SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation to Stage 'Il trovatore'... Tenor Lee Yonghoon to Perform Manrico in Korea for the First Time

At the Seoul Arts Center on November 17

The SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation announced on November 11 that it will stage Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on November 17.

Tenor Lee Yonghoon, who has performed leading roles at world-renowned opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London and La Scala in Milan, will play Manrico. Il trovatore is one of his signature roles, but this will be his first time performing Manrico on a stage in Korea.

Soprano Seo Sunyoung, winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, will play Leonora, Manrico's lover. Baritone Lee Donghwan, who has performed at venues including Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Royal Opera House in London, will play Count di Luna, while mezzo-soprano Lee Danbi will portray Azucena, torn between maternal love and a desire for revenge.

Also appearing are bass Kim Dongho, mezzo-soprano Kim Gayoung and tenor Kim Jinhoon. The Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kim Kwanghyun, music director of the Classical Busan Orchestra, will provide the orchestral accompaniment, and the Noi Opera Chorus will perform the choral parts. Pyo Hyunjin will direct.

Il trovatore, along with Rigoletto and La traviata, is considered one of Verdi's three great masterpieces from his middle period. Set in 15th-century Spain, it tells a tragedy entangled with love, jealousy and revenge.

The SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation was established in 2013 to honor the legacy of the late Lee Woonhyung, chairman of SeAH Group, who devoted himself to the development of opera. In 2000, Lee became the first chairman of the National Opera of Korea after it became independent, and for 13 years he spearheaded efforts to develop and support opera.

A foundation official said, "We hope this performance, with the powerful music and tragic narrative of Verdi's opera, will offer audiences a special experience that brings deep emotion and comfort to their everyday lives."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.