World-class Tenor Lee Yong-hoon Returns Home as Don José in Carmen
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
World-renowned tenor Lee Yong-hoon performed as Don José in a concert-opera production of Carmen at Busan Concert Hall on Dec. 19–20, conducted by Jung Myung-hoon. Lee cleared European engagements to appear on the Korean stage; both nights received strong audience praise and sold out. The production, described as a “mini-opera,” expanded typical concert-opera format with costumes and acting to help non-opera audiences engage. Lee chose Carmen partly because he had first performed Don José as a student in the U.S., and he focused on portraying the character’s tragic arc from a disciplined soldier to a man driven to murder by jealousy. He urged more sustained domestic support and infrastructure for opera in Korea so homegrown and internationally active singers can perform more often in Korea. (Busan Concert Hall: a major concert venue in Busan)
