Biography

Bass-baritone Samuel Youn initially studied singing in Seoul before completing his studies at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan and the Cologne University of Music.

He began his career in 1999 at the Cologne Opera, where he quickly became one of the leading dramatic bass-baritones of his generation, taking on roles such as Amonasro/Aida, Tonio/Pagliacci, Kurwenal/Tristan und Isolde, Gunther/Götterdämmerung, Kaspar/Der Freischütz, Pizarro/Fidelio and the title role in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer.

In addition to his engagements at the Cologne Opera, he has made guest appearances at numerous renowned venues, including the Opéra national de Paris, Opéra de Marseille, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Real de Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Teatro di San Carlo Naples, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Sao Carlo in Lisbon, as well as the Bayreuth Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Samuel Youn has worked with conductors such as Philippe Jordan, Christian Thielemann, Andrew Davis, Marc Elder, Andris Nelsons, Juraj Valčuha, Semyon Bychkov, Marc Minkowski, Markus Stenz, Peter Ruzicka, Donald Runnicles, John Fiore, Will Humburg, Pinchas Steinberg, Zubin Mehta and Pierre Boulez.

He achieved his international breakthrough at the 2012 Bayreuth Festival in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) under the baton of Christian Thielemann. He was invited back to perform this role in subsequent years. 

Highlights from past opera seasons include Créon in Enescu's Oedipe and Scarpia/Tosca at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, a role he also performed at the Deutsche Oper, the Opéra de Marseille and the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Alberich in Siegfried and Das Rheingold at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the latter role also in Baden-Baden and Rotterdam, at the Konzerthaus Dortmund under Yannick Nezet-Seguin and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Holländer/Der fliegende Holländer at the Theater Wien, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Teatro La Fenice and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also performed the Wanderer in Siegfried, Kurwenal/Tristan und Isolde, Méphisto/Damnation de Faust and Jochanaan/Salome, the latter role also at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari.  He also took on the roles of Jago/Otello at the Semperoper in Dresden, Gunther/Götterdämmerung at the Gran Teatre de Liceu in Barcelona, Méphistophèles in Gounod's Faust in Seoul, Alberich/Das Rheingold at the Teatro Real de Madrid, King Heinrich/Lohengrin and Wotan/Die Walküre at the Opéra de Marseille, Orest/Elektra and Wotan//Wanderer/Der Ring in one evening at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, and Klingsor/Parsifal at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
Samuel Youn most recently appeared as Hagen in Wagner's Götterdämmerung at the Dortmund Theatre and the Vienna State Opera.
In recent seasons, Samuel Youn has performed in concerts including Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Milan. 

At the Cologne Opera, he has sung roles including Wanderer/Siegfried, Don Pizarro/Fidelio, Water Sprite/Rusalka, Scarpia/Tosca, Leporello/Don Giovanni and the title role in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle.

In 2022, he was awarded the title of Cologne Kammersänger in recognition of his services and his long-standing membership of the ensemble.

In the 2025/26 season, Samuel Youn will appear as Alberich/Siegfried with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in Rotterdam, Paris, the Konzerthaus Dortmund and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

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Artist Website

www.samuelyoun.net 

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Vienna finale: Siegfried vs. Hagen

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Video
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Orquesta y Coro RTVE in Madrid
(Solo at 01'20'14):
www.rtve.es/...
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 under Myung-Whun Chung at Chorégie d'Orange
(Solo at 00'49'50):
youtube.com/... 
Siegfried/Alberich at the Lyric Opera of Chicago:
youtube.com/... 
Der fliegende Holländer/Holländer  "Die Frist ist um". Concert in Seoul:
youtube.com/...  

Press

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