Tenor Jung Soo Yun studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and the International Academy of Voice with Dennis O’Neill CBE, and was winner of the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition.
Recent operatic highlights include Henri Les vêpres siciliennes (Welsh National Opera); Rodolfo La bohème (WNO, Goteborg Opera, Danish National Opera); Alfredo La traviata (Danish National Opera); Italian Singer Der Rosenkavalier and Macduff Macbeth (Opera North); Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi (Göteborg Opera, Opera Holland Park); Lensky Eugene Onegin (Grange Park Opera); Macduff Macbeth (Longborough Festival), Zamoro Alzira (Buxton International Festival); Nadir Les pêcheurs de perles (Opera Holland Park); Mainfroid and cover Henri Les vêpres siciliennes (Royal Opera House); Percy Anna Bolena (Longborough Festival Opera); Il Duca di Mantua Rigoletto, the title role in Faust, and Conor Mac Nessa in the world premiere of Morrígan (Cork International Festival).
On the concert platform he has performed Verdi Messa da Requiem‚ Puccini Messa di Gloria‚ and Rossini Petite messe solennelle; in recital at the Wigmore Hall; St James’s Palace for HRH Prince Charles; Cadogan Hall alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night; and BBC Radio 3 In Tune. Jung Soo’s competition highlights include winner of the Richard Tauber Prize, the Stuart Burrows International Voice Award, and Les Azuriales Opera Competition.
Longborough’s strength in casting and relationships within the opera industry is once again evident with ovation of the evening quite rightly greeted Jung Soo Yun’s Macduff. Trained by the distinguished Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill, Yun brought beautifully focused tone and unaffected sincerity to “Ah, la paterna mano”, his lament for his murdered family becoming one of the emotional high points of the performance. There was nothing self-indulgent about the singing; instead it communicated grief with directness and dignity, leaving one wishing Verdi had given Macduff rather more to do.
They come up against Jung Soo Yun’s lustrous, fervent Macduff, to all intents and purposes sounding like a young Pavarotti; in duet with Rhydian Jenkins as the rightful king Malcom, the two tenors soar to ecstatic heights, leaving no doubt that even they can overcome Lady Macbeth’s resolve.
As a remorseful Macduff, Jung Soo Yun brings off a marvellously sung ‘Ah, la paterna mano’ as he learns of the murder of his wife and children.
The other virtuous character, Macduff, is equally impressive, with Jung Soo Yun rising to the occasion in a show-stopping rendering of the great tenor aria ‘O figli, O figlie miei’.
Jung Soo Yun is the other male whose voice was memorable, singing the role of Macduff. His stage presence is significant, his tenor voice full at times of both beautiful colours and some dark emotional responses when mourning the death of his wife and children; his confrontation with Macbeth is a dramatic scene.