Biography

David Minseok Kang is a Korean bass praised for the nobility of his voice, refined musicality, precise diction, and compelling stage presence. His bass timbre is recognized for its beauty and depth, allowing him to fully inhabit his roles with musical focus and dramatic clarity.

His operatic repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music and includes roles such as Masetto (Don Giovanni), Sarastro and Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), Colline (La Bohème), Frère Bernard (Saint François d’Assise), and Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata).

From 2022 to 2025, David Minseok Kang appeared regularly as a member of the Ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera, performing in a wide range of productions. He has also taken part in contemporary opera projects, including the premiere of Olivier Messiaen‘s Saint François d’Assise at Elbphilharmonie, Leo Dick’s Antigone Tribunal at the Stuttgart State Opera and Lorenzo Ragazzi’s La Luna at the Hamburg State Opera. Further engagements have brought him to the Zurich Opera House, Kiel Opera House, as well as to concerts with Opera for Peace at the Opéra national de Montpellier and the Opéra national de Lorraine.

In addition to his operatic work, David Minseok Kang is an active concert singer and a versatile interpreter of sacred music. His repertoire includes Mozart’s Requiem and Krönungsmesse, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, Schubert’s Messe in D, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and C. P. E. Bach’s Magnificat. He performs regularly at St. Michaelis Church and throughout the Hamburg region.

He is a graduate of the Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera and holds a Bachelor of Classical Voice from Kyung Hee University in Seoul and a Master’s degree in Konzertgesang from the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts (HMDK Stuttgart). His vocal studies include work with Alfred Kim, Ulrike Sonntag, Michael Trimble, and Gary Coward.

He has participated in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Eytan Pessen, Bo Skovhus, Harald Stamm, Christiane Karg, Samuel Youn, and Kwangchul Youn, and has worked with conductors such as Kent Nagano, Giampaolo Bisanti, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Matteo Beltrami, Paolo Arrivabeni, Stefano Ranzani, Paolo Carignani, Leo Hussain, Henrik Nánási, Graeme Jenkins, and Alexander Soddy. His collaborations also include stage directors Axel Ranisch and Dmitry Tcherniakov.