Junyoung Choi_Viotti 02

JUNYOUNG CHOI

 

Born in South Korea in 1996, baritone Junyoung Choi graduated with honors from the Korea National University of Arts and is currently completing his Master’s degree in Berlin with Prof. Klaus Häger. A winner of top prizes in major Korean competitions, he gained international recognition after winning the 2024 AsLiCo Competition in Italy. His recent engagements include the roles of Falstaff, Scarpia in Tosca, and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore. Based in Berlin, he is praised for his rich tone and commanding stage presence on European stages.

PROGRAM

 

First Round

Giuseppe Verdi — Falstaff — “È sogno… O realtà…?”

Gaetano Donizetti — Lucia di Lammermoor — “Cruda, funesta smania”

Semifinal

Ruggero Leoncavallo — Pagliacci — “Si può?…”

Giuseppe Verdi — Attila — “Dagli immortali vertici… È gettata la mia sorte”

Umberto Giordano — Andrea Chénier — “Nemico della patria”

Final with orchestra

Giuseppe Verdi – Falstaff – “È sogno? o realtà?”

Gaetano Donizetti – Lucia di Lammermoor – “Cruda, funesta smania”

The program opens with a juxtaposition that highlights the variety of the baritone repertoire. The first round combines the comic and dramatic role of Verdi’s Falstaff, in an aria that requires psychological finesse, with the imposing bel canto tessitura of Donizetti in Lucia di Lammermoor.

The semifinal ranges from verismo to early Verdi. The prologue from Pagliacci is a theatrical and vocal test. The selection from Verdi’s Attila, a less frequently performed opera, presents Ezio’s aria, where the Roman general contemplates his fate before battle. The round concludes with “Nemico della patria” from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, which demands great dramatic intensity and a strong verismo temperament. The program demonstrates solid technique and stylistic versatility.