Kathleen Kim is an American operatic
coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills.
The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...
. Her repertoire includes roles in operas by
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
,
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
,
Donizetti,
Verdi and
Offenbach, among others, as well as in oratorios such as the ''
Messiah'' and sacred works such as Mozart's ''
Great Mass in C minor''.
Education
Kim is a graduate of the Ryan Opera Center of the
Lyric Opera of Chicago and received her
Bachelor of Music and
Master of Music degrees from the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...
. During her training, she appeared in various operatic roles, including Adele in ''
Die Fledermaus'', the First Priestess in ''
Iphigénie en Tauride
''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard.
With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck took ...
'', the page in ''
Rigoletto'', the milliner in ''
Der Rosenkavalier'' and Frasquita in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
.'' Kim attended the
Music Academy of the West in 2004.
Career
Kim made her début at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2007 as Barbarina in Mozart's ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'' and since then sang at the Met in the roles of Olympia in ''
Les contes d'Hoffmann'', Zerbinetta in ''
Ariadne auf Naxos'', Oscar in ''
Un ballo in maschera'', and Blonde in ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail''. She sang the role of Chiang Ch'ing in the Met's première of
John Adams's ''
Nixon in China'' in 2011 and the roles of Barbara and Mrs. Latch in the Met's world stage premiere of
Kevin Puts's ''
The Hours'' in 2022.
[Met Opera performance of ''The Hours'', 22 November 2022]
CID:357754
Since her professional début, Kim has sung with major opera companies in numerous theatres across the world, including the
Lyric Opera of Chicago, the
Gran Teatre del Liceu, the
Bayerische Staatsoper and the
Opéra de Lille.
Kim is an active presence on the concert stage, having been a soloist with the
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in works such as
Mahler's
Eighth Symphony and
Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony.
Kim made several role débuts in 2011, including her first performance in the title role of Donizetti's ''
Lucia di Lammermoor''. In 2012, Kim sang in a performance of Adams's ''Nixon in China'' at the
BBC Proms, and also sang Mozart's Mass in C minor with the
Oslo Philharmonic
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in ...
. In September 2015, she was appointed as a professor of Music College at
Hanyang University.
Awards
Kim has been the recipient of many prizes and awards, including an award from the
Sullivan Foundation in 2006,
the
Sarasota Opera Guild's Leo Rogers Scholarship
and the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation's Rose Ann Grund Scholarship. She was the third-prize winner of the Mario Lanza Competition,
a prize winner of the
Liederkranz Competition,
and a national finalist in the MacAllister Awards.
At Music Academy of the West, she received the Encouragement Award of the
Marilyn Horne Foundation Song Competition.
Repertoire
Kathleen Kim's repertoire includes the following operatic roles:
*Armida in
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's ''
Rinaldo
Rinaldo may refer to:
* Renaud de Montauban (also spelled Renaut, Renault, Italian: Rinaldo di Montalbano, Dutch: Reinout van Montalbaen, German: Reinhold von Montalban), a legendary knight in the medieval Matter of France
* Rinaldo (''Jerusalem Li ...
'' at the
Central City Opera House
*Blonde in
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' at the
Metropolitan Opera
*Chiang Ch'ing in
John Adams's ''
Nixon in China'' at the Metropolitan Opera and the
Chicago Opera Theater
*La Fée in
Massenet's ''
Cendrillon
''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale.
It had its premiere performance on 24 ...
'' at
Opéra de Lille and the
Metropolitan Opera
*Le Feu, la Princesse and le Rossignol in
Ravel's ''
L'enfant et les sortilèges'' at the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
*Königin der Nacht in Mozart's ''
Die Zauberflöte''
*Blonde in Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' at Minnesota Opera
*Lucia in
Donizetti's ''
Lucia di Lammermoor'' at
Sarasota Opera
Sarasota Opera is a professional opera company in Sarasota, Florida, USA, which
was founded as the Asolo Opera Guild and, until 1974, presented a visiting company's productions. Between 1974 and 1979, it set about mounting its own productions in ...
*Marie in
Donizetti's ''
La fille du régiment'' at the Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Ópera in
Bilbao
*Melissa in Handel's ''
Amadigi di Gaula
''Amadigi di Gaula'' ( HWV 11) is a "magic" opera in three acts, with music by George Frideric Handel. It was the fifth Italian opera that Handel wrote for an English theatre and the second he wrote for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington in ...
'' at the
Central City Opera House
*Olympia in
Offenbach's ''
Les contes d'Hoffmann'' at the Metropolitan Opera, the
Gran Teatre del Liceu and the
Bayerische Staatsoper
*Oscar in
Verdi's ''
Un ballo in maschera'' at the Metropolitan Opera and the
San Diego Opera
*Poppea in Handel's ''
Agrippina
Agrippina is an ancient Roman cognomen and a feminine given name. People with either the cognomen or the given name include:
Cognomen
Relatives of the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa:
* Vipsania Agrippina (36 BC–20 AD), first wife of th ...
'' at the
Boston Lyric Opera
*Tytania in
Britten's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'' at the Metropolitan Opera
*Zerbinetta in
Strauss's ''
Ariadne auf Naxos'' at the Metropolitan Opera
References
External links
Official website*
Profileat
HarrisonParrott
*, from ''Les contes d'Hoffmann''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Kathleen
American operatic sopranos
Living people
21st-century American women opera singers
American musicians of Korean descent
Manhattan School of Music alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
Music Academy of the West alumni