Kyu
Choi Baritone

South Korean baritone Kyu Choi studied at the Korea National University of Arts and the Royal Academy of Music, where he completed his master's degree with Mark Wildman and Ingrid Surgenor. With the support of Independent Opera, the Charles Mackerras Opera Scholarship, the Stokes Scholarship, the Henry Wood Award, and the Josephine Baker Trust, he continued his studies for his Advanced Diploma at the Royal Academy Opera. He was a member of the National Opera Studio in London. In the field of opera, he has sung leading roles such as the title role in ‹Don Giovanni›, Le Podestat in Bizet's ‹Le docteur Miracle›, and Dr. Falke in ‹Die Fledermaus› in Berlin. His recent competition successes include 1st prize at the N. Obukhova International Singing Competition in Russia (2018), the Pavarotti Prize (2019), the Joaninha Prize (2019), and the Opera Prize at the Mozart Singing Competition (2017). He was also a finalist at the International Wilhelm Stenhammer Music Competition in Sweden (2018). He made his debut at the Korea National Opera as Papageno in ‹Die Zauberflöte› and Frank/Fritz in ‹Die tote Stadt›. Kyu Choi was a member of OperAvenir during the 2020–2021 season and has been a member of the ensemble at Theater Basel since 2022. His numerous roles in Basel include Figaro in ‹Il barbiere di Siviglia›, the title role in ‹Don Giovanni›, Marco in ‹Gianni Schicchi›, Doctor in ‹Die Nase›, Marullo in ‹Rigoletto›, Algerino in ‹Intolleranza 1960›, soloist in Mozart's Requiem and ‹Carmina Burana›, Escamillo in ‹Carmen›, Germont in ‹La traviata›, and Alidoro in ‹La Cenerentola›.