Samuel Youn

Bass-Baritone Samuel Youn received his first vocal training in his hometown Seoul and completed his studies at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milano and at the Conservatory Cologne. He won several prizes in various international competitions like Toti dal Monte (Treviso), Chung-Ang (Seoul), Franz Schubert (Genoa), Francesco Albanese (Naples), Riccardo Zandonai (Rovereto) and Enrico Caruso (Milano).

He toured Europe as well as Asia, where he performed major roles of his broad operatic and concert repertoire. He worked with conductors like Zubin Metha, Christian Thielemann, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Markus Stenz, Peter Ruzicka, Philippe Jordan, Ralf Weikert, Will Humburg and Pinkas Steinberg. He gave his debut in Italy as Mephistofele / Faust (Gounod) at Teatro Comunale di Treviso and Teatro di Rovigo. Further engagements led him as Oroveso / Norma to Sala Verdi di Milano, as Jochanaan /Salome to the Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville, Teatro Petruzelli di Bari and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Since the beginning of season 1999/2000 he is member of the ensemble at Cologne Opera. Over the last years he was heard in various important roles like Donner and Gunther / Der Ring des Nibelungen, Klingsor / Parsifal ,Kurwenal / Tristan und Isolde, Alfio / Cavalleria rusticana, Tonio / Pagliacci, Escamillo / Carmen, Kaspar / Freischütz, Orest / Elektra, Amonasro / Aida as well as in the roles of the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann.

In 2004 he was invited to sing at the Bayreuther Festspiele, where he debuted in Parsifal and sang in Tannhäuser in 2005. In the new production of Lohengrin in 2010 he performed as Heerrufer. In 2006/07 he was heard as Geisterbote in the hailed production of Die Frau ohne Schatten and in 2008/9 as The four Villains / Les contes d'Hoffmann at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. He was also invited to sing as Geisterbote / Die Frau ohne Schatten and Kaspar / Freischütz at Hamburgische Staatsoper as well as at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

In addition he made his hailed debut in Lisbon as Wanderer / Siegfried, and performed repeatedly as Kurwenal / Tristan, Klingsor / Parsifal, Sebastiano / Tiefland at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and as Donner / Rheingold at the Opéra Nationale de Paris .

Future projects include his return to Bayreuth as Heerrufer / Lohengrin in summer 2011, later in that year he will sing Orest / Elektra at Teatro Real in Madrid, Jochanaan / Salome at Teatro Modena, Teatro Piacenza and Teatro di Modena. In 2012 he will perform as Geisterbote / Die Frau ohne Schatten at Tearo alla Sacala di Milano, Holländer / Der fliegende Holländer at Cologne Opera. For 2013 he was reinvited to sing Kurwenal / Tristan und Isolde at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Donner / Rheingold at Opéra National de Paris and Barak / Die Frau ohne Schatten at Cologne Opera.
 

Pitch of voice:
Bassbariton

Engagements in Bayreuth

Year	Opera	Part
2012	Lohengrin	Der Heerrufer des Königs
2011	Lohengrin	Der Heerrufer des Königs
2010	Lohengrin	Der Heerrufer des Königs
2007	Parsifal	2. Gralsritter
2007	Tannhäuser	Reinmar von Zweter
2006	Parsifal	2. Gralsritter
2005	Parsifal	2. Gralsritter
2005	Tannhäuser	Reinmar von Zweter
2004	Parsifal	2. Gralsritter