22nd DAEGU INT'L OPERA FESTIVAL 🍂

This letter is for global theatre officials and audiences

2025. 9. 22.

DOH NEWSLETTER VOL.17

1️⃣ The 22nd Daegu International Opera Festival

This fall, Daegu falls in Opera once again 🍂

From masterpieces by Verdi, Mozart, and Bizet to Korean Comtemporary Opera and a Korea-China-Japan Gala Concert, the 22nd Daegu International Opera Festival returns.

Under the theme “Per Sempre”, the festival will showcase Daegu’s rise as a crossroads of world opera.

ART COLLABORATION : LEE BAE

DIOF presents Per Sempre (Forever), exploring the finitude of life and the permanence of art. This year, in collaboration with renowned artist Lee Bae (1956–)—whose charcoal work also features on the festival poster—the stage evokes themes of life, death, and renewal.

2️⃣ Grand Opening : <Il TROVATORE>

NEW PRODUCTION : A Heritage of Humanity, Il Trovatore

The festival opens on September 26 and 27 with Verdi’s Il Trovatore, produced by Daegu Opera House. Conducted by Adrien Perruchon and directed by Hoi-Soo Lee, the production features an international cast including Dong-Hwan Lee, Yoon-Jong Kook, Hovhannes Ayvazyan, Myung-Joo Lee, Sanja Anastasia, and Man-Soo Kim. The stage will vividly unfold a tragedy intertwined with love, revenge, and family secrets.

3️⃣ CARMEN & FIGARO

Passion, Drama, and Timeless Music

On Oct 16 and 18, Bizet’s Carmen is presented by the Yeongnam Opera Company at the invitation of DOH. The opera explores human desire for freedom and its fatal consequences, featuring famous pieces like the Toreador Song that are sure to captivate audiences.

The hottest Global Young Stage

On Oct 24 and 25, The Global Young Artists Opera, Le Nozze di Figaro, is produced by Daegu Opera House. Rising talents from 8 countries including DOH Opernstudio have gathered in Daegu. With world theatre officials attending, the stage will serve as a live audition platform for next opera stars. On October 25, the performance will be live-streamed via Operavision.

4️⃣ THE BEAUTY & ASIA GALA

Korea's Mona Lisa : The Beauty

On Oct 16 and 18, Korean Contemporary Concertante The Beauty features composer Jin Young-Min. Inspired by Shin Yun-Bok’s Portrait of a Beauty, the work imaginatively explores the lives and relationships of the figures depicted in the painting. If the West has the Mona Lisa, Daegu proudly has the Portrait of a Beauty.

East Asia Union with Opera

On Oct 30, a special gala concert brings together Korea, Japan, and China. The event features the DOH, Japan’s Fujiwara Opera Company, and China NCPA. The cast includes sop. Se-Kyung Lim, b.bar. Samuel Yoon, Japan’s sop. Mitsuoka Akie, and China’s sop. Zhou Xiaolin.