Hyunsoon Kim is a baritone from Seoul, South Korea, currently based in Manhattan.

Share with us a unique experience for you in the opera world. How did it inspire you and what did you learn from it?

When I understood the role I played on the opera stage and became a singer suitable for the role, I felt it was a conversation with the audience to share the feelings of the song I sang. For me, this experience taught me that opera is more than just music, it’s a stage to interact and convey my emotions with the audience.

Do you think opera should be accessible to everyone? How do you think this could be done?

Yes, if you think of opera as a way to share emotions with people, everyone can access it without difficulty. I don’t feel music with words, but I think of it as sharing emotions through the melodies. If the audience exchanges emotions as if the singer became an audience, and the audience becomes the singer, it’s not difficult to understand the music. You can feel a closer and deeper connection with the music.

Do you feel that your work as an opera singer helps you to use your creativity to serve your community? What do you enjoy the most about it?

Yes, I believe that the creativity of an opera singer can make opera music easier for people to feel. I don’t think of opera as just difficult music in a performance hall, but I think it helps the community to go to a place where people are and help them listen to opera so they can feel it as casual music.