Baritone SeungHyeon Baek
ROLES PREPARED AND/OR PERFORMED
Belcore – L’Elisir d’amore
Count Almaviva – Le nozze di Figaro
Di Cosimo – Il Postino
Don Alvaro – Il viaggio a Reims
Enrico – Lucia di Lammermoor
Father – Hänsel und Gretel
Ford – Falstaff
Germont – La traviata
Gianni Schicchi – Gianni Schicchi
Marcello – La bohème
Rigoletto – Rigoletto
Scarpia – Tosca
Schaunard – La bohème
Sharpless – Madama Butterfly
Silvio – Pagliacci
Sonora – La Fanciulla del West
Tonio – Pagliacci
Valentin – Faust
ROLES IN PREPARATION AND/OR CONSIDERATION
Don Carlo – La forza del destino
Escamillo – Carmen
Iago – Otello
Jack Rance – La Fanciulla del West
Renato – Un ballo in maschera
Riccardo – I puritani
Rodrigo – Don Carlo
Simon Boccanegra – Simon Boccanegra
Zurga – Les pêcheurs de perles
Korean baritone SeungHyeon Baek has gained recognition as an artist of versatility, applauded for the richness of his instrument and his considerable dramatic abilities.
The artist will return to The Metropolitan Opera this season to cover Marcello in La bohème. Additional planned engagements for the 2025-2026 season include performances of Marcello in La bohème with Opera Orlando, house debuts with Vero Beach Opera in the title role of Rigoletto and Opera Grand Rapids as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the 2024-2025 season, Baek covered the role of Marcello for The Metropolitan Opera and Bravo! Vail Music Festival with The Philadelphia Orchestra, sang Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, and brought his interpretation of Marcello to Pacific Symphony and Hawaii Opera Theatre.
Other recent season highlights have seen Baek joining the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for their productions of La bohème and Falstaff; a house debut with New Orleans Opera as the Father in Hansel and Gretel; Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor and Sonora in La Fanciulla del West with Maryland Lyric Opera; a role debut as Scarpia in Tosca with St. Pete Opera; the eponymous Gianni Schicchi with Opera Steamboat; an Opera Orlando debut in the title role of Rigoletto; and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly with the Canadian Opera Company.
Additional milestones and role debuts for Mr. Baek include Conte di Luna in Il trovatore with Opera San José and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Tampa, for which the Tampa Bay Times praised his “commanding baritone.” He also made a role debut as Tonio in Pagliacci with Opera Fairbanks and enjoyed house debuts with Opera North as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and New York City Opera as Billy Jackrabbit in La fanciulla del West.
On the concert stage, Baek made his Carnegie Hall debut in Fauré’s Requiem with MidAmerica Productions and returned for Dvořák’s Te Deum and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs. He also reprised the Fauré Requiem with Maryland Lyric Opera and performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ with Christian Broadcasting System of New York, and Dvořák’s Te Deum with Adelphi Orchestra. He made his Lincoln Center concert debut with InterSchool Orchestras of New York at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
A native of South Korea, Mr. Baek received a Professional Studies degree from Mannes College of Music. During his studies, he performed the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Don Alvaro in Il viaggio a Reims, and Di Cosimo in the New York premiere of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino. He also holds a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Chung-Ang University in Korea.
