MA Choon-Ae Kim
Subject: singing
During her studies at the Yonsei University in Seoul/Korea she won first prize at the Dong-A Music Competition in Seoul in 1984, which is most renowned music competition in Korea. As a result of the competition she became very engaged quickly by a number of opera companies and concerts throughout the country.
Her outstanding high notes coloratura skill aroused the audience to enthusiasm at every concert. At this time one of her most famous repertoire was the aria “Air des clochettes (Bell Song)” of the opera Lakmé from the French composer Deliebes, which required most skilful high notes coloratura techniques.
In 1984, Choo-Ae Kim made her first operatic debuts as the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) at the National Opera in Seoul.
After her 4 years of successful professional career at a number of venues throughout Korea she moved to Vienna/Austria in 1988 to study the art songs, oratorio and opera at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, where she received her diploma in both “ art songs and oratorio” and “opera”.
During her studies in Vienna she performed the role of Konstanze in Mozart's “The Abduction from the Seraglio” and Titania in Benjamin Britten's “A Midsummer Night's Dream”.
Active in the worlds of concerts and recitals she sang as soloist in a number of oratorio concerts, such as J. Haydn's The Seasons and The Creation, WA Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor, GF Handel's Messiah , JS Bach's Johannes Passion, notably Uhl's Gilgamesh at the Musikverein in Vienna. In 2004 at her solo recital she sang the arts songs from Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler, Alban Berg, Hector Berlioz, Villa Lobos.
In 1994 Choon-Ae Kim entered “4th international coloratura singing competition” in Luxembourg, winning first prize, audience prize and orchestra prize. At the competition, she has been acclaimed as one of the best interpreters of the Violetta's aria from Verdi's “La Traviata”.
Since then, she was engaged by a number of theaters and opera houses in Vienna, the Netherlands, Belgium and Seoul for the role of Violetta and other soprano heroines such as Gilda (Verdi`s Rigoletto), Queen of the Night (Mozart`s the Magic Flute) and Hanna Glawari (Lehár`s the Merry Widow). She appeared in a number of prestigious concerts in Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, USA, Philippines and Seoul, notably Karl Orf's Carmina Burana at the annual opening concert of “Hofkonzert Stuttgart” with Stuttgart Philharmonic.
Choon-Ae Kim received her first piano lessons at age of 6 and at her early age began to appear at a number of national broad casting programs as a singer. Since then singing became her life.