Hailed by Vienna's Kurier for “standing out with his tenor voice radiating with a warm timbre” and by Texas Classical Review for his “high-wire tenor and bundle-of-energy demeanor,” Korean-born American tenor Seiyoung Kim is a soloist in the ensemble at Volksoper Wien.
In the 2026/27 season, he makes his company and role debut as Marc in the European premiere of Huang Ruo's M. Butterfly at La Monnaie / De Munt in a new production directed by Krystian Lada and conducted by Carolyn Kuan. At Volksoper Wien, he performs Rinuccio and Tenor 1 in a new double-bill production of Gianni Schicchi and The Seven Deadly Sins staged by Rachael Hewer and conducted by Robert Houssart, makes his role debut as the Fourth Jew in Salome, and reprises Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance.
In the summer of 2025, Kim made his guest company debut at the Salzburg Festival as Rodé in a new production of Eötvös’ Three Sisters, conducted by Maxime Pascal and Alphonse Cemin, and directed by Evgeny Titov. Prior to joining the soloist ensemble at Volksoper Wien, Kim spent two seasons in the company's Opernstudio, where he made 12 role debuts, including the title role in a new Opernstudio production of La clemenza di Tito, Frederic in a new production of The Pirates of Penzance, and Harlekin in Omer Meir Wellber and Andreas Heise's KaiserRequiem.
In the 2023/24 season, Kim made his Houston Grand Opera debut, originating the roles of Rat and Monkey in the world premiere of Meilina Tsui’s The Big Swim. He also made his Glimmerglass Festival debut as Pane and Natura in the new production of La Calisto, Little Victor Farrell in the new production of Elizabeth Cree, and Tito in the workshop performance of the world premiere of The House on Mango Street. Additional engagements included Boston Lyric Opera’s Summer 2023 Concert in the Courtyard Series at the Boston Public Library, covering Ian Bostridge in Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Sejong Soloists, Yale Opera’s fall scenes as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola and Jasper in The Snowy Day, and performing the role of Father in Yale Opera’s production of The Seven Deadly Sins.
In the 2022/23 season at Yale, Kim performed the title role in a new production of Le Comte Ory directed by Patrick Diamond, and appeared in the Yale Opera Gala with the Yale Philharmonia as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Comte Ory in Le Comte Ory, conducted by Louis Lohraseb. In the 2021/22 season at Yale, he performed Oronte in a new production of Alcina, was featured in the Yale Opera Gala performing Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Fenton in Falstaff, and Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and appeared in Yale Opera’s opera scenes program as Comte Ory, Fenton, and Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos. During this time, he was also named a Connecticut District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In the 2020/21 season, Kim was named a Tulsa District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
In the 2019/20 season, Kim made his debut at Wolf Trap Opera as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos. He also appeared in the company’s scenes program as Dan Leno in Elizabeth Cree and Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and was selected to sing in a public masterclass with Lawrence Brownlee. That season, he participated in the workshops of Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly for Santa Fe Opera in New York City, and was scheduled to return to Santa Fe Opera as a second-year apprentice artist before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 Kim was named one of the “Rising Opera Stars” by Auditorium (월간객석), one of Asia’s leading performing arts magazines.
At New England Conservatory, Kim made several important role debuts: Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at Boston’s Cutler Majestic Theatre; Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Huntington Theatre; Jimmy O’Keefe in Later the Same Evening at NEC’s Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre; and Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Paramount Theatre. He was featured in NEC’s opera scenes programs as Tonio in La fille du régiment and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, and covered the title role in NEC’s production of Candide. Kim also participated in NEC’s Liederabend series, performing songs by Liszt, and was chosen for public masterclasses with Lawrence Brownlee and Gregory Kunde. He represented NEC students as a soloist in the Conservatory’s 150th Anniversary Gala in the historic Jordan Hall with the NEC Philharmonia, and was invited by Dartmouth College to perform the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle.
At The Juilliard School, Kim sang Fileno in a new production of La fedeltà premiata, staged by John Giampietro and conducted by Teddy Poll, and covered the role of Mercurio in La Calisto. He was also featured in the Juilliard opera scenes program as Fritz in L’amico Fritz and Lurcanio in Ariodante, and participated in the school’s Liederabend series performing songs by Beethoven, Schubert, and Wolf. He joined Juilliard415 and the Royal Academy of Music on tour, performing the music of Bach in New York, Boston, London, and Leipzig. As a Gluck Fellow, he also presented a series of recitals in community centers and healthcare facilities throughout New York City.
At the age of 17, Kim was invited by the Korean government to sing the national anthem at the state ceremony marking the 4,343rd Anniversary of the National Foundation of Korea, which was broadcast nationwide. That same year, as a concerto competition winner at Seoul Arts High School, he made his concert debut at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall under Maestro Nanse Gum and also appeared as a soloist with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra. He went on to win first prizes in the Korea Voice (Lee Dae-Woong) Competition, the Sungjeong Competition, the Suri Music Concours, the Ewha & Kyunghyang Music Concours, and the Korea Herald Music Competition. His studies in Korea were generously supported by the Woongjin Foundation and the Sungjung Foundation. Kim’s stage experience began at the age of five, performing as one of the children in La bohème with the Korea National University of Arts. His early roles included Commissionario in La traviata at the Seoul Arts Center, Zwei Knabe in Die Zauberflöte with productions at both Hanyang University and the Daejeon Arts Center, Kurt in The Sound of Music with the Shinsi Musical Company, and Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol with the Seoul Performing Arts Company. As a chorister, he also appeared in productions of Pagliacci, La bohème, Andrea Chénier, Youngjo Lee’s Tcheo Yong, Le nozze di Figaro, Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Janáček’s Katya Kabanova, Madama Butterfly, Candide, and Doctor Atomic.
Kim received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, his Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory, and his Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, where he was awarded the prestigious Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Prize. He is an alumnus of Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy and has been a young artist with Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and Volksoper Wien’s Opernstudio.