THE SOUTH KOREAN TENOR JAMES LEE WILL BE IN THE ROLE OF CALAF IN THE OPERA “TURANDOT” ON 20 JUNE

The South Korean tenor JAMES LEE studied singing in the University “Yeugnam” in Gyeongsan, South Korea and in the University “Robert Schuman” in Dusseldorf, Germany. He is laureate of many prizes from competitions, including the First Prize of the International Singing Competition Masters of Lyrical Art Valentin Teodorian in Bucharest, as well as the First Prize and the Special Prize at the Opera Competition in Linz.

The repertoire of James Lee consists of a wide scope of leading tenor parts, including Calaf in “Turandot” and Don Jose” in “Carmen”, as well as roles in operas by Verdi such as Arigo in “Les Vepres Siciliennes”, Manrico in “Il Trovatore” and Ricardo in “Un ballo in Maschera”. These roles the singer performs in the opera theaters in Gratz, Freiburg, Saarbrucken and Linz. Besides, James Lee performs the role of Calaf in the opera “Turandot” on distinguished stages like the Opera in Degu, the Center for the Arts in Seul, the International Opera Festival in Istanbul and under the baton of Maestro Anthony Witt in Theater Wielki in Lodz, Poland, where he also debuted in the role of Samson in “Samson and Dalila” by Saint-Saens.

One of his brightest embodiments is in the role of Radames in the opera “Aida” on the stages of the Paris National Theater, the Opera in Cairo, the Temple of Hatshepsut in the festival in Luxor, the Opera Festival “St. Margariten”, the Festival in the Schwerin Castle and in the Dortmund Opera. James Lee is Radames in the production of Franco Zeffirelli in the State Opera in Georgia.
In the season 2019/2020 in the Dortmund Opera James Lee debuted in the role of Pinkerton in the opera “Madama Butterfly” by Puccini, and in the next season he is already a soloist of the Theater, captivating the audience as Mario Cavaradossi in “Tosca” and Telasco in “Ferdinand Cortez or the Conquest of Mexico”.

He debuted as Dick Johnson in “The Girl from the Golden West” by Puccini in the Theater in the Hague, and he is also Calaf in “Turandot” at the International Opera Festival in Degu, the Opera in Degu, the Latvian National Opera in Riga and the Sofia Opera and ballet in Bulgaria.

In the season 2023/2024 he sang the leading part in the five-act version of “Don Carlos” /conducted by Frederic Chaslin and Claus Guth/ in the Latvian National Opera, where he performed also the roles of Radames in “Aida” and Calaf in “Turandot”. Recently he debuted as Paul in the new production of “Die tote Stadt” by Korngold in the Korean National Opera.
His forthcoming engagements include guest-performances of the role of Des Grieux in “Manon Lescaut” at the Opera Festival in Sarema and of Calaf in the spectacle of the Sofia Opera and Ballet of the opera “Turandot” on the Rocks of Belogradchik.