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).
Ms. Son recently sang: Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini at
the Opéra in Monte-Carlo; Aida in
Korea and in Halle; Madama Butterfly in Korea, Tampere,
Warsaw, Leipzig, Berlin (Deutsche Oper), Goteborg, Turin, Glyndebourne
Festival Opera, Dresden, Cardiff, Sydney, Goteborg, Warsaw, Turin, Kansas
City, Stuttgart, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Bologna, Angers, Nantes, Rennes,
San Francisco, Cincinnati and Detroit; La Bohème and Otello
in Sydney, Turandot in Melbourne; Verdi's Requiem in
Seoul; 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the English National Opera in
London. She also recently performed a series of concerts at the Gewandhaus
in Leipzig.
Future plans include Madama Butterfly in Copenaghen,
Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Chicago (Lyric Opera); Tosca in
Melbourne, Sydney and Cincinnati.
February 2024