Francesco Hong
Calaf (Turandot)
Born in Seoul (South Korea) in 1972, Hong Sung-Hoon (Francesco Hong) studied at the University Kyung-Hee in Seoul. Despite his young age he already sings major roles from the Spinto Tenor repertoire.
He won the 55th Competition "Viotti" in Vercelli, which gave him the chance to make his debut at Teatro Regio di Parma in the role of Duca in Rigoletto. After this Mr. Hong sang Manrico in Il trovatore conducted by Daniel Oren at Teatro Verdi of Trieste, in Tel Aviv with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and in Bari. During these years, he also sang in Verdi's Requiem, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Rodolfo in La Bohème.
He debuted at the Konzerthaus in Vienna in La Wally by Catalani, at Carlo Felice di Genova singing the tenor part in Skrjabin's First Symphony and at Teatro massimo di Palermo as Calaf in Turandot. He also sang Il Trovatore atTeatro Comunale di Bolgna.
As a rising opera star Mr. Hong has appeared in several of the most important venues and roles in recent years. Among those can be mentioned Alvaro in La forza del destino at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Turandot in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La forza del destino for the season opening at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Zubin Mehta, and as Pollione in Norma at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
In 2007 he made his debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca at Frankfurt Oper and as a result of this he was asked to sing in a major gala concert a few days later.
In 2008 Hong has, among others, sung Don Carlo in Frankfurt, Turandot at the Puccini Festival, in Rovigo and in Bolzano, Rigoletto in Piacenza and Modena, Il Trovatore at Teatro Bellini in Catania and as Riccardo in Un Ballo in maschera at Teatro Réal in Madrid alternating with Marcelo Alvarez.
In January 2009 Hong made a breakthrough with huge success debuting Don Carlo at La Scala di Milano. Future engagements in 2009 include Turandot in Philadelphia, at the Savonnlina Opera Festival and at the Puccini Festival, Norma in Bilbao and Alvaroin La Forza del destino at Wiener Staatsoper. In 2010 and 2011 Hong will among others sing Andrea Chenier at Teatro Réal in Madrid and Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana at La Scala.