On the operatic stage
A soloist at Theater Dortmund since the 2020/21 season, Lee began her professional work in German opera houses at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater in 2016/17. Her roles include Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda in Rigoletto, Amina in La sonnambula, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Marie in La fille du régiment and Violetta in La traviata. She has also appeared in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Her work extends to new opera: in 2026 she appeared in the world premiere of Bernhard Lang’s Brünnhilde brennt at the Bayreuth Festival. Her 2026/27 engagements at Theater Dortmund include Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and La Beauté in Guercœur, alongside the Dortmund staging of Brünnhilde brennt.
Song and concert
Lee gave her first solo recital in Korea as a Kumho Young Artist. Her recital appearances have since taken her to Wigmore Hall in London, the Frauenkirche in Dresden and Theater Dortmund. She also performed in India with pianist Helmut Deutsch, continuing an interest in the close partnership between voice and piano.
On the concert platform, she has sung in a New Year’s concert with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein. Her appearances include Dubai Opera, the Cully Festival in Switzerland, the SWR Festival and the Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany. Other European engagements have taken her to the Berliner Philharmonie, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Theater Bremen, Mozarthaus Vienna and the Schönbrunn Palace Theatre.
She toured France in a Mozart programme with Ensemble Pygmalion and joined the Asian Youth Orchestra for concerts in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Her international activities also include embassy friendship concerts in Turkey, Croatia, Austria and Finland.
International recognition
In 2019, Lee represented South Korea at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, reaching the final five in both the Main Prize and the Song Prize. She won Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2015 ARD International Music Competition and the CulturArte Prize at Operalia in 2017. She was also a finalist at the 2018 Queen Elisabeth Competition.
Her further distinctions include awards at the Pavarotti Giovanni Awards, the Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition and the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, as well as the Erna Schlüter Opera Prize.
Education
Lee graduated from Seoul Arts High School and the Department of Vocal Music at Seoul National University. At the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, she completed her master’s studies in opera and postgraduate studies in vocal performance, Lied and Oratorio with top honours. Her teachers include Seunghee Yoo, KS Edith Lienbacher and KS Gabriele Fontana.