bio
Suchan Kim (Baritone), a native of Busan, South Korea, recently sang the role of Enrico in Opera in Williamsburg’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. He has performed as a resident in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program as well as with The Metropolitan Opera Education, The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Opera Philadelphia, The Atlanta Opera, Carnegie Hall, Mannes Opera, Dallas Opera’s The Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Opera Grand Rapids, Sarasota Opera, The Phoenicia International Festival of The Voice, Opera in Williamsburg, Tacoma Opera, First Look Sonoma, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Presidio Theater, Bare Opera, Opera Vezimra, New Rochelle Opera, Teatro Grattacielo, New Amsterdam Opera, Decameron Opera Coalition, Light Opera of New Jersey, Loft Opera, Opera Ithaca, Barn Opera, Teatro Lirico D’Europa, The Palmetto Opera, Amore Opera, Sinfonietta of Riverdale, The New York Concert Opera, New York Grand Opera, New York Lyric Opera, Jamestown Concert Association, Fairfield County Chorale, Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, Sign & Sing, NYU IMPACT Conference, MidAmerica Productions, National Theater of Korea, Seoul Arts Center and several opera companies in South Korea.
His role credits include Don Giovanni and Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Count and Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Hoël in Meyerbeer’s Dinorah, Enrico in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’amore, Marcello and Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohéme, Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, Alfonso in Donizetti’s La Favorita, Silvio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, David in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz, Roberto in Verdi’s I vespri siciliani, Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Giorgio Germont and Barone Douphol in Verdi’s La Traviata, Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Dandini in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Germano in Rossini’s La Scala di Seta, Tobia Mill in Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio, Yamadori and Bonzo in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Escamillo and Dancaïre in Bizet’s Carmen, Le Marquis de la Force and Jailer in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Hermann and Schlemil in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, Salieri in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri, Paquiro in Granados' Goyescas, Fiorello and L’Ufficiale in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Le chat and L’horlage comtoise in Ravel’s L’Enfant et Les Sortilèges, Simeon from Debussy’s L’Enfant Prodigue, Payador from Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires, Father in Kamala Sankaram’s Thumbprint, Bass in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Tibetan Book of the Dead, King Solomon in Dina Pruzhansky's Hebrew opera 'Shulamit’, Jinzo Matsumoto in Max Giteck Duykers and Philip Kan Gotanda’s Both Eyes Open, Lum May in Gregory Youtz and Zhang Er’s Tacoma Method. The Critic in John Gilbert’s multimedia opera ‘Rotation’, Strange Man in Faye Chiao’s ‘Island of the Moon’ and Leonitis in 5th Grader of St. David’s School and Thomas Cabaniss’ ‘A Hero’s Journey’.
He was an Eastern District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2011 and he received the Opera Award from Mannes Opera in 2013. Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Music from Korea National University of Arts and a Master’s Degree and a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College, the New School for Music. He studies with Arthur Levy.
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news & reviews
“OperaWire last reviewed Kim in January 2023 for his performance in librettist Philip Kan Gotanda’s and composer Max Giteck Duykers’ powerful chamber opera “Both Eyes Open.” In that opera, Kim portrayed Jinzo, a Nisei man interred at during World War Two. Jinzo was no Don Giovanni; rather, he was a broken man, so ashamed of his behavior that he commits suicide.
Kim demonstrated his versatility as a singer-actor and created a Don Giovanni that was a bit off-kilter, almost maniacal. At one point, in a scene seemingly ripped from a Tarantino film, he places a gun to Leporello’s head, terrorizing his poor servant. Giovanni laughs the whole thing off and tosses the gun away (which is then stolen by the onstage Actress). It was a bonkers moment that came out of nowhere and put the audience on the edge of their seats. While unexpected, it showed his character as someone who is quick to demonstrate his power to get his way, whether with Leporello or the women. But it also showed Giovanni as a quintessential sociopath. He raped a woman, killed her father, and moved on, with zero empathy for the destruction left in his wake.
During Act two, Kim’s Don Giovanni broods in a chair, his arms across his chest, and with a withering stare. His lack of success with Zerlina turned him into a petulant man-child.
Kim’s lyricism was on display as he took on his lines with clean articulation through the speedier recitatives and fast passages, which aided in bringing out the unstable and violent aspects of the character. His rendition of ‘Fin ch’han dal vin, A.K.A. the Champagne aria” was well sung with buoyancy in his voice.
With Giovanni’s famous serenade, “Deh, vieni alla finestra,” Kim showcased the sense of charm and seduction in his voice, adeptly conveying the character’s intentions. He used and maintained control of dynamics, adding to the seductive quality of the piece.
The final scene, perhaps one of the most dramatically intense scenes in opera, was brilliantly performed by Kim. The brooding Giovanni morphed into pure defiance; in his mind no one is as strong and ‘manly’ as he, not even a statue, come to life. But his mocking insolence turns into terror, requiring a quick switch in tone and delivery.
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“Suchan Kim is a compelling baritone with a sophisticated, stentorian voice. Sporadic bright moments show a youthful and somewhat naïve guy with no idea what lies in front of him. The audience witnesses a man’s entire existence destroyed by injustice and cruelty. Kim had to get through the emotional maze in just 80 minutes, not over the course of three or four hours, and he managed the gauntlet wonderfully.”
“As Rabbi David, the fully professional if still young baritone Suchan Kim’s terrific singing rather eclipsed the Young Artists’ honest work. Kim showed full command of legato and dynamics and projected a strong, burnished sound with seeming effortlessness.”
“Suchan Kim commanded each scene he appeared in with a focused, muscular baritone and brought the house down with a virtuosic portrayal of the increasingly drunken servant, Germano.”
“Suchan Kim’s assured, warm-toned Guglielmo and Annie Rosen’s dulcet, sweetly phrased Dorabella were well matched as a pair of nervous, believable lovers in Act 2’s “Il core vi dono.””
“Equally malleable and expressive was the singing of baritone Suchan Kim’s meddlesome servant Germano, a sort of Figaro on steroids (and booze), who acted with zeal and athletic skill.”
“Baritone Suchan Kim sang Tarquinius with a voice seductive warmth and overpowering strength.”
“Baritone Suchan Kim sang Guglielmo in Così fan tutte suavely, exhibiting command of the musical language in the Act One trios with Ferrando and Don Alfonso. There was no disputing his sincerity when this Guglielmo declared that ‘La mia Fiordiligi tradirmi non sa,’ and his parts in first the quintet and then the duettino with Ferrando were impeccably voiced. Kim’s traversal of the aria ‘Non siate ritrosi, occhetti vezzosi’ simmered with romantic zeal, a quality that also coursed through his singing in the terzetto and Act One finale.
Throughout Act Two, Kim’s vocalism convincingly limned Guglielmo’s conflicting feelings, each successive ensemble adding a further dimension to his portrayal. In the duet with Dorabella, he voiced ‘Il core vi dono’ seductively, his wooing overwhelming the lady’s defenses. Guglielmo’s anger upon learning of Fiodiligi’s eventual surrender to Ferrando’s advances was scorching, but Kim also emphasized the pain of the betrayal, thereby intensifying the cathartic reconciliation of the opera’s finale. The emotional complexity of his characterization notwithstanding, Kim’s singing elicited nothing but joy.”
“Suchan Kim offered a swaggering, self-assured Giovanni and a warm, richly developed baritone.”
“Kim defined a singing actor. He made the role his. In fact, he was a take home memory, so total was his amusing portrayal. He embraced the fun, while offering a rich, full voice that overflowed with warmth and lots of appeal.”
“Suchan Kim (Tobias Mill) magnetizes the audience to him throughout the evening, with a sumptuous baritone voice and precisely communicative Italian. He is wonderfully funny without ever becoming cartoonish, and sustains a level of energy in both voice and deportment that left me exhausted just watching him.”
“Suchan Kim, who sang the ill-bred and macho guy who takes him out, had a sexy presence and a thrilling lunge of phrase. It would be fun to hear him in a role that let him show off.”
“The evening ended, for instance, with a powerhouse vocal display from soprano Marina Boudart Harris and baritone Suchan Kim. In the duet from Act 3 of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” - the lone non-Italianate ringer - Boudart Harris’ flair and well-placed high notes made a fine match with Kim’s suave and fluent contribution.”
“Everything Mr. Kim does is superb. We were impressed with his creation of the deformed character of the eponymous hunchback in Verdi’s Rigoletto which he accomplished without any humping or limping. It was all in the voice!”
“There is a mercenary older man, played with bluster by baritone Suchan Kim, who always turns in a great performance.”
“Baritone Suchan Kim, a Bare Opera regular, is the possessor of a very fine instrument that he employs with superb technique. Moreover, his extensive repertoire allows him to slip into a very wide selection of roles with every gesture and facial expression intact—but always appearing spontaneous. That’s a wonderful skill! We loved his interpretation of Doctor Malatesta describing the potential wife he has found for Don Pasquale in the Donizetti opera of the same name. “Bella siccome un angelo” is an old favorite for the baritone fach but we seemed to be hearing it anew.
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“Tuesday’s performance did, at least feature some impressive singing from its young cast. The most polished of the leads was Suchan Kim as Hoël, the greedy goatherd who schemes to claim the cursed treasure before finding redemption through his love for Dinorah. His rich, smooth baritone was effective in emphatic declamation, as in the early “O puissante magie!” Yet he was an even better fit in gentler, lyrical writing, giving a lovely account of the pleading little arioso “Et maintenant, mélasse,” praying for Dinorah to recover in Act III.”