Samuel Youn
The South Korean bass-baritone Samuel Youn is particularly acclaimed for his affinity with the major roles of the German and Italian repertoire, especially the works of Wagner, Strauss and Verdi. His continuous artistic development has taken him to leading international stages and festivals, including the Opéra national de Paris, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, as well as the Bayreuther Festspiele and the Edinburgh International Festival. He has worked with conductors including Philippe Jordan, Christian Thielemann, Andrew Davis, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Juraj Valčuha, Semyon Bychkov, Markus Stenz, Peter Ruzicka, Donald Runnicles, John Fiore, Will Humburg, Pinchas Steinberg, Zubin Mehta and Pierre Boulez.
His major operatic roles include Wotan/Wanderer/Alberich (Der Ring des Nibelungen), the title role in Der fliegende Holländer, Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Jochanaan (Salome), Scarpia (Tosca), Iago (Otello), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), King Heinrich (Lohengrin), Klingsor (Parsifal), Méphistophélès (La damnation de Faust) and Pfleger des Orest (Elektra). With these roles, his engagements have taken him to major opera houses around the world, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opéra de Marseille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro Real de Madrid, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden, the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Theater an der Wien.
A formative chapter in his artistic development was his time as a member of the ensemble at the Oper Köln, where he performed numerous major roles in the dramatic bass-baritone repertoire, including Wanderer (Siegfried), Don Pizarro (Fidelio), Wassermann (Rusalka), Scarpia (Tosca), Leporello (Don Giovanni) and the title role in Bartók’s Herzog Blaubarts Burg. In recognition of his contributions to the house and his many years as a member of its ensemble, he was awarded the title Kölner Kammersänger in 2022.
Samuel Youn also has a versatile concert repertoire. His recent engagements include a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in Milan. His repertoire also includes works such as Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Rossini’s and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Seine Ausbildung begann Samuel Youn in Seoul, bevor er sein Studium am Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Mailand sowie an der Musikhochschule Köln vervollständigte. Seinen internationalen Durchbruch feierte Samuel Youn 2012 bei den Bayreuther Festspielen mit der Titelpartie in Wagners Der fliegende Holländer unter der Leitung von Christian Thielemann. Für diese Interpretation wurde er mehrfach an den Grünen Hügel wiedereingeladen und etablierte sich damit als einer der profiliertesten Wagner-Interpreten.
Samuel Youn began his training in Seoul before continuing his studies at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan and the Musikhochschule Köln. He achieved his international breakthrough in 2012 at the Bayreuther Festspiele in the title role of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer under the direction of Christian Thielemann. He was subsequently invited back several times for this interpretation, establishing himself as one of the most distinguished Wagner interpreters.