilities were the most important factor for operatic sopranos to get prima donna roles, but these days appearances have also become a crucial element,” Kim said.
“My Asian looks, as well as the language are some of the things I must overcome.”
Kim says, however, these challenges are what prompt her to train and work extra harder.
She received rave reviews from critics and the media for her role as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro in 2007, which was the turning point in her career.
But with her determined pursuit of prima donna status across the world, she hasn’t gotten a chance to perform in her homeland just yet.
“I would love to perform in Korea, if I’m given an opportunity in the future,” Kim said.
By Nam Jeong-ho JoongAng Ilbo [hkim@joongang.co.kr]