DukeKim

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  • Tenor
Duke Kim
Duke Kim

About Duke

Duke Kim is the Second Prize Winner of both Operalia (2022) and the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), as well as a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (2021). He is an alumnus of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera.

In the 2026 - 27 season, Duke returns to Europe to perform at the Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa, Warsaw as the Duke of Mantua, Rigoletto and will make his house debut at Opéra National de Lyon as Gennaro, Lucrezia Borgia. Elsewhere, hereturns to the Metropolitan Opera as Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte, to Los Angeles Opera as the title role in Bernstein’s Candide and to the Canadian Opera Company for Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore as Nemorino.

Recent operatic highlights include house debuts at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in a staged version of Mozart’s Requiem, Dresden Semperoper for La traviata (Alfredo Germont), Teatro dell’Opera the title role in Romeo et Juliette and Teatro de la Maestranza in Lucrezia Borgio (Gennaro). Additional engagements include West Side Story (Tony) Los Angeles Opera, Faust (title role) Irish National Opera, Carmen (Le Remendado) with Washington National Opera, The Magic Flute (Tamino) Metropolitan Opera and Eugene Onegin (Lensky) Santa Fe Opera.

On the concert stage, Duke made his debut with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for Mozart’s Requiem, his South American debut at Teatro Colón in Handel’s Messiah and has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington in Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Eine kleine Freimaurer-Kantate and Bach’s Magnificat - all under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. He has appeared with the Santa Fe Symphony in A Night at the Opera, the Grant Park Music Festival in Haydn’s The Creation, and with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Messiah. He has also presented a solo recital for the Korean Music Association and Sag Harbor Song Festival and a duet recital with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven at Seattle Opera.

During his studies at Chapman University and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Duke’s roles included L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino), Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio), Little Women (Laurie), and La finta giardiniera (Count Belfiore). His additional concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël. He has trained in the young artist programs of Wolf Trap Opera (Studio Program) and Palm Beach Opera (Benenson Young Artist Program).

Duke is based in California

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Contact

For availability and general enquiries:

Rowan Bidmead

Rowan Bidmead

Artist Manager

For contracts, logistics and press:

Grace Hewett

Grace Hewett

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

European management with Askonas Holt
North American management with Opus 3 Artists

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Season Highlights

Sep 2026
Metropolitan Opera
Mozart; Cosi fan tutte (Ferrando) Nimrod David Pfeffer (conductor)
Nov 2026
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Bernstein; Candide LA Opera Lina González-Granados (conductor)
Jan 2027
Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa
Tchaikovsky; Rigoletto (Duke of Mantua) Evan Rogister (conductor)
Mar 2027
Opera National de Lyon
Donizetti; Lucrezia Borgia (Gennaro) Jader Bignamini (conductor)
May 2027
Four Seasons Centre, Toronto
Donizetti; L'Elisir d'Amore (Nemorino) Canadian Opera Company Lorenzo Passerini (conductor)

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Selected Repertoire

Bernstein

West Side Story (Tony)

Bizet

Les Pêcheurs de perles (Nadir)

Donizetti

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

Gounod

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

Lehar

Die Lustige Witwe (Camille de Rosillon)

Mozart

Die Zauberflöte (Tamino)   •   Così fan tutte (Ferrando)   •   Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio)

Puts

Silent Night (Nikolaus Sprink)

Rossini

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva)

Verdi

La Traviata (Alfredo Germont): Rigoletto (Duca)

News

Press

  • Verdi | Rigoletto - Duke of Manuta

    Santa Fe Opera
    Jul 2025 - Aug 2025

    • he’s a tasteful, elegant singer who has an ingratiating stage presence. His Duke had a quirky, 21st-century version of a ladies’ man quality that was refreshingly cliché free.

  • Donizetti | L'elisir d'amore - Nemorino

    Irish National Opera
    May 2025 - Jun 2025

    • As the hapless Nemorino, Duke Kim charmed with every note… he sang with bright lyricism and heartfelt simplicity.

    • Duke Kim seemed perfectly cast as the endearing, doughty Nemorino. He brought a sweetness and charm to the role that made it possible for the audience to root for him.

  • Mozart | The Magic Flute - Tamino

    Seattle Opera
    Feb 2025 - Mar 2025

  • Gounod | 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.

    • Kim, with his velvety tenor, sang the role with an effortlessness that brought out the richness and poignancy of Gounod’s music, while the clarity of his French pronunciation enhanced the poetry of the text.

  • Rossini | 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.

  • Verdi | 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.

  • Gounod | 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.

  • Mozart | 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.