Since winning First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2023 at the age of only 22, baritone Taehan Kim has seen his career develop at remarkable speed. From the opera stages of Berlin and Frankfurt to concert halls across Europe, Asia and South America, the young baritone has been steadily building an international career.
Only a few months after his success in Brussels, Kim added another distinction to his list of achievements, receiving the Rolex Prize of the Audience at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in 2023.
International Opera Studio in Berlin
His victory at the Queen Elisabeth Competition also marked the beginning of a particularly active period in Europe. From the 2023/24 season, Taehan Kim joined the International Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, while continuing his musical development in the German capital. Over the following seasons, he gained extensive stage experience in a wide variety of productions, with roles including the Second Armoured Man in Die Zauberflöte, the Marquis d’Obigny in La traviata, Marullo in Rigoletto, Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, the Jailer in Tosca, Sid in La fanciulla del West and Grégorio in Roméo et Juliette. He also took part in the world premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Melancholie des Widerstands. Alongside opera, song continues to occupy an important place in his repertoire. At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, he appeared in recital at the Apollosaal with mezzo-soprano Corinna Scheurle and pianist and conductor Thomas Guggeis.
A new chapter in Frankfurt
The 2025/26 season brought an important new step in Taehan Kim’s career when he joined the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt. He made his house debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, conducted by the company’s General Music Director, Thomas Guggeis. During the 2026/27 season, he returns as Guglielmo and takes on the role of Silvano in a new production of Un ballo in maschera. Another important milestone in the development of his international career: since 2025, Taehan Kim has been represented worldwide by Askonas Holt. That same year, he was selected as an Opera Sponsorship Artist by the SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation.
From Europe to Korea and South America
Taehan Kim has meanwhile developed a busy career on the concert platform. In 2023, he performed with the KBS Symphony Orchestra and Myung-Whun Chung at the closing concert of Korea’s DMZ Open Festival. He also made his Luxembourg debut with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tarmo Peltokoski. Belgian audiences had several opportunities to hear him again soon after his victory. He opened the Festival Musiq3 in recital with Philippe Riga, gave a solo recital at La Monnaie, and appeared at Flagey alongside soprano Sumi Hwang and pianist Helmut Deutsch. In the summer of 2024, Taehan Kim returned to Seoul for a Lieder recital before setting off on his first South American tour, performing in Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Manaus. Back in Korea, he made his operatic debut in his home country as Marcello in La bohème in a new production by Seoul Metropolitan Opera. Further appearances have taken him to BBC Proms Korea, where he performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth, and to the Berlin Philharmonie, where he shared the stage with soprano Sumi Jo in a charity gala concert.
In 2026, another important recognition awaited him in his native country: Taehan Kim has been named Artist in Residence at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul.
Discover the bariton's performance of “Son io, mio Carlo… O Carlo, ascolta…” from Verdi’s Don Carlo, accompanied by pianist Hayun Han at Kumho Art Hall in April 2026 in the video below:
