Kwangchul Youn

Kwangchul Youn (born 1966) is a South Korean operatic bass and academic voice teacher. He made an international career based in Germany, from 1994 to 2004 at the Berlin State Opera. He has performed leading roles at international opera houses and festivals, such as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, Mephisto in Faust at the Vienna State Opera, and King Marke in Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera.

Youn was born in 1966 in Chungju to a family of farmers. He first trained to become an architect, but then turned to voice studies at Cheongju University at age 19.

In 1988, he made his debut at the Seoul State Opera as de Sirieux in Giordano's Fedora. He continued his studies from 1990 to 1991 at the Sofia Academy of Music with Lesa Koleva and from 1991 to 1993 at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin with Herbert Brauer. During this time, he received several awards at national and international competitions. He won the Operalia competition in Paris in 1993.

From 1993 to 1994, Youn appeared as Sarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni at the Leipzig Opera. From 1994 to 2004, he was a member of the Berlin State Opera, where he appeared as the King in Aida, the Minister in Fidelio, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Bertram in Robert le diable, Colline in La Bohème and Lodovico in Otello.

In 1996, he made his Bayreuth Festival debut as a night watchman in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He appeared as the Landgrave in Tannhäuser in 2002, Titurel in Parsifal in 2004, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde in 2005, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold and Hunding in Die Walküre in 2006. In 2008, he performed as Gurnemanz in Parsifal for the first time, directed by Stefan Herheim. From 2014, he appeared as Daland in Der fliegende Holländer.