Gihoon Kim

Gihoon Kim was named BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021—“winner Gihoon Kim reached highest with a velvety baritone capable of evoking both tears and admiration” (The Guardian).

Hailing from South Korea, Kim has gained international recognition through a series of competition successes, including 2nd prize and the Audience Prize at Operalia 2019, as well as 2nd prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019.

Highlights of the current season include several important debuts, including his house debut at LA Opera as Marcello in La bohème, his role debut as Escamillo in Carmen at Dallas Opera, and both his festival and role debut as Donner in Das Rheingold at the Salzburg Easter Festival. On the concert stage, Kim debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under the baton of Kirill Petrenko.

In the previous season, Kim made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Schaunard in La bohème and his role debut as Marquis de Posa in Don Carlo at the Royal Danish Theatre—a role he later reprised at Deutsche Oper Berlin. During the 2023/24 season, Kim achieved a number of significant debuts, including at the Royal Ballet & Opera, Covent Garden as Marcello in La bohème, at Dallas Opera as Scarpia in Tosca, at the Bavarian State Opera as Schaunard in La bohème, and at Deutsche Oper Berlin as Giorgio Germont in La traviata. Recent highlights also include his U.S. debut at Washington National Opera as Marcello in La bohème—a role that also led to debuts at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Korean National Opera. In upcoming seasons, Kim returns to both the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Danish Theatre.

Kim is a former member of the Junges Ensemble at Staatstheater Hannover, which he joined after completing his studies with Kwan-dong Kim at Yonsei University in Seoul.