February 2021
February 2021
Sumi Jo and her experiences abroad are living proof of how much Korea has turned around its international status in the past few decades. Now well into over thirty years of her career as a soprano, Jo had been alone in Italy to study: at a time when overseas studies, especially cross-Hemispheric, was incredibly scarce. Now not only a long-term resident of Rome, Italy but also the first Asian to rise to global ranks in opera singing, Jo is active both as a performer and a vessel of hope.
Written by
Kim Jane,
features editor
Photo courtesy of
Etoile Classic &
Yonhap News
Being a child prodigy, as we most us can not exactly fathom but only imagine, rarely offers a smooth ride. In Jo¡¯s case, studying at the birthplace of opera meant being a foreigner and treated thoroughly as one ¡ª especially at a time when there was visibly much less mixing of races ¡ª for many years of her studies.
After two years at Seoul National University music school, she enrolled in Academia di Santa Cecilia in Rome to study vocals and the keyboard in 1983.
© Sejong Art Center
Upon graduating in 1983, she made her debut at the Teatro Comunale Guiseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy (1986) where she played the role of Gilda in Verdi¡¯s ¡°Rigoletto.¡± Merely two years since, she makes an appearance in what she to this day, recounts as her ¡°most memorable performance: ¡®Un ballo in maschera¡¯ conducted and composed by her mentor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989).¡± She adds, ¡°My performance in Salzburg, Austria in 1988 has stayed with me to this day because of the sheer impact that maestro Karajan had on me as a musician, when I was but a fledgling one.¡±
Far from maturing as a musician, I was simply an aspirant and trainee when he stepped in to show me the big picture, so to say. Ultimately, he even managed to show me what wisdom is about, and how to be an opera singer who is in it for the long run.¡±
Though Karajan didn¡¯t live to produce an opera together with Jo, Sir Georg Solti (1912-1998), a mentor and conductor with whom she recorded Richard Strauss¡¯ ¡°The Woman Without a Shadow¡± (a GRAMMY-nominated album, 1988) in addition to prolific performances of ¡°The Magic Flute¡± (W. A. Mozart), for which she became known as Queen of the Night.
Jo notes that ¡°Sir G. Solti accorded me a true experience of operatic performance. It is through our collaboration in these early years of my career that I managed to rise to global fame as a soprano. Thus, I will always remain grateful for the impact he has had on my musicianship. Such gratitude is one of the many emotions that gets me going, toward greater and more intense efforts in my musical endeavors, to this day.¡±
My performance in 1988 has
stayed with me to this day thanks to
Maestro's sheer impact on me.
Characteristic of ¡°her magnetic personality¡± as the LA Philharmonic had referred to, Jo is rarely deterred by mental setbacks. ¡°It just doesn¡¯t happen to me. I suppose seeing that I haven¡¯t really been consumed by one during my 35 years-long career, I like to stay relatively positive. I was born a pursuer of my overflowing curiosity.¡±
Sumi Jo also attributes her mother¡¯s wholesome upbringing to her innate positivity. ¡°From a young age, it was sort of like a habit distilled in me, thanks to my mother. She let me know that I don¡¯t have to be alone in trying to overcome hardships. That way, even merely to arm my mentality as such, I become light-hearted. I¡¯ve naturally become someone whose mind, first thing upon waking, wonders ¡®what fun and delight awaits me today?¡¯ before actively tackling whatever it is set out to that day. Living each day in the mindset hardly affords me a moment to dwell on any sort or feelings of setback.¡±
Indeed, she is an effusive socialite, as her ¡°(my) tendency to talk to people and gravitate towards sharing meaningful interpersonal exchanges would¡¯ve made me an entertainer of some sort, like a TV personality, had it not bean for opera.¡±
Notwithstanding her focus on opera as a coloratura soprano (a grade, per se, that commands major roles in the operatic repertoire) and finesse in the bel canto tradition (an operatic style she is especially famed for, or critically associated with), Jo is very much in touch with other genres of music, too. Starting officially with her 2000 album ¡°Only Love¡± (which sold over a million copies), she has not only collaborated with pop artist heavyweights like Kenny G (¡°Kenny G: Rhythm and Romance¡±, 2008) but also featured in a miniseries¡¯ soundtrack (¡°Mildred Pierce¡±) starring Kate Winslet and Guy Pierce.
She has even sung K-pop music (i.e., her 2015 album ¡°Geu.Ri.Da.,¡± among other occasions) atop soloist recitals and cantatas with an intent to retain a wide spectrum of performance repertoire. Her natural adjustments that cater to such an array of distinct music styles attest to her innate musicianship.
In addition to being the first non-Italian to receive the International Puccini Award, she more recently received the medal (Cavaliere) of the Order of the Star of Italy (OSI), pursuant to the decision of the President of the Republic Mattarella.
Since she was heralded such series of acclaims from the outset of her career (having been entitled best soprano of the year at the sixth La Siola d¡¯Oro in Forli, Italy in 1993 since her debut in the 1980s), it can be said that her career soared from early on and remained on a high trajectory. However, she deems it ¡°just as important to exert and spread goodwill, as it is to hone my musicianship.¡±
In addition to her first-rate musicality as a virtuoso, Jo has remained faithfully keen on participating in artist exchanges involving Italian opera singers, Italian-Korean co-productions, charity events and the like. Having invested both her time and effort actively toward such activities in giving and caring, it thus comes as no surprise that Jo was chosen as a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Jo received the art award in the music division of the 2020 Ischia Global Film and Music Festival. The award was an acknowledgement of both her artistic contributions and activities in offering consolation to global citizens during the pandemic-ridden times. Upon receiving the award, Jo has released a single album ¡°Life is a Miracle¡± in spirit of commemoration: to those who¡¯ve lost their lives due to the coronavirus as well as those who are either overcoming or had to sacrifice in whichever way.
