Biography

Coloratura soprano Sooyeon Lee continues in the 24/25 season as a member of the ensemble at the Theater Dortmund where she will be heard this season as Woglinde in Wagner's Das Rheingold, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Helmwige in Die Walküre, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) for a role debut, Woglinde in Götterdämmerung, and will make her long awaited debut as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata.  

Sooyeon has been a member of the ensemble at Theater Dortmund since the 20/21 season, and has been heard in many roles there and also debuted at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Lucia di Lammermoore that year.   

In June 2019, she represented her home country of South Korea in the finals of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, competing in the Song Prize category as well as the Main Prize. In the 2019/20 season she reprised her stand-out role of Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Oldenburg State Theater, as well as debuting the Controller in Jonathan Dove's opera Flight, Oscar (Un ballo in Maschera), and Amina in La sonnambula. Her busy season also saw her Musikverein debut in the Golden Hall in a series of New Years Concerts with the Tonkünstler Orchestra conducted by Alfred Eschwé.

Following her debut performances in the title part of Lucia di Lammermoor in December 2018, the Nordwest Zeitung wrote that 'a compelling magic comes with her voice'. Other roles in Oldenburg lincluded Waldvogel in a new production of Siegfried, Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Gilda (Rigoletto), Sandmännchen/Taumännchen (Hänsel und Gretel), and Nérine in a new production of Rameau's Les Paladins.

In 2017/18, the South Korean artist gave critically acclaimed role debuts as Konstanze in a new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Gilda in a new production of Rigoletto. She also appeared in a further two new stagings, as Ortlinde in Die Walküre and Laodice in Hasse's Siroe, Re di Persia. Towards the end of the season, she was awarded the Erna Schlüter Singing Prize, a special accolade presented in recognition of exceptional vocal achievements only once every two or three years by the Oldenburg State Theater. One month later, she was a finalist in the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Singing Competition in Brussels.

Sooyeon has been an ensemble member at the Oldenburg State Theater since 2016/17. During her first season, she was heard as the Sandmännchen/Taumännchen (Hänsel und Gretel), Marie (La fille du régiment), Woglinde (Das Rheingold), and Frasquita (Carmen).

The young soprano graduated with distinction from the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where she earned a Master's degree in opera under Beverly Blankenship and Peter Marschik. Upon graduation, she continued her studies under Gabriele Fontana and Edith Lienbacher. 

In addition to her recent competition success and accolades, Sooyeon won the 2nd Prize and Audience Prize at the ARD Gesangwettbewerb in 2015, where she performed with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has also won numerous other competitions, including the Berlin International Music Competition, the Gian Battista Viotti Competition, Pavarotti Giovani Awards, Beaumarchais International Music Competition in Vienna and the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. She was also awarded the prestigious Culturarte Prize of Placido Domingo's Operalia in Kazakstan in 2017. Her earlier stage appearances included Gilda (Rigoletto) in Korea, and Adele (Die Fledermaus) at the Schlosstheater Schönbrunn. While at the University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna, she performed roles such as Olympia (Les contes d'Hoffmann), Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), and Musetta (La bohème). At a lunch concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, she sang Brahms's 'Liebesliederwalzer'. In November 2014 she gave a solo concert as a Keumho Young Artist in South Korea.