DukeKim

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  • Tenor
Duke Kim
Duke Kim

About Duke

Tenor Duke Kim is a Second-Place Winner of Operalia (2022), Second-Place Winner at the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (2021), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera.

This 2024/25 season, Duke makes a series of exciting house and role debuts. He makes house debuts at The Metropolitan Opera as Tamino The Magic Flute and Los Angeles Opera as Romeo Romeo and Juliet. He will return to Santa Fe Opera for his role debut as Duke Rigoletto, to Seattle Opera as Tamino The Magic Flute, and also to Irish National Opera as Nemorino L’elisir d’amore.

Recent season highlights include his debuts with Irish National Opera and Berkshire Opera Festival for Faust (title role), Pittsburgh Opera for La traviata (Alfredo), returns to Washington National Opera for Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) and Seattle Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva). On the concert stage he made his South American debut at Teatro Colón in Messiah, gave a solo recital at the Korean Music Association and a duet recital with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven at Seattle Opera.

Other previous opera engagements include La traviata (Alfredo) at Seattle Opera, Roméo et Juliette (Roméo) at The Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera and Opera San Antonio, Don Ottavio Don Giovanni at The Atlanta Opera, Le Remendado Carmen at Washington National Opera, Ferrando Cosi fan tutte and Count Camille de Rosillon The Merry Widow at Palm Beach Opera, Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream and cover Lensky Eugene Onegin at Santa Fe Opera.

On the concert stage he debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington conducted by Noseda for Handel’s Messiah, Mozart Requiem and Eine kleine Freimaurer-Kantate, and Bach Magnificat, with The Santa Fe Symphony for A Night at the Opera, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Messiah and Grant Park Music Festival in Haydn Creation.

Duke is based in California

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Contact

Grace Hewett

Grace Hewett

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

European management with Askonas Holt

General management with Opus 3 Artists

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Season Highlights

Sep 2025 - Oct 2025
Los Angeles Opera
Bernstein: West Side Story (Tony) James Conlon (conductor)
Oct 2025 - Dec 2025
Dresden Semperoper
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette (Roméo) Robert Jindra / Giampaolo Bisanti (conductor)
Dec 2025
Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville
Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (Genaro) Maurizio Benini (conductor)
Jan 2026 - Feb 2026
Houston Grand Opera
Kevin Puts: Silent Night (Nikolaus Sprink) Kensho Watanabe (conductor)
May 2026
Teatro Wielki Opera Narodowa
Verdi: La traviata (Alfredo Germont) Patrick Fournillier (conductor)

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Selected Repertoire

Donizetti

L'Elisire d'amore (Nemorino)   •   Lucrezia Borgio (Genaro)   •   Don Pasquale

Gounod

Faust (title role)   •   Roméo et Juliette (Tybalt, Roméo)

Lehar

Die Lustige Witwe (Camille de Rosillon)

Mozart

Die Zauberflöte (Tamino)   •   Così Fan Tutte (Ferrando)   •   Don giovanni (Don Ottavio)

Rossini

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva)

Verdi

La Traviata (Alfredo Germont): Rigoletto (Duca)

News

Press

  • Roméo et Juliette (title tole)

    Los Angeles Opera
    Nov 2024

    • Duke Kim, as Romeo, was her equal in every way. His Romeo was not merely a romantic hero, but a deeply human figure, vulnerable and earnest. Kim’s voice — rich, supple, and powerful — brought Romeo’s passions to life with vivid immediacy. His “Ah! lève-toi, soleil” was a highlight of the evening, sung with such longing that it seemed to hang in the air, shimmering with the weight of Romeo’s hope and despair. Kim’s chemistry with Edris was palpable, their duets smoldering with passion and tenderness, making their tragic fate even more poignant.

  • Il barbiere di Siviglia (Conte Almaviva)

    Seattle Opera
    May 2024

    • Di ritorno a Seattle dopo il suo debutto come Alfredo nella Traviata del 2023, Duke Kim, ha conferito al Conte Almaviva un'aura di eleganza, con spigliata sicurezza e padronanza del ruolo. La sua voce chiara e rotonda, sostenuta da un fraseggio preciso, ha brillato nell'impegnativa serenata "Se il mio nome", anche se talvolta è apparsa un po' offuscata negli ensemble. Kim ha convinto anche per la sua notevole capacità attoriale, essenziale in un ruolo che prevede diverse sfaccettature, dati anche i travestimenti che il personaggio deve affrontare. - Returning to Seattle after his debut as Alfredo in La Traviata in 2023, Duke Kim, lent Count Almaviva an aura of elegance, with confident assurance and mastery of the role. His clear, rounded voice, supported by precise phrasing, shone in the demanding serenade ‘Se il mio nome’, even if it sometimes appeared a little blurred in the ensembles. Kim was also convincing for her remarkable acting ability, which is essential in a role that involves several facets, given also the disguises the character has to face.

    • Count Almaviva spends most of the show in a series of silly disguises. Sung by Duke Kim (most recently Alfredo in last season’s “La Traviata”), it’s hard to decide what’s more impressive — his delivery, or the fact that he delivers while sliding across the stage on his knees.

  • La Traviata (Alfredo Germont)

    Pittsburgh Opera
    Mar 2024

    • Kim is both charming and energetic, adding to his strong tenor voice resolute passion. Accomplished in every manner of operatic voice

    • Duke Kim, as Alfredo Germont, also making his first appearance with Pittsburgh Opera, gave another stellar performance. His tenor voice is secure and brilliant, equally placed throughout, and he acted the part as well as he sang. He, too, was clearly an audience favorite.

    • Duke Kim, who plays Alfredo, the other half of the lead duo of lovers, has a powerful voice that fills the theater. His love, sorrow and especially anger are palpable. Especially in the third act, every note feels piercing. Such dramatic emotions, even in the exaggerated context of opera, are difficult to make real, but Kim succeeds with his performance.

  • Faust (title role)

    Irish National Opera
    Oct 2023

    • Duke Kim's Faust soared, delivering one of the best performances I've seen in the role, playing off a fine Mephistopheles from Nicholas Brownlee and Jennifer Davis's sympathetic Marguerite.

    • Duke Kim (Faust) possesses a pleasing tenor voice that opened up wonderfully from Act 2 onwards, his aria “Salut, demeure chaste et pure” like liquid gold, while his love duet with Jennifer Davis’ Marguerite was utterly captivating.

    • This performance by the Irish National Opera stars tenor Duke Kim in his INO debut as the leading role of the younger Faust. Kim has a magnificent voice and an impressive back repertoire and he brings it all to the role.

  • Così fan tutte (Ferrando)

    Palm Beach Opera
    Feb 2023

    • Tenor Duke Kim as Ferrando absolutely shines as an operatic star in the aria, “Un aura amorosa” from Act I, Scene III. Kim performed with effortless technique and a brightness in the voice that displayed every stunning transition.