Sung Min Song (ì¡ì±민, Song Seong-min) is a South Korean operatic tenor who has performed internationally, based in Germany. He is focused on Italian opera and 19th-century oratorios including Puccini's Messa di Gloria and Verdi's Requiem. A member of the Saarländisches Staatstheater from 2017, he is capable of performing tenor roles with a high tessitura such as Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell.
Song Sung min was born in Seoul. He was first an informatics engineer. His church choir director advised him to turn to solo singing, and he began to study it at age 26. He studied further from 2011 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, singing in the opera chorus of the Bavarian State Opera from the 2012/13 season. He studied in the master class of from 2011 to 2015, and during the last year also Belcanto with Daniel Kotlinski.
After his studies, Song became soon a soloist of international demand. In 2014, he appeared in a concert version of Feuersnot, with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Ulf Schirmer. It was recorded by CPO.
In the 2024/25 season, tenor Sung Min Song sang âÂÂCavalleria RusticanaâÂÂ, âÂÂLa Traviataâ (live broadcast by Opera Vision), PucciniâÂÂs opera âÂÂIl Tritticoâ at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, âÂÂDvoà Âák Stabat Materâ (live broadcast in Europe) with the MDR Radio Orchestra and Chorus at the Gewandhaus Leipzig (conductor: Dennis Russell Davies), âÂÂVerdi Requiemâ with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra under the direction of the world-famous conductor Kent Nagano, MendelssohnâÂÂs âÂÂLobgesangâ (live broadcast on the radio) with the Prague Radio Orchestra, âÂÂBrucknerâÂÂs Te Deum & JanáÃÂek, Glagolitic Massâ with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, âÂÂBeethovenâÂÂs Symphony No. 9â under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach at the National Music Forum in Wrocà Âaw and Warsaw Philharmonic, âÂÂBeethoven's 9th Symphonyâ also at the Cologne Philharmonic with the WDR Radio Choir, at the Aachen State Theatre and the Münster Theatre, and âÂÂBruckner - Mass No. 3 in F minorâ with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra as well as âÂÂRusalkaâÂÂ, âÂÂLa Traviataâ at the Osnabrück Theatre and Oskar Gottlieb Blarr's âÂÂThe Jesus Passionâ with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in St. Michael's, âÂÂStar & Rising Star Festival in Munichâ with cellist Jan Vogler, âÂÂMax Bruch: The Song of the Bell, op. 45â with the Göttingen University Orchestra, an opera gala at the Osnabrück Theatre, and the Verdi Requiem with the Vogtland Philharmonic in Würzburg.
In the 2025/26 season he will sing âÂÂBeethovenâÂÂs Missa Solemnisâ in Pisa Cathedral under the direction of conductor Hartmund Hänchen, followed by âÂÂLucrezia Borgiaâ (Operavision livestream) at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and âÂÂThe Flying Dutchman (Erik)â with the Mozarteum Orchestra at the Felsenreitschule in Salzburg. He also sings "Beethoven's 9th Symphony" with the Munich Symphony Orchestra in the Isarphilharmonie Munich, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, and Lundaland Filharmoniska Orkester in Sweden and with WDR Radio Choir in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall, "Dvorak Stabat Mater" at the "National Music Forum" in Breslau under the direction of the world-famous conductor "Christoph Eschenbach" and with Philharmonisches Orchester Regensburg, "Rossini's Petite Messe Solemnis" with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate and in Hamburg, "Verdi Requiem" at the Rheingau Festival and Hamburg, "Mozart Requiem" in the Rosengarten in Mannheim, "Verdi Requiem" at the Audi Summer Concert in Ingolstadt, "Verdi Requiem" in Brixen, "Dvorak Requiem" in Munich, "Puccini Messa di Gloria" and "Dvorak Stabat Mater" in the Lutherkirche Wiesbaden, Opera Gala at the Alteoper Frankfurt and "La Traviata" at the Theater Osnabrück, Bach: Mass in B minor in St. Thomas Church in Leipzig as well as a concert tour "Verdi Requiem" with the State Academy for Music-Making Youth in Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Budapest Hungary.
Song performed as a guest at the Opéra de Marseille, the Opéra national de Lorraine, and at the festivals Munich Opera Festival, Tiroler Festspiele in Erl, Rheingau Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. At the Star & Rising Stars Festival in Munich, he performed alongside Simone Kermes on 17 July 2021. He sang at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Gasteig in Munich, Kölner Philharmonie, Alte Oper in Frankfurt and Palau de la Música de València, among others. In 2019, he performed as Arnold again at the , an Austrian opera festival, conducted by Michael Güttler. In the 2022/23 season, Song portrayed the Prince in Dvoà Âák's Rusalka at the Komische Oper Berlin, directed by Barrie Kosky.
In 2016, Song took part in a radio production of Bayerischer Rundfunk of Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Bamberger Symphoniker conducted by Alain Altinoglu. The same year, he was the solo tenor in Beethoven's Missa solemnis in two performances in Valencia, with soloists Simona à  aturová, Elisabeth Kulman, and his teacher Kotlinski, the Philharmonia Chorus and the Orquesta de Valencia conducted by Yaron Traub. In 2018, he sang in performances of Verdi's Messa da Requiem; Kent Nagano conducted both at the Rheingau Musik Festival and at the Herkulessaal of the Residenz in Munich in memory of Enoch zu Guttenberg. MDR Kultur aired a concert of Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the MDR Orchestra and MDR Rundfunkchor conducted by Domingo Hindoyan at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, opening the saison in 2019. He performed the part also with Philharmonischer Chor Bochum and Bochumer Symphoniker, conducted by Magdalena Klein at the Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr the same year. On 3 October 2022, he sang Verdi's Requiem again, with Talia Or, Silvia Hauer, Johannes Hill, Chor von St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden and members of the Hessisches Staatsorchester conducted by Johannes Schröder, in a version for small ensemble.