Karah Son graduated in Voice at the Yonsei University in Seoul, her
native town. She then completed her musical education graduating from the
Vivaldi Music Conservatory in Novara (Italy) and attending the Academy of
the Teatro alla Scala in Milan under the guidance of Mirella Freni.
She distinguished herself in numerous international competitions: first
prize at the national competition organized by Korea Joongang Daily, one
of South Korea's most important newspapers, in Seoul; first prize at the
"Vissi D'Arte" international competition in Milan; Special Soroptimist
Prize at the G.B. Viotti international competition in Vercelli (Italy);
Premio Extraordinario at the Francisco Viñas international competition in
Barcelona; second prize at the Opéra de Marseille international
Competition. In 2007, she also won the prestigious Nicolai Ghiaurov
scholarship.
She made her debut in 1997 singing Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro
at the National Theater in Seoul. She has since performed Zerlina in Don
Giovanni at the Teatro S. Lorenzo in Milan; Mimì in La Bohème
at the Teatro Cristallo in Bergamo, in Milan and at the Teatro Lirico in
Cagliari; Liù in Turandot in Verona (Teatro Filarmonico), in
Bologna, in Nancy and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia (Lorin
Mazel conducting).
She recently performed in: Francesca da Rimini by Zandonai at the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Aida in South Korea and in Halle; Madama
Butterfly in South Korea and in Tampere, Warsaw, Leipzig, Berlin
(Deutsche Oper), Gothenburg, Turin, Glyndebourne, Dresden, Cardiff,
Sydney, Gothenburg, Warsaw, Turin, Kansas City, Stuttgart, Montpellier,
Bologna, Cincinnati, Detroit, Angers, Nantes, Rennes, Copenhagen, Los
Angeles, and Pittsburgh; La Bohème in Sydney; Turandot in
Melbourne; Tosca in Melbourne, Sydney, and Cincinnati; Otello
at Teatro La Fenice in Venice; and Verdi’s Requiem in Seoul, in
addition to a series of concerts at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
Among her engagements for the 2025-26 season are Madama Butterfly
in Chicago and Washington.
August 2025