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 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, Teatro Regio di Torino, Seattle Opera and Komische Oper Berlin; Pope Leone/Attila at Teatro Real de Madrid; Vodnik/Rusalka at Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole; Ramfis/Aida at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv and the St. Margarethen Festival in Austria; Le Comte des Grieux/Manon at Ópera de Tenerife; Timur/Turandot at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv and the Tokyo Spring Festival; King Heinrich the Fowler/Lohengrin at Ópera de Oviedo; Bonzo/Madama Butterfly at the Vancouver Opera; Bonzo/Madama Butterfly and 1 Soldat/Salome at Teatro Petruzelli di Bari; Klingsor/Parsifal at the Tokyo Spring Festival; Mozart’s Requiem with Malmö Symphony Orchestra and at the Granada Festival.

Season 2025/26 projects include (among others): Banco/Macbeth with Maestro Noseda at the Zürich Opera House; Lodovico/Otello at Teatro Real de Madrid and Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires (house debut); Ramfis/Aida at Teatro La Maestranza de Sevilla and Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania; Timur/Turandot at the Seoul Arts Center, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 w. Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Further future engagements include Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Fasolt/Das Rheingold and Il Commendatore/Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and Timur/Turandot at the Irish National Opera and Teatre Principal de Maó, Menorca.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in the Republic of Korea, Insung Sim studied at the Korea National University of the Arts and the Vienna Conservatory. He made his opera debut in 2001 at the Vienna State Opera.

Over the years, Insung Sim has performed at leading houses and festivals including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro Real Madrid, Vienna State Opera, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Teatro Regio di Torino, Arena di Verona, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Teatro Petruzelli di Bari, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Municipale di Salerno, Malmö Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre de Caen, Lausanne Opera, and the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Festival de Sanxay, Savonlinna Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Salzburg Festival, Puccini Festival di Torre del Lago, Festival di Caserta, among others.

International appearances have also taken him to Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Santiago, Philadelphia, Seattle.

He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Fabio Luisi, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Oren, Zubin Mehta, Ottavio Dantone, and Vladimir Jurowski.

His repertoire encompasses major bass roles including Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Ramfis (Aida), Banco (Macbeth), Lodovico (Otello), Padre Guardiano (La forza del destino), Timur (Turandot), Ferrando (Il trovatore), Zaccaria (Nabucco), Oroveso (Norma), Alvise (La Gioconda), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de Perles), Fafner (Siegfried), Rocco (Fidelio), Marchese di Calatrava (La forza del destino), Hunding (Die Walküre), Principe di Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur), and Attila (Attila), among many others.

Insung Sim has also appeared in concert repertoire such as Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Liszt’s Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth, and Bach’s Matthäus-Passion.

His discography includes recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde), EMI/Virgin Classics (Handel’s Faramondo and Alessandro), and DVDs of Otello (Royal Opera House, with Antonio Pappano) and Turandot (Teatro Regio di Torino, with Gianandrea Noseda).

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.