Three masters of the lowest vocal registers unite for an unprecedented concert
| From left: Baritone Kim Gi-hoon, bass Youn Kwang-chul and bass-baritone Samuel Youn pose for photos during a press conference at Museum Hanmi in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. (Park Ga-young//The Korea Herald) |
Three internationally acclaimed Korean male vocalists — bass Youn Kwang-chul, 60, bass-baritone Samuel Youn, 54, and baritone Kim Gi-hoon, 33 — are set to share the stage for a rare joint concert later this month.
Titled “Sing Low and Soft,” the performance will spotlight the richness of low male voices in a landscape often dominated by sopranos and tenors.
The first half of the concert features arias by Mozart, Verdi and Wagner, with piano accompaniment.
Among those pieces each singer will perform a different aria of Figaro from Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro."
“The audience will likely realize just how differently the same character can sound depending on the voice type. It will be an opportunity to hear how a bass, bass-baritone, and baritone each interpret the same role — and how the differences in voice color and expression bring new dimensions to the same character,” the elder Youn said at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.
Youn Kwang-chul, who made his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1993, has performed over 150 times at the Bayreuth Festival. In 2018, he was awarded the honorary title of Kammersanger, a distinction granted to outstanding opera and classical vocalists in German-speaking countries.
He and bass-baritone Samuel Youn, who received the same title in 2022, often crossed paths — most frequently at the Bayreuth Festival during the summer. Although their surnames are identically Romanized, their Korean family names differ.
For Kim, who won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2021, it is the first time sharing a stage with bass Youn.
“For a long time, I dreamed of performing with the two of them. I’m still just taking my first steps, so sharing the same stage with these veteran singers feels surreal. But I’ll do my best to bring something fresh to the performance,” the baritone said.
"What we’re attempting now — a concert featuring three low-voice singers, and in the second half, a performance using only low-pitched instruments like cellos and double basses — is something quite new," said Kim, a two-time second prize winner at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and Placido Domingo’s Operalia in 2019.
| From left: Baritone Kim Gi-hoon, bass Youn Kwang-chul and bass-baritone Samuel Youn pose during a press conference at Museum Hanmi in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. (Arts & Artists) |
The three hope the concert offers more than just one night of music—it’s a step toward building something lasting.
“Rather than simply showing the same things we’ve done elsewhere, I believe we need to keep trying new and diverse approaches here in Korea -- especially if we want to create a viable path forward for the next generation of musicians and artists. I hope that by sharing my own efforts and continuing these challenges alongside others, we can open up new possibilities for artists to thrive,” said bass-baritone Samuel Youn.
After winning the Toti Dal Monte Competition in Italy in 1998, Samuel Yoon began his career as a soloist at the Cologne Opera in Germany. In 2012, he gained widespread recognition when he was chosen as a principal performer at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. In 2022, he was appointed a professor at the department of vocal music at Seoul National University and returned to Korea.
"Sing Low and Soft" took nearly three years to realize — largely due to the lack of long-term planning in Korea’s classical music scene.
“In Europe, our calendars are booked two or three years in advance,” noted Youn Kwang-chul. “But in Korea, very few venues are able — or willing — to plan that far ahead. Without systemic change, it will remain difficult to stage meaningful collaborations with top artists.”
The trio will perform at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on Aug. 23 and at Cheongju Arts Center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on Aug. 24.
| Poster for "Low and Soft" (Arts and Artists) |
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