The South Korean bass Il Hong was born in 1980 in Seoul and studied at the Yonsei University there under Prof. Kwan-Dong Kim. In spring 2007, he completed his vocal studies with a bachelor of Music. Since October, he was studying his masters with Prof. Markus Goritzki at the Hochschule for Music Freiburg. In 2011, at the 49th Concorso Liric voci Internazionale Verdiane-Competition, he won the second prize and has been a finalist of numerous singing competitions. In the 2009/2010 season, Il Hong was in the Opera studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich but then changed in the 2010/2011 season to the Landestheater Detmold. There, he sang among others, Sarastro, Banquo (Macbeth), Wassermann (Ru­salka), Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro) and Fasolt (Das Rheingold). Since the 2011/2012 season, Il Hong belongs to the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper and has sung until now roles like Marquis von Obigny, Reinmar von Zweter (Tannhäuser), Oberpriester (Nabucco), Joe (Rise and Fall of Mahagonny), Don Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Graf Warting (Un ballo in ma­schera) and Capulet (Roméo et Juliette).      http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node/home/kuenstler/saengerinnen/Hong.en.php