The sopranos Shin Youngok and Jo Sumi will perform at a series of winter concerts this season. They will cover songs in a variety of genres, ranging from famous songs from movie soundtracks to folk songs and opera arias.

Shin will perform at the Seoul Arts Center on December 17 and sing familiar songs from movie soundtracks and other songs from her repertoire, including "The Way We Were," "Umbrellas of Cherbourg," La Vie en Rose" and "Besame Mucho."

Shin debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1990 and took major roles such as Gilda in the opera "Rigoletto," as Adina in " The Elixir of Love" (L'Elisir d'Amore) and as Zerlina in "Don Giovanni." She has been on stage with renowned singers such as Rolando Villazon, Placido Domingo and Ramón Vargas. She appeared in many international festivals, including the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Lincoln Center and the May Festival in Cincinnati, and has starred in a Gala Concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.




Shin's recordings include "Bianca e Fernando," an opera by Vincenzo Bellini, "Vocalise," a collection of bel canto arias and "Ave Maria," a collection of sacred arias. Her 16th album, "Mystique," which will be released soon, contains familiar songs from movie soundtracks such as "Moon River" and the love theme from "Cinema Paradiso."

Shin will perform at the Seoul Arts Center at 8:00 p.m. on December 17 and at the Busan Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m. on December 24. For more information, please call 02)-580-1300 for the Seoul Arts Center or visit its homepage (www.sacticket.co.kr). Or call Interpark on 1544-1555 or visit its homepage (http://ticket.interpark.com) for tickets in Busan.

On December 30, Jo Sumi will perform some opera arias, songs from musicals and other songs at a year-end concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Her repertoire includes the "Nun's Chorus & Laura's Song" from Johann Strauss' operetta "Casanova" and the Swedish folk song "Spread Your Wide Wings" (Bred Dina Vida Vingar). Videos will be screened for each song, too, bringing cheer to the New Year season.

There will be various guest performers at the concert, too. Organist Shin Dong-ill will play the grand pipe organ while tenor Yoon Young-seok will sing "The Impossible Dream" from the musical "Man of La Mancha." Cellist Yang Sung-won will perform "The Swan" from "The Carnival of the Animals" (Le carnaval des animaux) composed by Camille Saint-Saëns. He will also perform "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5," an instrumental piece by Heitor Villa-Lobos, together with Jo.



Jo has performed with famous conductors, including Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Kenta Nagano and Lorin Maazel. She has appeared on stage at Covent Garden in London, La Scala in Milan and at the Bastille in Paris.

Herbert von Karajan once said Jo has a, "God-given voice." Together, they recorded Verdi's opera "A Masked Ball"(Un ballo in maschera) and performed at the Salzburg Festival. Her crossover album, "Only Love," released in 2001 sold more than one million copies.

The year-end concert starts at 8:00 p.m. at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on December 30. For more information, please call 02)-399-1114 or visit its homepage (www.sejongpac.or.kr). Fans can also call 1544-1555 to reach Interpark or visit its homepage (http://ticket.interpark.com).

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Onzi Friends
jun2@korea.kr