Biography Timeline


1997 – 2002 Study at the Yeungnam University in Kyongsan, South Korea
2003 – 2006 Study at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany

2008 – 2010 Performed in South Korea : Die Fledermaus (Alfred and Eisenstein), L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino), Turandot (Pong) / Korean creative operas : Dong-i in Woo, Jong Uek’s Opera “Love of Buckwheat”, Title role in Park, Chang Min’s Opera “Wangsan Heu-ui”, Mong-Wan in Lim, June Hee’s Opera “A match made in Heaven”

2011 – 2013 First engagement in Europe: Bucharest National Opera, Romania

2012 First prize International Singing Competition Masters of Lyrical Art – Valentin Teodorian in Bucharest
2013 First prize and special prize at the Competizione dell’Opera 2013 in Linz

2013/14
I Vespri Siciliani (Arrigo)(it.) – Theater Freiburg, Germany
Turandot (Calaf) – Graz Opera, Austria (Director : Marco Arturo Marelli) Aida (Radamès) – Opernfestspiele St.Margarethen, Austria (Director : Robert Dornhelm)

2014/15
Carmen – (Don José) Theater Freiburg, Germany
Il Trovatore (Manrico) – Theater Freiburg, Germany
Un ballo in maschera (Riccardo) – Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Germany

2015/16
Aida (Radamès) – Cairo Opera House, Egypt
Turandot (Calaf) – Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland (Conductor : Antoni Wit)
Aida (Radamès) – Schlossfestspiele Schwerin, Germany
“The Best opera, best scenes” Opera Gala Concert – Daegu Opera House, Korea (Conductor : Daniel Lipton)

2016/17 
Turandot (Calaf) – Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland
Turandot (Calaf) – XXVI Festiwal im. Adama Didura in Sanok, Poland
Aida (Radamès) – Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater, Georgia
Messa da Requiem (G. Verdi) – Teatro Politeama Catanzaro, Italy
Turandot (Calaf) – Daegu Opera House, South Korea (Conductor : János Ács , Director : Hiroki Ihara)

2017/18 
Turandot (Calaf) – Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland
Aida (Radamès) – National Theatre Prague, Czech Republic
Messa da Requiem (G. Verdi) – Teatro Veriano Luchetti, Basilica di San Pietro, Tuscania, Italy (Conductor : Isaac Karabtchevsky)
Aida (Radamès) – Cairo Opera House, Egypt

2018/19 
Aida (Radamès) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Aida (Radamès) – Cairo Opera House, Egypt
Aida (Radamès) – National Theatre Prague, Czech Republic
Samson et Dalila (Samson) – Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland
Turandot (Calaf) – Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland
Turandot (Calaf) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Turandot (Calaf) – International Istanbul Opera Festival, Turkey
Turandot (Calaf) – Seoul Arts Center, South Korea

2019/20 
Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Belcanto Operngala – Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany
Aida (Radamès) – Luxor Festaval – Temple of Hatshepsut, Egypt (Conductor : Oksana Lyniv)
Tosca (Mario Cavaradossi) – Teatro di San Carlo, Italy
Aida (Radamès) – The State Opera in Prague, Czech Republic
Aida (Radamès) – Opera Nationala Romana Iasi, Romania
Il Trovatore (Manrico) – Linz State Theatre, Austria

Aida (Radamès) – (Landestheater Detmold) in Theater Winterthur, Swiss
Fernand Cortez (Telasco) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Aida (Radamès) – Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, München, Germany

2020/21 

Carmen (Don José) – Theater Dortmund, Germany

Quanto amore! Operngala – (Theater Dortmund) in Theater Winterthur, Swiss

2021/22
Tosca (Mario Cavaradossi) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Fernand Cortez (Telasco) – Theater Dortmund, Germany
Turandot (Calaf) – Daegu International Opera Festival, Daegu Opera House, South Korea

2022/23 
La fanciulla del West (Dick Johnson) – Theater Hagen, Germany

Nixon in China (Mao Tse-tung) – Theater Dortmund, Germany

Turandot (Calaf) – Latvian National Opera, Riga, Latvia
Turandot (Calaf) – Sofia Opera & Ballet, Bulgaria 

2023/24 
Aida (Radamès) – Latvian National Opera, Riga, Latvia
Don Carlo (Don Carlo) (it. 5 Act) – Latvian National Opera, Riga, Latvia (Conductor: Frédéric Chaslin, Director: Claus Guth)
Turandot (Calaf) – Sofia Opera & Ballet, Bulgaria 
Messa di Gloria (G.Puccini) – St. Johanniskirche Schweinfurt, Germany
Turandot (Calaf) – Latvian National Opera, Riga, Latvia
Die tote Stadt (Paul) – Korea National Opera, Seoul Arts Center, South Korea (Conductor: Lothar Koenigs, Stage Director: Julien Chavaz)
Turandot (Calaf) – State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria 
Manon Lescaut (des Grieux) – Fundació Òpera Catalunya, Saaremaa Opera Festival, Kuressaare, Estonia
Turandot (Calaf) – Sofia Opera & Ballet, Belogradchik Opera Festival, Bulgaria 
La fanciulla del West (Dick Johnson) – Opera Hedeland, Denmark

2024/25 
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Auerbach, Germany
Turandot (Calaf) – Macedonian National Theatre, Skopje, North Macedonia
Turandot (Calaf) – Theater Magdeburg, Germany
Aida (Radames) – Macedonian National Theatre, Skopje, North Macedonia
Turandot (Calaf) – Opera på Skäret, Sweden

2025/26
Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) – Staatstheater Cottbus, Germany
Messa da Requiem (G. Verdi) – Würzburg, Germany
Turandot(Calaf) – Landestheater Niederbayern

JAMES LEE

The South Korean tenor James Lee studied singing at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, South Korea and at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany. He was a winner of numerous competitions, including the 1st Prize at the International Singing Competition Masters of Lyrical Art – Valentin Teodorian in Bucharest, and both the 1st Prize and a Special Prize at the Competizione dell’Opera in Linz.

Among his recent engagements are role debut as Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West at Theater Hagen and performace of it at the Opera Hedeland, Denmark, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at te Saaremaa Opera Festival and Calaf in Turandot at the Belogradchik, Sofia Opera and Ballet in Bulgaria, the Daegu International Opera Festival, the Daegu Opera House, the Latvian National Opera in Riga, and State Opera Stara Zagora.

In the 2023/24 season, he sang the title role in the Italian five-act version of Don Carlo (under the direction of Frédéric Chaslin and Claus Guth) at the Latvian National Opera, where he also performed as Radamès in Aidaand Calaf in Turandot. He also debuted as Paul in the new production of Die tote Stadt at the Korea National Opera.

Upcoming performances include the role of Calaf in Turandot at Macedonian National Theatre in Skopje, North Macedonia, and Beethoven’s 9th in Auerbach, Germany.

Lee’s repertoire spans a wide range of dramatic roles, including Calaf in Turandot and Don José in Carmen, as well as roles in Verdi’s operas such as Arrigo in I Vespri Siciliani, Manrico in Il Trovatore, and Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera. These roles were sung at opera houses in Graz, Freiburg, Saarbrücken, and the Landestheater Linz. Furthermore, he has portrayed Calaf in Turandot at notable venues including the Daegu Opera House, Seoul Arts Center, the International Istanbul Opera Festival, and under the baton of Maestro Antoni Wit at the Teatr Wielki w Łodzi in Poland, where he also debuted as Samson in Samson et Dalila.

One of his significant roles is Radamès in Aida, which he performed at the Prague National Theatre, the Cairo Opera House, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at the Luxor Festival, the Opera Festival St. Margarethen, the Schwerin Castle Festival and the Dortmund Opera. Additionally, he played the same role in Franco Zeffirelli’s production at the State Opera in Georgia.

During the 2019/20 season at the Dortmund Opera, Lee took on the role of Benjamin F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and in the following season, he became an ensemble member, captivating audiences as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca and Télasco in Fernand Cortez or The Conquest of Mexico.