Kihwan Sim, who joined the Opera Studio here in 2011/12 and won First Prize at the 2011 international „Concours Régine Crespin“ competition, joins the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt this season. Roles here during 2012/13 include the title role in Die Hochzeit des Figaro/Le Nozze di Figaro, George Talbot in concert performances of Maria Stuarda, Colline in La Bohème and Quinault in Adriana Lecouvreur. He made his debut at Oper Frankfurt with the Herald in the new production of Verdi’s Otello, which was followed by, amongst others, the Duke of Albany in Lear. Born in Seoul in 1983, this bass baritone’s outstanding potential has won him awards at many international competitions, including the 2009 Neue Stimmen/New Voices competition in Gütersloh and the 2010 Paris International Opera Competition. Kihwan Sim studied at the Yonsei University School of Music before moving to Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, where he sang Leporello in 2010. He made his professional operatic debut in Germany with the title role in Le nozze di Figaro in Darmstadt. Other engagements have included Leporello in the KNUA Concert Hall in Seoul, Mozart’s Figaro and Handel’s Pallante (Agrippina) in the Arts Hall of the Korean Broadcasting Company and, in the summer of 2011, Masetto at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. His repertoire also includes Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore), Méphistophélès (Faust), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer/The Flying Dutchman) and Banco (Verdi’s Macbeth).