Samuel Youn to offer unique performance beyond recital

The day will soon come when Korean audiences can enjoy opera arias and lieder without resorting to subtitles, bass-baritone Samuel Youn said Wednesday during an interview.

This will not be due to any technological advancement, but because Youn and many other artists aspire to create pieces that can be sung in Korean, allowing Korean audiences to feel them deeply without the need for translation or subtitles.

Although Youn says there aren't enough Korean art songs, also known by the german term lieder, and opera arias to make a themed show like what Youn is set to show next week, he is encouraging other artists to create Korean lieder and arias.

“A uniquely Korean form of comprehensive art will emerge. It differs from original operas written in Korean. This stage will not only encompass multiple genres but also integrate a lateral arrangement, bringing different elements together on the same stage,” Youn said.

He compares this ambition to the gesamtkunstwerk by German composer Wagner -- a term referring to a creative work that combines different art forms.

“I hope this upcoming performance will serve as a bridge to that,” he added.

Youn is slated to present the last show of “Vocal Masters Series” by the Seoul Arts Center on Nov. 16. The series featured the country’s two other renowned classical singers -- soprano Hong Hei-kyung and bass Youn Kwang-chul earlier this year.

Instead of offering a recital consisting of singing only, he teamed up with young artists like director Park Kwi-sub, better known as BAKi, and Abel Quartet for the upcoming concert.

It is difficult to label the performance using existing genres like opera, recital or a musical, Youn said.

“Rather, it can be described as a comprehensive art.”

"This performance is a parallel platform for young artists and in different genres and I hope to see more opportunities like this done by other artists," Youn added.

The upcoming performance is themed “stranger” and is best described with a line from Schubert’s “Der Wanderer (The Wanderer)” with lyrics by Georg Philipp Schmidt von Lubeck -- “I am a stranger everywhere." It is how Youn felt when he returned to his home country after feeling the same way in foreign countries for 25 years.

“With that, I would like to represent all artists who feel like a stranger,” Youn said.

He designed this performance with five themes -- solitude, sorrow, chaos, despair and death, and salvation and hope -- using storytelling to bring each theme to life.

For each theme, he selected fitting opera arias and German lieder. Pianist Park Jong-hwa and the Abel Quartet will accompany the performance.

The 85-minute performance is directed by Park, whose unique career path spans roles as a ballerino, photographer and visual artist.

“Beyond photography and video, I used chairs as objects on stage to symbolize wandering. Additionally, three dancers will perform, creating a poetic atmosphere that complements the music," explained Park, who said he connected with the theme due to his diverse background.

After winning the Toti Dal Monte Competition in Italy in 1998, Samuel Yoon began his career as a soloist at the Cologne Opera in Germany. In 2012, he gained widespread recognition when he was chosen as a principal performer at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. In 2022, he was awarded the Kammersanger title, a prestigious honor awarded to distinguished opera singers, typically in German-speaking countries. In the same year, he returned to Korea after being appointed a professor at the department of vocal music at Seoul National University.

Samuel Youn’s “Stranger” is set to take place at the Opera House of the Seoul Arts Center on Nov. 16.