The South Korean tenor James Lee studied voice at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, South Korea, and at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany. Between 2011 and 2013 he won numerous international competitions, including First Prize at the International Singing Competition Masters of Lyrical Art – Valentin Teodorian in Bucharest, as well as both First Prize and the Special Prize at the Competizione dell’Opera in Linz.
In the 2025/26 season, Lee will appear as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Staatstheater Cottbus. In the summer of 2025, he returned to Opera på Skäret in Sweden as Calaf in a new production of Turandot.
During the 2024/25 season, he sang Calaf in Turandot at the Theater Magdeburg and at the Macedonian National Theatre in Skopje, where he also performed as Radamès in Aida. In late autumn 2024, he appeared as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Auerbach.
His recent engagements also include his debut as Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West at Theater Hagen (later reprised at Opera Hedeland in Denmark), his role debut as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at the Saaremaa Opera Festival in Estonia, and numerous appearances as Calaf in Turandot, including at the Belogradchik and Sofia Opera and Ballet Festivals (Bulgaria), the Daegu International Opera Festival, the Latvian National Opera in Riga, and the State Opera Stara Zagora.
In the 2023/24 season, Lee sang the title role in the Italian five-act version of Don Carlo at the Latvian National Opera in Riga, conducted by Frédéric Chaslin and directed by Claus Guth. At the same house, he also performed as Radamès in Aida and Calaf in Turandot. In May 2024 he made his debut in a major German role as Paul in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt at the Korea National Opera in the Seoul Arts Center, under Lothar Koenigs. He also performed Puccini’s Messa di Gloria in Schweinfurt.
Lee’s repertoire spans a wide range of dramatic tenor roles. These include Calaf (Turandot), Don José (Carmen), as well as Verdi heroes such as Arrigo (I Vespri Siciliani), Manrico (Il Trovatore), and Riccardo (Un Ballo in Maschera). He has performed at opera houses in Graz, Freiburg, Saarbrücken, and Linz. His portrayals of Calaf have brought him to the Daegu Opera House, the Seoul Arts Center, the International Istanbul Opera Festival, and to Poland’s Teatr Wielki in Łódź under Maestro Antoni Wit, where he also debuted as Samson in Samson et Dalila.
A central role in his career is Radamès in Aida, which he has performed at the Prague National Theatre, the Cairo Opera House, the Luxor Festival at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the Opera Festival St. Margarethen, the Schwerin Castle Festival, and at the Dortmund Opera. He also sang Radamès in Franco Zeffirelli’s celebrated production at the State Opera Georgia.
Earlier highlights include appearances at the Dortmund Opera as Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, 2019/20), followed by returns in roles such as Cavaradossi (Tosca) and Télasco (Fernand Cortez, or The Conquest of Mexico).
