HYEJIN LEE

Soprano Hyejin Lee completed her studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover and earned a Master’s degree with distinction from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. She studied under Klesie Kelly-Moog and Sabine Ritterbusch.

Her career is marked by important accolades, including Second Prize and the Ada Sari Award for best coloratura soprano at the 2023 Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition, as well as First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2017 International Music Competition Cologne. She has also won numerous awards in major competitions in Korea.

Her operatic repertoire includes coloratura soprano roles such as Gilda in Rigoletto, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Norina in Don Pasquale. She has performed on international stages, including the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Theater Magdeburg.

The first round opens with Gilda’s aria, “Caro nome,” from Verdi’s Rigoletto, a hymn to pure and naive love. This is followed by Cunegonde’s virtuosic “Glitter and be gay,” from Bernstein’s Candide, an aria of great brilliance that satirizes the protagonist’s unhappy existence. The semifinal is dedicated to two arias of great psychological complexity: the first is Manon’s aria from Massenet, “Je suis encore tout étourdie,” in which the protagonist joyfully reflects on her unexpected arrival in Paris. The journey concludes with Elvira’s aria from Bellini’s I puritani, a masterpiece of dramatic expression in which the young woman, in the grip of madness, laments the loss of her beloved and holds onto the hope that he will return to her.