A Diva is Born

A smart, dashing performer with an industry buzz created as much by his charismatic presence as by his work at the keyboard. Billboard

Hyung-ki Joo has devoted his creative energy to making classical music accessible for audiences of all ages and backgrounds and has explored ways to present concerts that fit into the 21st century. On stage, Hyung-ki Joo enraptures audiences with his jovial and contagious stage presence as well as his energetic, brilliantly virtuosic performance. He takes on various musical roles and develops special projects that present him as pianist, orchestra leader, communicator, arranger, and composer. As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker or the Sinfonia Varsovia.

“One of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field” (The New York Times), Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “versatility is astounding” (The Times) with a “wild voice [that is] rich and dark” (Le Monde). Regularly engaged at the world’s leading opera houses, she has recently performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, the Salzburger Festspiele, and Teatro alla Scala. She was a founding member of Vilnius City Opera, has twice been awarded the Golden Stage Cross (the highest award for singers in Lithuania), was named Best Female Lead in 2019 at the Austrian Music Theater Awards, Female Opera Singer of the Year in 2022 by the Ópera XXI Association, and Female Singer of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards in 2023.  In 2024, she received the prestigious Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis in the "Special Jury Prize" category, an award celebrating exceptional contributions to Austria's opera and theater scene, and was named Opernwelt’s Opera Singer of the Year. 

Asmik has made a name for herself on both the concert and operatic platforms since her international career began with a triumphant performance in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Swedish Opera. She then went on to perform to conquer role after role including: Salome at the Salzburg Festival (described as “a Salome to end all Salomes” (Financial Times), now available on DVD), Rusalka at the Royal Ballet and Opera and Teatro Real, Jenufa at the Royal Ballet and Opera and Wiener Staatsoper, and Tatiana (Eugene Onegine) at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Teatro alla Scala. Following her internationally acclaimed performance as Salome at the Salzburger Festspiele, she regularly returns, performing roles such as Chrysothemis (Elektra), the three leading soprano roles in Puccini’s Il Trittico, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Marie in Wozzeck (all recorded on DVD) and Polina in The Gambler. As a regularly engaged performer at the Wiener Staatsoper, she has performed the title role in Manon Lescaut, the title role in Turandot, Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Nedda (Pagliacci), Jenufa, and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin). She has also performed Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt and Liza (Pique Dame) at Teatro alla Scala, Nastasya in Charodeika at Oper Frankfurt, Cio-Cio San at the Arena di Verona, Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Vilnius City Opera, and Senta in Der Fliegende Hollander at the Bayreuth Festspiele (available on DVD).