Vince Yi

Biography

"Yi has a voice like no other: velvety, sumptuous, effortless..."

With reviews like this, it is clear that Vince Yi is establishing himself as a countertenor star.

He appeared on Europe's stages in the male lead in Johann Adolf Hasse's Piramo e Tisbe (Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci 2012). Since then he has appeared in the glittering Gala Night of the Countertenors at the Palace of Versailles and at the Athens Megaron, a production that was released on CD and toured Europe in 2015. From 2013 to 2015 he appeared in Peter Sellar's new production of Purcell's The Indian Queen (at the Perm Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Bolshoi Theatre and English State Opera), which was broadcast live on Mezzo TV and recorded on DVD. In 2014 he sang the title role in Leonardo Vinci's Artaserse, at the Opéra Royal de Versailles, the Cologne Opera and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In the 2014/15 season, Yi also participated in the staged performance, CD recording and European tour in the role of Emilia of Leonardo Vinci's long-forgotten opera Catone in Utica.

At Oper Frankfurt, Yi appeared in the role of Fraarte in a new staged production and CD recording of Handel's Radamisto, which was shown several times at Oper Frankfurt after its premiere. Other engagements in recent years have included the role of Aeneas in Jommeli's Didone Abbandonata at the Theater Basel. He appeared in the role of Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina in Lydia Steier's new production at Theater Basel in 2017, which was also staged in Hanover in 2020. In 2022 he appeared in the same role in a new production by Ido Ricklin conducted by Ethan Schmeisser at Tel Aviv Opera.

The 2022/23 season holds the role of Pisandro in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria for Yi at the Grand Théâtre de Génève in a production by the artist collective FC Bergman and under the musical direction of Fabio Biondi.

Vince Yi was born in South Korea and grew up in California. He studied at Boston University and the University of Michigan, where his remarkable vocal talent was recognised and he received several awards, including The Shoshana Foundation Richard F. Gold Career Grant. In 2007, he was the only countertenor to receive a place in San Francisco Opera's prestigious Merola Program for Young Artists. Critics wrote enthusiastically, "Vince Yi knocked my socks off" and "my mouth was wide open."

In 2009, Yi made his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Marilyn Horne Foundation's "The Song Continues" series.

He was nominated for Russia's coveted Golden Mask Award for Best Male Opera Singer for his performance in The Indian Queen.

In addition to being a singer, Vince Yi is also a talented educator and teaches voice at the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University.

" ... Vince Yi ... a true discovery ... impeccable technique and blazing highs ... "

(2022/23. Please only use this biographie.)