Yoon Byung Kil

Tenor, Byung-Kil Yoon

He was born in Seoul, South Korea and after initial studies, went to Rome in 2002, to study further. He graduated from the Conservatorium in Vibo Valentia where he studied with Italian greats including Renato Buruson and Gianni Raimondi. During his eight years in Italy, he performed lead tenor roles in operas including Traviata, Pagliacci, Aida and Madam Butterfly as well as participated in many masterclasses  and  international competitions where he won awards at competitions such as ‘Il Concorso Internazionale R. Leoncavallo’, ‘Il Concorso Internazionale Enrico Caruso’, and ‘the Franco Corelli’ prize at ‘Il Concorso Internazionale Vissi D’arte’.

Upon his return to Korea in 2010, he took up the role of principal tenor at Korean National Opera where he has since performed almost every major tenor role of both Verdi and Puccini to great acclaim. Byung-Kil also divides his time between singing engagements and training the nest generation of Korea singers as Professor of Voice at Chonnam National University, Gwangju. CitiOpera’s Il Trovatore marks Byung-Kil’s debut performance in Australia and his very first role for 2107, which will be followed by Radames in Verdi’s Aida among others.