Taehan Kim
김태한

Taehan Kim is a South Korean baritone who is rapidly emerging as one of the most compelling voices of his generation. He graduated with top honors from the College of Music at Seoul National University and continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. In 2025, he was selected as an Opera Sponsorship Artist by SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation.

 

In 2023, at the age of 22, Taehan won First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, becoming one of the youngest winners in the competition’s history. His performance was widely praised, with Place de l'Opera describing him as “a baritone with a gorgeous voice, a very solid technique, and truly deep empathy in all the works he chose to perform.” 

 

That same year, he also received the Rolex Prize of the Audience at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia.

In 2022, Taehan had already earned recognition at the Neue Stimmen competition, receiving the Brian Dickie Young Talent Award, as well as prizes at the Riccardo Zandonai and Tenor Viñas competitions.

 

From the 2023/24 season, Taehan has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. His roles there have included Zweiter Geharnischter (Die Zauberflöte), Marquis d’Obigny (La traviata), Marullo (Rigoletto), Hunter (Rusalka), Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), Jailer (Tosca), Sid (La fanciulla del West), First Strelitz (Chowanschtschina), Grégorio (Roméo et Juliette), and Soldier 1 in the world premiere of <Melancholie des Widerstands> by Marc-André Dalbavie. He also appeared in a Liedrecital at the Apollosaal of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with mezzo-soprano Corinna Scheurle, with music director and pianist Thomas Guggeis.

 

From the 2025/26 season, Taehan joined the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt. 

He made his house debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, conducted by the company’s General Music Director, Thomas Guggeis. Looking ahead, Taehan is scheduled to make a number of exciting role debuts with Oper Frankfurt, further deepening his artistic development.

 

In parallel with his operatic career, Taehan has built a strong presence on the international concert stage.

He performed with the KBS Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung in the closing concert of Korea’s DMZ Open Festival. In Belgium, he gave the opening recital of the Festival Musiq’3 with Philippe Riga, a solo recital at the Grand Foyer of La Monnaie / De Munt, and a duo concert at Flagey with Sumi Hwang and Helmut Deutsch. That same year marked his debut in Luxembourg, where he performed in a gala concert with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tarmo Peltokoski.

 

In the summer of 2024, Taehan gave a successful Lieder recital in Seoul alongside baritone Gabriel Jusung Park and pianist Ilya Rashkovskiy. Soon after, he embarked on a major concert tour across Brazil, making his South American debut. He performed for enthusiastic audiences in Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), and Manaus (Amazonas). In total, the tour reached five cities across four states.

 

Most recently, after returning from South America, Taehan made his operatic debut on the Korean stage as Marcello in a new production of <La Bohème> by the Seoul Metropolitan Opera. He later appeared in the “Last Night of the Proms” at BBC Proms Korea, performing with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ryan Wigglesworth. He also appeared in a Charity Gala Concert with legendary soprano Sumi Jo at the Großer Saal of the Berlin Philharmonie.

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Taehan Kim is based in Frankfurt