Ah Young Hong

I am a soprano. I don't identify with a particular "Fach" like lyric coloratura or soubrette. I'm simply a treble voice that has a certain range which falls within the soprano tessitura. I wish I could simply call myself a voice, but perhaps that's too vague. I am very comfortable in my voice. Even with its flaws and vulnerabilities, it is an honest voice. There have been plenty of times when I was told never to perform, never sing opera, you are this instead of that. It took a long time to simply trust my instrument, to really know it.

Similar to my voice, my cultural background doesn't fit under a specific category either. I was born and spent much of my early childhood in Seoul, Korea before emigrating to the United States. This, too, was a very difficult journey. I was told to "go back to where you came from," punched by a kid because I couldn't speak English, and endured frequent teasing because my eyes and skin color differed from theirs.

Now, as an adult, I am confidently living in the U.S., but I feel neither exceptionally Korean nor American. I seem to fluctuate back and forth but, mostly, I represent a blend of these two strong cultures. They have shaped me. Even my repertoire choice has become a reflection of both my voice and identity. I would not call myself an Early Music singer, nor do I have a voice that always fits comfortably into the standard repertoire, though I am fond of and perform frequently this music. I suppose it's easier to say I am a New Music singer, but I don't think it truly captures who I am wholly. Versatility has become an important word these days, however, I cannot imagine anything but being versatile, malleable, flexible. Life, and art, demands it.

Perhaps it was when I began to accept myself for who I am, I found myself being drawn to certain kinds of music and literature. If I had met the composers Michael Hersch and Georg Friedrich Haas before this self-awareness, I wonder if I would have been vocally, intellectually, and emotionally confident enough to dive into their sonic worlds. At this time in my own life, I can clearly see how one song led me to another as curiosity and determination fueled my path of discovery. It has been a long journey. Sometimes I received positive guidance and encouragement, sometimes discouragement. At times there was a kind of detachment, finding myself blindly and numbly going from gig to gig, or periods wishing I had gigs. Song after song however, I slowly began to realize what it means to be a voice in this world. Not necessarily a beautiful voice, or a famous one, but one that is able to make a change via the music that is relevant and necessary.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with a terrible pressure on my heart. What will happen to the music that is relevant, necessary, and cathartic for all of us? Will it survive? Will we, performers, do our part to genuinely nurture this music now and for subsequent generations? Will we have musicians who believe enough in themselves to realize the issues and music most important to them? I want to help the next generation of artists realize how special they are. I want them to be comfortable in their own skin with their own honest voices, their own thoughts on how to change the world for the better through the music they find empowering, life changing. I want to be a positive role model and encourage these young artists. I want to be there for them, just like the people who believed in me as I was finding my way.

A soprano of "fearlessness and consummate artistry" (Opera News), Ah Young Hong has interpreted a vast array of repertoire, ranging from the music of Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, and Poulenc, to works of Shostakovich, Babbitt, Haas, and Kurtág. Widely recognized for her work in Michael Hersch's monodrama, On the Threshold of Winter, The New York Times praised Ms. Hong’s performance in the world premiere as "the opera's blazing, lone star." Recent performances include solo appearances with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Bern, and at both the Aldeburgh and Ojai Music Festivals. Upcoming highlights of 2021/2022 include the premiere performances in the title role of Michael Hersch’s POPPAEA at the Wien Modern and ZeitRäume Basel Festivals, the premiere of a new work written for her by Georg Friedrich Haas, and Shih-Hui Chen's or/and, a 75-miute multimedia work for soprano and chamber ensemble. www.ahyounghong.com