Live Stream

The “astonishing countertenor” (New York Times) Kangmin Justin Kim is one of the most sought-after singers of his voice type, having earned accolades in roles of the Baroque repertoire, contemporary music, and in Mozart’s trouser parts.

In summer of 2022, the Korean-American singer created the role of Song Liling in the world premiere of M. Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera, receiving rave reviews for his “alluring, ringing tone” and his “sensitivity as an actor” (New York Times). Another breakthrough performance was his 2019 debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, where the mezzo-sopranist made history as the first male singer to appear as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro on this prestigious stage.

In the 2022-2023 season, Kim makes his role and house debut at The Dallas Opera and as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and his house debut at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg as Nerone in a new production of L’incoronazione di Poppea, with later performances in Mulhouse and Colmar. He also makes his role debuts as Amanzio in Vivaldi’s Il Giustino with La Cetra in Basel and at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as Piacere in Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno at the Opéra de Lausanne with Diego Fasolis and I Barocchisti, as Aristeo in Sartorio’s Orfeo at the Opéra National de Montpellier, and as Cleopatra in Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra at Haymarket Opera Company in Chicago. Kim also returns to the Teatro La Fenice of Venice as Hyacinthus in a new production of Mozart’s Apollo et Hyacinthus and to the Janáček Theatre of Brno as Ruggiero in Alcina. In concert, he appears at the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele with the SWR Symphonieorchester conducted by Václav Luks, at the Liszt Academy in Budapest in a Baroque concert with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Carmina Burana with Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, and at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. 

Other recent performances include house debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper in a new production of Henze’s Das verratene Meer, at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin as Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and at the Theater an der Wien as Annio in La clemenza di Tito. The 2021-2022 season saw Kim’s role debuts as Knusperhexe in Hänsel und Gretel at Staatstheater Wiesbaden, as Epitide in Giacomelli’s La Merope at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in Basel with La Cetra and Andrea Marcon, and as Ottone in Vivaldi’s La Griselda for Teatro La Fenice. He also sang Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina with Collegium 1704 at Narodní Divadlo Brno and Opéra Royal de Versailles, which earned him a Thálie Award nomination, as well as the title role in the pasticcio Siface at Opera Rara Kraków, Gilade in Farnace at the Teatro La Fenice, and Eustazio in Rinaldo at the Opéra de Lausanne and a Gala concert streamed from the Opéra Comique of Paris.

He has also sung Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea and Speranza in L’Orfeo at the Salzburg Festival, New York’s Lincoln Center, the Philharmonies of Paris and Berlin, Harris Theater in Chicago, Edinburgh Festival, Lucerne Festival, and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. He has appeared as Cesare in Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica and Orlofsky in a new production of Die Fledermaus at the Oper Köln, Orfeo in Handel’s Parnasso in festa at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Nireno in Sir David McVicar’s iconic production of Giulio Cesare for his Glyndebourne debut conducted by William Christie, Ruggiero in Alcina at Opéra de Nancy, Idamante in Idomeneo and Hamor in Jephtha in Wiesbaden, and Idelberto in Lotario at Konzert Theater Bern. He made his debut at the Teatro San Carlo of Naples in Britten’s Canticles alongside Ian Bostridge, performed Carmina Burana with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and sang the roles of Barzane in Vivaldi’s Arsilda with the Collegium 1704 in Bratislava, Caen, Lille, Luxembourg and Versailles, Speranza in L’Orfeo at the Opéra de Dijon, and Romeo in Zingarelli’s Giulietta e Romeo at the Rokokotheater of Schwetzingen.

Other successes since his professional operatic debut in 2013 include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus for his Parisian debut at the Opéra Comique conducted by Marc Minkowski, Oreste in La belle Hélène at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito at the Opéra de Montpellier, and Idamante in Idomeneo at the Stadttheater Gießen under the baton of Michael Hofstetter. As an ensemble member of Theater Heidelberg, he sang Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Kalitzke’s Pym, and Enea in the Handel/Vinci pasticcio Didone abbandonata at the Handel Festival Halle and in Schwetzingen.

He has collaborated with such prestigious conductors as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Diego Fasolis, Andrea Marcon, William Christie, Marc Minkowski, Leonardo García Alarcón, and Simone Young.

Kangmin Justin Kim was born in South Korea and grew up in Chicago. He studied voice, opera, and musical theater at Northwestern University in Evanston and the Royal Academy of Music, London. Between rehearsals he can often be seen knitting, for which he is well-known in the knitting world as he has modeled knitwear for magazines and books.

MM, MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Jonathan Gmeinder is a Chicago-based pianist from Hartland, Wisconsin. Since moving to Chicago, he has worked extensively as a coach, collaborator, and piano teacher. He currently teaches and coaches opera students at Roosevelt and Northwestern Universities in Chicago. He also coaches and accompanies the young artists at the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as the Baumgartner Studio Artists at Florentine Opera in Milwaukee.

Gmeinder is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera young artist program, where he worked as a coach on La bohème, Don Giovanni, Les pêcheurs de perles, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Norma, La traviata, and the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The House Without a Christmas Tree, on which his playing can be heard in the original cast recording. Prior to his time in Houston, Gmeinder worked as a piano fellow at the Juilliard School in their opera department, as well as a coach at the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned his Master of Music degree in vocal accompanying under the tutelage of Warren Jones. He also enjoyed two summers at the Aspen opera center, where in 2017 he had the pleasure of coaching the workshop production of pop star Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian. Gmeinder has played under conductors including Enrique Mazzola, Eun Sun Kim, Jim Lowe, and David E. Becker. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Lawrence University in Wisconsin, where he studied piano with Catherine Kautsky.

Kaytlin Withers, soprano, is a second-year master’s student at Northwestern studying under Karen Brunssen. During the 2021-22 season at the Bienen School of Music, her operatic roles included Mrs. Gobineau in The Medium and Mimì in La bohème. Withers earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University, where her roles included Prince Charming in Cendrillon, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and the Rosalinde cover in Die Fledermaus. In 2019, she performed internationally through Pepperdine’s Heidelberg Summer Music Program in scenes as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Laurie in The Tender Land. Other international engagements in her career include performing La bohème in multiple venues across Northern Italy. Most recently, Withers made her solo concert debut with the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, where she performed Haydn’s Scena di Berenice as a 2022 winner of Bienen’s Concerto/Aria Competition. This winter, she will make her role debut as Pamina in Northwestern’s production of Die Zauberflöte.

Countertenor Casey Lyons has been performing professionally in music theatre since age 11, most notably appearing as Gustave in the first national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. The Hollywood Reporter remarked that Lyons’ “angelic vocals and subdued acting are a marvel” and the Chicago Tribune called his performance “fantastic.” While on tour, Lyons recorded “The Beauty Underneath” from Love Never Dies for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 70th birthday retrospective album Unmasked. Lyons’s other theatrical credits include the First Spirit in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Die Zauberflöte and Harold Baxter in the world premiere of Hazel: A Musical Maid in America. In addition to performing, Lyons is an avid composer. He has written and self-produced two original musicals, Bars of Ivy and Limelight. Lyons is a first-year student studying under Pamela Hinchman. He is pursuing a dual degree in Voice and Opera Performance and Theatre. He would like to thank the voice faculty for this incredible opportunity. He would also like to thank his family, friends, and teachers for their love and support. @caseylyonsactor www.caselyons.me “Blessed be God in all His designs.”

Raised bilingual in Russian and English as a first-generation American, soprano Michelle Ravitsky is pursuing her Master of Music degree at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Ravitsky received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded the Pi Kappa Lambda Prize for musicianship. This season, Ravitsky will be performing the role of Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Morgana in Handel’s Alcina with Northwestern University Opera Theater. Past operatic highlights include Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème and Monica in Menotti’s The Medium with Northwestern University Opera Theater, and Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Barbarina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Oberlin Opera Theater. She has also performed the role of Waitress in Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight! and was awarded First Place in the Central Region NATS Competition in 2021. In past summers, Ravitsky has attended Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy, Taos Opera Institute, and the Russian Opera Workshop. Also passionate about arts administration and education, Ravitsky is the Program Coordinator for LYNX Project and is a voice teacher in the Chicagoland area.

Eugene Hwang, countertenor, hails from Irvine, California, and is currently a fourth-year student studying Vocal Performance under Kurt Hansen. He made his Northwestern operatic debut as the Priest in Christopher Cerrone’s In a Grove. He is the current president of the Bienen student group The Renaissance Singers. Over the past summer, Hwang had the pleasure of working with renowned countertenors Terry Barber and Ray Chanez, as well as Hwang studying and performing operatic roles in the Vienna Summer Music Festival. Hwang will be pursuing a graduate degree in Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music starting in the fall.

Bass-baritone from South Korea Seoyong Lee is pursuing his Master of Voice and Opera study at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music under the guidance of W. Stephen Smith. Lee received his Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from the Eastman School of Music under Dr. Jonathan Retzlaff. His past opera roles have included Colline from Puccini’s La bohème with the Northwestern Opera Theatre, Death from Der Kaiser von Atlantis by Viktor Ullmann, Puppet Master from Postcard from Morocco by Dominick Argento, Jimmy from Mahagonny Songspiel by Kurt Weill with Eastman Opera Theatre, Ariodat from Handel’s Serse, and Grandpa Moss from Copland’s The Tender Land with Chicago Summer Opera. He is the recipient of the Eckstein Award with full scholarship from Northwestern University and he was the finalist for the 2021 Kneisel Lieder Competition.