Bio
Commanding bass Young Bok Kim has recently dazzled audiences in Attila (title role), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), Verdi’s Requiem (bass soloist), and La battaglia di Legnano (Barbarossa) at Sarasota Opera. A favorite with Sarasota audiences, he returned in 2024 for Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo) and reprised Rigoletto (Sparafucile) at Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore. He made his Opera Colorado debut in 2023 in Turandot (Timur).
A native of Korea, Kim frequently performs on Korean stages, including Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso) at National Opera of Korea and Seoul Metropolitan Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo) and The Magic Flute (Sarastro) at National Opera of Korea, and Semiramide (Nino’s Ghost) at City Opera of Seoul. In the U.S., he made his New York City Opera debut in La bohème (Colline) and later appeared in Carmen (Zuniga), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), and Madama Butterfly (Bonze), the latter featured in the 2008 Emmy Award-winning broadcast. He has also performed with Dallas Opera, Utah Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera Boston, El Paso Opera, and Teatro Grattacielo, among others.
Kim’s extensive repertoire includes Aida (Ramfis), Il trovatore (Ferrando), Don Carlos (Philip II), Simon Boccanegra (Fiesco), Roméo et Juliette (Frère Laurent), La forza del destino (Padre Guardiano), Norma (Oroveso), Faust (Mephistopheles), Eugene Onegin (Prince Gremin), and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Capellio). He holds degrees from Chung-Ang University, Mannes College of Music, and the Juilliard Opera Center and has performed under conductors such as Julius Rudel and James Conlon.