Tenor
Sung min song

Sung min Song hails from a family of architects and engineers in South Korea. Initially leaning toward a similar career path, he studied computer engineering and was already working in the field when a church music director noticed his extraordinary vocal potential and encouraged him to pursue professional vocal training. Taking the advice to heart, he gave up his career and residence in South Korea and moved to Germany to pursue his vocal studies.

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In the 2026/27 season, the tenor will sing the lead role of Mao in John Adams' Nixon in China at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, performing alongside the world-renowned baritone Thomas Hampson. Additionally, he will be heard in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, in La Traviata at Oper Leipzig, and in La Bohème and Maria Stuarda at Nationaltheater Mannheim. On the concert stage, he embarks on a four-concert tour with the Munich Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the Philharmonie Munich and Liederhalle Stuttgart. He will also perform Verdi's Requiem at the Gewandhaus Leipzig with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and MDR Radio Choir under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies, a performance that will be broadcast live on German radio. Furthermore, he will sing Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra at De Geerhallen. Further engagements include a four-day tour of Verdi's Requiem at the Rheingau Music Festival, the Audi Summer Concerts, as well as in Brixen (Italy) and Kelheim (Germany) alongside the Audi Youth Choral Academy and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin; a three-part tour of Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the Stuttgart Philharmonic at the Philharmonie Luxembourg and Liederhalle Stuttgart; a three-part tour of Verdi's Requiem with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Göttingen, and Hannover; and an Opera Gala with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra in Doha.

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His extensive repertoire ranges from Mozart to Wagner, taking him to major opera houses across Europe. As a leading tenor, he has guest-performed at the Komische Oper Berlin (in Rusalka directed by Barrie Kosky, and as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer conducted by James Gaffigan, Music Director of the Komische Oper and Houston Grand Opera), Nationaltheater Mannheim (Lucrezia Borgia and La Traviata), and Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Die lustige Witwe conducted by Yoel Gamzou, Music Director of the Warsaw Opera). His wide-ranging operatic engagements also include leading roles at Aalto-Musiktheater Essen (Faust), Bühnen Bern in Switzerland (Guillaume Tell), Tiroler Festspiele Erl in Austria (Guillaume Tell), Theater Osnabrück (Rusalka and La Traviata), Staatstheater Augsburg (Faust and Eugene Onegin), Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (Verdi's Requiem), Saarländisches Staatstheater (Guillaume Tell), Theater Heidelberg (Die lustige Witwe), Staatstheater Darmstadt (La Traviata), Theater Magdeburg (Turandot), and the Korea National Opera (Die Zauberflöte). Furthermore, he has performed at opera galas at Opéra de Marseille and Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, France, as well as at Salzburger Landestheater (Ariadne auf Naxos). Most recently, he portrayed Erik in Der fliegende Holländer with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg at the historic Felsenreiterschule. Notably, his live performances in Guillaume Tell, La Traviata, and Lucrezia Borgia were broadcast across Europe and worldwide via ARTE TV and OperaVision.

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He continues his illustrious career on the concert stage as well. Under the baton of world-renowned conductor Kent Nagano, he sang Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). He was also featured in an Opera Gala concert in Munich conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Other highlights include Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the MDR Symphony Orchestra at the Gewandhaus Leipzig under Dennis Russell Davies, and a live-broadcast performance of Puccini's Messa di Gloria led by Domingo Hindoyan, Music Director of LA Opera. As a recording artist, he recorded Richard Strauss' opera Feuernot with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Choir. Furthermore, he recorded Dvořák's Stabat Mater and Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the Brandenburg Symphony and Bochum Symphony Orchestras, respectively. His recording of Mozart's complete masses with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra achieved the prestigious milestone of being nominated for the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2026 in the Choral Recording of the Year category. His concert repertoire also includes a multimedia live-streamed performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 connecting Singapore and Germany with the Bamberg Symphony, as well as an Opera Gala concert with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. His performance of Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Bamberg Symphony under Alain Altinoglu (Music Director of Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie) was broadcast by both Bavarian Radio (BR) and KBS.

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In addition, he performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 under the direction of legendary maestro Christoph Eschenbach at the National Forum of Music (NFM) in Poland and the Warsaw Philharmonic. He interpreted Mendelssohn's Lobgesang with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, embarked on an Austrian concert tour with the Tonkünstler Orchestra performing Orff's Carmina Burana (including a performance at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna), and performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Munich Symphony Orchestra at the Isarphilharmonie in Munich and Liederhalle Stuttgart.

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He also sang Verdi's Messa da Requiem under Kent Nagano at the Rheingau Music Festival and in Munich. At the Palau de la Música in Valencia, he interpreted Beethoven's Missa solemnis and Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Valencia Orchestra (Orquesta de Valencia) and appeared in a gala concert with the renowned period-instrument ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski. His extensive concert engagements include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at Theater Hof, Theater Aachen, and Theater Münster, as well as Verdi's Requiem with the Bremen Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester Basel in Switzerland, Lübeck Philharmonic, and Dortmund Philharmonic. Furthermore, he performed Orff's Carmina Burana at Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater and sang Verdi's Requiem at the prestigious Berliner Philharmonie. As an internationally sought-after tenor soloist, he regularly guest-performs at leading opera houses, major concert halls, and prominent music festivals across Europe, collaborating with world-famous orchestras and conductors. His high-profile festival and concert appearances include the Kissinger Sommer, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Alte Oper Frankfurt.

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The artist has received numerous awards at international competitions, including the Richard Strauss Vocal Competition, the Anneliese Rothenberger Prize, the Gasteig Music Prize, and the Luitpold Prize at the Kissinger Sommer festival. He also won 3rd Prize at the 33rd Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica 2017, 2nd Prize at the Hariclea Darclée International Singing Competition, as well as the Grand Prix and Prix Spécial ADAMI at the Vincenzo Bellini Concours International de Belcanto in Paris.

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He graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich in Germany with a Master’s degree in Art Song Interpretation (Liedgestaltung) with top honors, completed the Concert Singing Diploma (Konzertgesangsexamen - the highest artistic degree), and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Yonsei University College of Music in South Korea, majoring in Vocal Performance under Professor Seung-Tae Choi.