Leo An
Born in Seoul in 1978, he completed his vocal studies at the National University of Korea in Seoul and at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan in 2001. After moving to Italy, he studied singing with Maestro Pier Miranda Ferraro. He is currently a professor at 'Anyang' University in South Korea, where he also lives.
He made his professional debut in 1997 as Malatesta in Don Pasquale at the Seoul Arts Centre, where in the following years he sang the leading roles of Gianni Schicchi, Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte and Marcello in La Bohème. He made his Italian debut in 2000 as Giorgio Germont in La Traviata at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto.
He has won international singing competitions, the most important of which include Special Prize at the 'Neue Stimmen' Competition, Germany, 1989; 3rd Prize at the 37th International Competition 'Francisco Vinas', Barcelona, Spain, 2000; 1st Prize and Voce Verdiana Prize at the 40th International Singing Competition 'Voci Verdiane' in Busseto, Italy, 2000; 3rd Prize at the 21st Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, Austria, 2002; 3rd Prize at the Vincenzo Bellini Competition, Italy 2002; 1st Prize and Audience Prize at the Jaume Aragall Competition, Spain 2004.
These successes led to many engagements in Italy and worldwide, including at the Comunale of Bologna, Maggio Fiorentino of Florence, Regio of Turin, Massimo Bellini of Catania, Petruzzelli of Bari, Filarmonico of Verona, Verdi of Trieste, Sociale of Como, Donizetti's Theatre of Bergamo, Grande of Brescia, Alighieri's Theatre of Ravenna, Coccia of Novara, Goldoni's Theatre of Livorno, Giglio of Lucca, G. Verdi Auditorium of Milan, Verdi of Pisa, Fraschini of Pavia, Ponchielli of Cremona, Politeama Greco of Lecce, Ente Luglio Trapanese, Ente De Carolis of Sassari, Lirico of Cagliari, Delle Muse of Ancona, Puccini Festival of Torre Del Lago, Sao Carlos of Lisbona, Daegu Opera House, Busan Opera House, Washington National Opera, Sejong Theatre of Seoul, Seoul Arts Center, Royal Opera House Muscat (Oman), Theater St. Gallen, Innsbruck Landestheater, Landestheater in Bregenz, Slovak National Theatre of Bratislava, State Opera in Prague, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Opera in the St. Margarethen Quarry.
Some of his most important protagonist roles include Rigoletto, Nabucco, Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra, Luna in Il Trovatore, Ezio in Attila, Amonasro in Aida, Iago in Otello, Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, Germont in La Traviata, Francesco Foscari in I due Foscari, Valentine in Faust, Scarpia, Ping in Turandot, Marcello in La Bohème, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Lescaut, Gerard in Andrea Chenier, Tonio in Pagliacci, Escamillo in Carmen, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Torquato Tasso, William Tell, and Alfonso VI. in La Favorita.
Leo An has previously appeared at Oper in the Quarry in 2022 as Ping in Turandot.