Tenor
Sung min song
English
Sung min Song comes from a family of architects and engineers in South Korea. He also tended professionally in this direction, then studied computer engineering and was already working in this field, when a singing professor in the church became aware of him and recommended Sung min Song to have his voice trained. He didn't have to be told twice, gave up his apartment and job in South Korea and came to Germany to study.
In the 2026/27 season, tenor Sung Min Song is scheduled to sing the leading role of Mao Zedong in the opera Nixon in China at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain, performing alongside world-renowned baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Marlis Petersen. Additionally, his upcoming operatic engagements include La Traviata at Oper Leipzig, as well as La Bohème and Maria Stuarda at the Nationaltheater Mannheim.
On the concert stage, he will embark on a four-concert tour of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, performing at the Munich Philharmonie and the Liederhalle Stuttgart. He will also perform Verdi's Requiem at the Gewandhaus Leipzig with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, a performance that will be broadcast live on German national radio. Furthermore, he will perform Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra at the Louis De Geer Concert Hall in Sweden. His extensive concert season continues with a four-concert tour of Verdi’s Requiem alongside the Audi Jugendchorakademie and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, featuring stops at the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Audi Summer Concerts, Brixen (Italy), and Kelheim (Germany). He will also undertake another four-concert tour of Verdi's Requiem with the State Academy for Young Musicians Baden-Württemberg (Landesakademie für die musizierende Jugend in Baden-Württemberg). Finally, he is set to join the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra for a three-concert tour of Dvořák's Stabat Mater at the Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Liederhalle Stuttgart, and conclude with a three-concert tour of Verdi's Requiem with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, performing at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Göttingen, and Hannover.
He has performed a wide range of roles spanning from Mozart to Wagner at major opera houses across Europe. He has starred as a leading tenor at the Komische Oper Berlin (Rusalka directed by Barrie Kosky, and The Flying Dutchman conducted by James Gaffigan, the current Music Director of the Komische Oper and Houston Grand Opera), the Nationaltheater Mannheim (Lucrezia Borgia and La Traviata), and the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (The Merry Widow conducted by Yoel Gamzou, Music Director of the Warsaw Opera). His extensive operatic credits also include leading roles at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen (Faust), Bühnen Bern in Switzerland (Guillaume Tell), the Tiroler Festspiele Erl in Austria (Guillaume Tell), the Theater Osnabrück (Rusalka and La Traviata), the Staatstheater Augsburg (Faust and Eugene Onegin), the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (Verdi's Requiem), the Saarländisches Staatstheater (Guillaume Tell), the Theater Heidelberg (The Merry Widow), the Staatstheater Darmstadt (La Traviata), the Theater Magdeburg (Turandot), and the Korea National Opera (The Magic Flute), as well as opera galas at the Opéra de Marseille and the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, France, and the Salzburger Landestheater in Austria (Ariadne auf Naxos). Most recently, he sang the role of Erik in The Flying Dutchman with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg at the historic Felsenreiterschule. Notably, his live performances in Guillaume Tell, La Traviata, and Lucrezia Borgia were broadcast across Europe and worldwide via the Franco-German cultural channel ARTE TV and OperaVision.
On the concert stage, he continues to carve out an unrivaled career. Under the baton of the world-renowned conductor Kent Nagano, he performed Verdi's Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). He also sang in an opera gala concert in Munich conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. His other notable performances include Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Gewandhaus Leipzig under Dennis Russell Davies, and a live broadcast concert of Puccini's Messa di Gloria conducted by Domingo Hindoyan, the current Music Director of the LA Opera.
As a recording artist, he recorded Richard Strauss's opera Feuernot with the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Chorus. He also recorded Dvořák's Stabat Mater and Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, his recording of Mozart's Complete Masses with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra achieved the prestigious milestone of being nominated for 'Choral Recording of the Year' at the 2026 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA). His extensive concert portfolio also includes a live-broadcast performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 connecting Singapore and Germany with the Bamberg Symphony, and an opera gala concert with the WDR West German Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne. His performance of Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Bamberg Symphony, conducted by Alain Altinoglu (the current Music Director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels), was broadcast via both Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) and KBS. In addition, he performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 under the baton of the legendary maestro Christoph Eschenbach at the National Forum of Music (NFM) in Poland and the Warsaw Philharmonic. He has also sung Mendelssohn's Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, embarked on an Austrian concert tour of Orff's Carmina Burana with the Tonkünstler Orchestra at the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein, and performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Munich Symphony Orchestra at the Munich Philharmonie and the Liederhalle Stuttgart.
In addition, he sang Verdi’s Requiem under the baton of the world-renowned conductor Kent Nagano at the Rheingau Musik Festival and in Munich. At the Palau de la Música, he performed Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Valencia Orchestra (Orquesta de Valencia), and also starred in a gala concert with the celebrated period-instrument ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Marc Minkowski.
His extensive concert engagements include Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at the Theater Hof, Theater Aachen, and Theater Münster, as well as Verdi's Requiem with the Bremen Philharmonic, the Sinfonieorchester Basel in Switzerland, the Lübeck Philharmonic, and the Dortmund Philharmonic. He has also performed Orff's Carmina Burana at the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater and Verdi's Requiem at the prestigious Berliner Philharmonie.
As a highly sought-after tenor soloist, he continues to perform at leading opera houses, concert halls, and major music festivals throughout Europe, collaborating with world-renowned orchestras and conductors. His festival and venue appearances include the Kissinger Sommer, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Alte Oper Frankfurt.
The artist has received numerous awards at competitions such as the Richard Strauss Singing Competition, Anneliese Rothenberger Prize, Gasteig Music Prize, Kissinger Summer Luitpold Prize, 3rd prize at the 33 ° Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica 2017, at the Hariclea Darclée Festival and the International Voice Competition second prize and Grand Prix and Prix Special ADAMI at the Vincenzo Bellini Concours International de Belcanto in Paris.
He graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich in Germany with a Master's degree in Liedgestaltung (Lied Performance) with the highest grades, the Konzertgesang Examen (Concert Singing) highest performer's course, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Yonsei University College of Music, Department of Voice (studying under Professor Seung-Tae Choi).