Insung Sim

INTRODUCTION

South Korean bass Insung Sim enjoys a successful international career. He is famous for his warm, round, cantabile voice of quality and his noble stage presence.

RECENT AND FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS

Insung Sim’s most recent highlights in 2022-2024 include (among others):

• Il Re/Aida (with Noseda and Robert Carsen), Fasolt/Das Rheingold, Raimondo/Lucia di Lammermoor and a ‘Celebrating 22 years of Antonio Pappano’ Galà Concert at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden;
• a role debut as Palémon/Thaïs at Teatro alla Scala di Milano;
• Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte at Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie and at Teatro Regio di Torino;
• Vodnik/Rusalka at Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole;
• Ramfis/Aida at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv and at the St. Margarethen Festival in Austria;
• Le Comte des Grieux/Manon at Ópera de Tenerife;
• Timur/Turandot at Tokyo Spring Festival;
• King Heinrich the Fowler/Lohengrin at Ópera de Oviedo;
• Bonzo/Madama Butterfly and 1 Soldat/Salome at Teatro Petruzelli di Bari;
• Mozart’s Requiem with Malmö Symphony Orchestra and at the Granada Festival.

His future highlights include (among others):

• Banco/Macbeth w. Maestro Noseda at the Zürich Opera House;
• Lodovico/Otello and Pope Leone/Attila at Teatro Real de Madrid;
• Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte at Seattle Opera and Komische Oper Berlin;
• Bonzo/Madama Butterfly at the Vancouver Opera;
• Ramfis/Aida at Teatro La Maestranza de Sevilla;
• Timur/Turandot at Israeli National Opera in Tel Aviv;
• Klingsor/Parsifal at the Tokyo Spring Festival.

BIOGRAPHY

In 2020 and 2021 Insung Sim’s performances included Il Commendatore/Don Giovanni and Principe di Bouillon/Adriana Lecouvreur at Teatro Petruzelli di Bari; Principe di Bouillon/Adriana Lecouvreur at Ópera Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte at Komische Oper Berlin; Giovanni/Il Corsaro at Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Verdi’s Requiem at Opera Philadelphia in the USA.

In recent years the artist also performed Lodovico/Otello at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Filipp II/Don Carlo, Fiesco/Simon Boccanegra and Le bailli/Werther in Tel Aviv, Wurm/Luisa Miller and Lodovico/Otello at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Ramfis/Aida at Festival de Sanxay in France, Timur/Turandot at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Lodovico/Otello with ROH Covent Garden London and Pappano on Tour to Japan and in London, Ramfis/Aida at Fondazione Arena di Verona, Ferrando/Il Trovatore and Bonzo/Madama Butterfly at Teatro Regio di Torino, Banco/Macbeth in Toulouse, Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte with Komische Oper Berlin on Tour to Japan and also Australia and New Zealand; Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte, Banco/Macbeth and Mozart’s Requiem concerts in Santiago.

Other past performances of Insung Sim include Padre Guardiano/La Forza del Destino in Las Palmas, Alvise/La Gioconda at Malmö Opera, Phorbas/Oedipe with Maestro Jurowski at London Philharmonic Orchestra, Verdi Requiem with Fabio Luisi and DR Symfoniorkester, Banco/Macbeth in Teatro Municipale Salerno, Phorbas/Oedipe, Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte, Colline/La bohème, Timur/Turandot and Lodovico/Otello (with Pappano) at Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, Oroveso/Norma in Essen, La Wally, Attila and Maria Stuarda at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte, Timur/Turandot and Re/Aida at Teatro Regio di Torino (w. Noseda), Wurm/Luisa Miller at Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Matthäus Passion with Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, Fafner/Siegfried in Tokyo, Zaccaria/Nabucco at Festival di Caserta, Zaccaria/Nabucco, Commendatore/Don Giovanni and Il Re/Aida in Arena di Verona, Timur/Turandot in Toulouse, Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte and Raimondo/Lucia di Lamermoor in Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Hunding/Walküre in Tokyo, Nourabad/Les Pêcheurs de Perles and Zaccaria/Nabucco (with Daniel Oren) in Tel Aviv, Sarastro/Zauberflöte with Ottavio Dantone and Marchese di Calatrava/La Forza del Destino with Zubin Mehta at Palau de Les Arts de Valencia, Il Commendatore/Don Giovanni in Montpellier, Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth by F. Liszt at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Rocco/Fidelio at The New Opera in Bergen, Ramfis/Aida and Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte in Santiago, Timur/Turandot at Puccini Festival di Torre del Lago, Sparafucile/Rigoletto in Kristiansand and others.

His 2012-13 season took him to his debut at the National Theater Mannheim, where he sang the role off Fafner and Sarastro. He visited Opera Monte Carlo in the role of Count Rodolfo in La Sonnambula by Bellini. Furthermore, Mr. Sim was seen at Teatro Municipal de Santiago, where he sang the title role of Attila and the role of Papa Leon in Attila by Verdi.

In March 2012 Mr. Sim appeared as Timur/Turandot with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra.

In the seasons 2008-2010 Mr. Sim has been singing at important venues such as Montpellier Festival, Tokyo Opera Nomori, Teatro Massimo di Palermo and at Glynbourne Festival, where he has been captivating audiences in the roles of Pimen in Boris Godunov and Commendatore in Don Giovanni. In the role as Gustavo in Faramondo he has been visiting the Lausanne Opera, the Opera de Vichy, the Théàtre du Champs Elysees and the Théàtre du Caen. Other roles has been Timur in Puccini’s Turandot at the Savonlinna Festival, Dulcamara at the Seoul Opera, contemporary opera The Tea at Teatro Carlo Fenice di Genova and Glendower in the opera Merlin at Kissinger Festspiele.

The young bass Insung Sim appeared as a guest during the 2007-2008 season at such internationally known opera houses as the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, the Vienna State Opera and the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 in the role of Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

In 2001, he debuted at the Vienna State Opera, where he sang the roles of the Steuermann, Swallow in Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and the Geisterbote in Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, as well as Sprecher, the Second Priest in The Magic Flute, Dulcamara, Don Fernando, Raimondo and Capulet, among others. Insung Sim has also debuted in the roles of Brétigny in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Klingsor and Roucher in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier.

He has also sung in CD productions of Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde for the Deutsche Grammophon label and the CD recording of Handel’s opera Faramondo for EMI/Virgin Classics and also Handel’s Alessandro where he performed the role of Clito. Other notable productions he took part of are the DVD of Ludovico/Otello at ROH with Papano, and Timur/Turnandot  DVD in Torino with Noseda.

EDUCATION

In the period between 1998 to 1999 Insung Sim studied singing at the Vienna Conservatory.

AWARDS

In 1996, Insung Sim was awarded first prize in the KBC competition in Korea. In July 2000, he was awarded two special prizes in the Belvedere competition. Insung Sim has won a number of other competitions, including those in Los Angeles and a 3rd prize in Oslo. Lieder recitals have taken the singer e.g. to the Marseille Opera and the Avignon Opera.