Kihwan Sim
Bass-baritone
© Barbara Aumüller
During the 2024/25 season Kihwan Sim, who joined the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt in 2012/13, can be heard as the Animal Tamer / Athlete and Banco in new productions of Berg's Lulu and Verdi's Macbeth, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, the Herold in Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher and in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro. Last season he enjoyed great success as Ramfis & the King of Egypt in a new Aida, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Escamillo in Carmen, Orest in Elektra and Lodovico in Verdi's Otello. Other recent roles for the company have included his first Gremins in Eugene Onegin, King Marc in Frank Martin's Le vin herbé, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Capellio in a new Rossini's Bianca e Falliero and his wonderful portrayal of Gottardo in La gazza ladra. He took sang in Verdi's Requiem and Bruckner's Te Deum in Museums Concerts. This Korean singer enjoyed great success singing other roles for the first time at Oper Frankfurt, including Verdi's Ferrando (Il trovatore), Jean Procida (Les vêpres siciliennes) and, in concert, Oberto and Don Ruy Gomez de Silva in Ernani and thrilled audiences here with Rodolfo (La sonnambula), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Méphistophélès (La damnation de Faust), Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), Tiridate (Radamisto), Truffaldin / A Wig Maker (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Sir Giorgio (I puritani). He recently sang Timur in Turandot at Opera Steinbruch in St. Margarethen, Escamillo at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen and returned to the Met in New York, where he made his debut as Colline in La Bohème, for Masetto in Don Giovanni. Kihwan Sim has performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, Cologne Opera, the Staatsoper in Budapest, Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Bolschoi in Moscow, Soeul Arts Centre and Nice Opera. He studied in Seoul and Hamburg and enjoyed success at international competitions including the Concours Régine Crespin in Paris and Mirjam Helin Competition in Helsinki.