Sumi Jo

1.1. Childhood and Musical Talent

Sumi Jo was born Jo Su-gyeong on November 22, 1962, in Changwon, South Korea, and grew up in Seoul. Her mother, an amateur singer and pianist, was unable to pursue her own musical studies due to the political climate in Korea during the 1950s. Determined to provide her daughter with the opportunities she lacked, Jo's mother began her piano lessons at age four and voice lessons at age six. Despite the family living in a rented property, her parents made financial sacrifices to purchase a piano for her. Jo's mother raised and trained her strictly, often locking the door from outside to prevent her from skipping practice. As a child, Jo would spend up to eight hours a day studying music. An anecdote from her childhood recounts a grandmother predicting that such a bright child might have a short life, advising her parents to have her "strike" things to ward off bad energy, which led them to encourage her piano playing further. Jo's mother instilled in her the belief that she should become a beloved singer for many, rather than just a wife to one person, a dream her mother had harbored herself. While pregnant with Sumi, her mother would play Maria Callas's music 24 hours a day.

1.2. Schooling and Teachers

Jo attended Keumseong Elementary School in Seoul. In fourth grade, she participated in a national children's singing contest hosted by KBS, winning the weekly competition and advancing to the year-end finals, where she placed second. It was there that she met Yoo Byung-mo, a teacher from Sun Hwa Arts School, who would become a pivotal mentor. Initially, Jo and her mother considered piano as her major due to concerns about vocal changes after puberty. However, Yoo Byung-mo strongly advised her to pursue singing, recognizing her unique voice as a rare talent, appearing perhaps "once in ten thousand people." Jo credits his guidance, especially through her vocal changes, for her success.

During her middle and high school years at Sun Hwa Arts School, from which she graduated in 1980 with dual diplomas in voice and piano, Jo enjoyed pop and R&B music, including the Bee Gees. In high school, she began receiving lessons from Lee Kyung-sook, a renowned soprano and professor at Seoul National University (SNU). Upon hearing Jo sing for the first time, Professor Lee embraced her, proclaiming, "You will undoubtedly become a world-class singer." These lessons helped Jo discover her vocal range and understand the importance of lyrical interpretation and delivery. She then entered the vocal music department at Seoul National University (SNU) in 1981, achieving the highest practical score in the department's history.

However, her academic performance at SNU declined sharply as she spent more time with a boyfriend, attending nightclubs and prioritizing her relationship over studies. Her parents were deeply concerned, and after she failed out of the university, they unilaterally decided she would study abroad in Italy. This forced departure became a turning point. Initially, she planned to return to Korea after her boyfriend ended their relationship, but her mother persuaded her to continue her studies. Jo became determined to dedicate herself to music, vowing to avoid romantic relationships for five years, during which she did not return to Korea.

In 1983, Jo left SNU to study at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. Her teachers included Carlo Bergonzi, Giannella Borelli, and later, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Her early student life in Italy was challenging; she arrived with only 300 USD and often struggled to afford food, sometimes taking leftovers from invitations to eat the next morning. She once collapsed from severe anemia, leading a doctor to advise her to prioritize health over singing. Housing was also a persistent issue, as neighbors frequently complained about her continuous practice, forcing her to move multiple times a year. She recalled crying over the lack of a stable space to practice freely. Transportation was another difficulty, with long bus commutes making her exhausted. She eventually purchased a used car with prize money from the Viñas International Competition in Spain.

A pivotal moment occurred during her studies when a professor, realizing Jo had only practiced for five minutes before a lesson despite her talent, tore her sheet music and scolded her, saying, "How can you face an audience if you are not honest with yourself?" This incident deeply impacted Jo, leading her to reflect and truly embrace music from her heart, rather than merely performing under parental pressure. She graduated from Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in 1985 with majors in keyboard and voice, completing the five-year program in just two years. It was during this period that she began using "Sumi" as her stage name, as "Su-gyeong" was often difficult for European speakers to pronounce. Following graduation, she won several international competitions in Naples, Enna, Barcelona, and Pretoria. In August 1986, she unanimously won first prize in the Carlo Alberto Cappelli International Competition in Verona, a prestigious contest open only to first-prize winners of other major competitions.

2.1. European Debut and Early Career

In 1986, Sumi Jo made her European operatic debut as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy. This performance captured the attention of the legendary conductor Herbert von Karajan, who cast her as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera opposite Plácido Domingo for the 1989 Salzburg Festival. Although Karajan's death during festival rehearsals prevented her from performing under his baton on stage (the performances were conducted by Georg Solti), she did sing under Karajan in the studio recording of Ballo for Deutsche Grammophon in early 1989. Karajan famously praised her voice as "a gift from God" and "a voice from above," expressing surprise that such talent could emerge from Korea.

In 1988, Jo made her La Scala debut as Thetis in Niccolò Jommelli's Fetonte. That same year, she debuted with the Bavarian State Opera and sang Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival. Her performance as Countess Adèle in Rossini's Le comte Ory at the Opéra National de Lyon in 1988 also led to a CD recording.

2.2. Major Opera Roles and Houses

Jo's career saw her perform a wide array of signature roles in prestigious opera houses worldwide. In 1989, she made her debut with the Vienna State Opera and returned to the Salzburg Festival to sing Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. That same year, she debuted with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, again portraying Gilda in Rigoletto, a role she reprised numerous times with the Met over the next fifteen years.

In 1990, Jo made her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute. The following year, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera for another performance as Oscar and made her Royal Opera, Covent Garden, debut as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann. She returned to Covent Garden the next year to sing Adina in L'elisir d'amore and Elvira in I puritani.

In 1993, Jo appeared in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor with the Metropolitan Opera and sang the role of the Queen of the Night at the Salzburg Festival and Covent Garden. The following year she debuted with Los Angeles Opera as Sophie in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. In 1995, she sang the role of Countess Adèle in Le comte Ory at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Over the next decade, Jo maintained a busy schedule, singing Lucia in Strasbourg, Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris; La sonnambula in Brussels and Santiago, Chile; I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Minnesota Opera; Olympia and Rosina in New York; the Queen of the Night in Los Angeles; Gilda in Bilbao, Oviedo, Bologna, Trieste, and Detroit among others; Il turco in Italia in Spain; L'enfant et les sortilèges in Boston and Pittsburgh; Le comte Ory in Rome; and Dinorah in New York. She also appeared in performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra National de Paris, Washington Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Australia, and the Teatro Colón. In 2007, she performed her first Violetta in La traviata with the Toulon Opera.

2.3. Collaborations and Major Performances

Sumi Jo has collaborated with numerous renowned conductors and orchestras throughout her career. She has sung under the batons of Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Richard Bonynge. Mehta famously described her as a vocalist whose voice appears "once or twice in a hundred years." She has performed with symphony orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. She has also given recitals across Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

In 2002, Jo sang "The Champions," the theme song for the KBS broadcast of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2008, she participated in the Beijing Olympics alongside Renée Fleming and Angela Gheorghiu, recognized as one of the world's top three sopranos. In 2011, she provided the singing voice of Veda Pierce in the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. On March 9, 2018, Jo performed a specially-recorded duet, "Here As One," with fellow vocalist Sohyang during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In 2021, Jo was appointed as a visiting distinguished professor at KAIST's Graduate School of Culture Technology. In October 2023, she was awarded the first-class Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit for her extensive contributions to the promotion of Korean culture internationally.

2.4. Academy Award Nomination and Exclusion

"Simple Song Number 3", written by David Lang and performed by Sumi Jo, featured in Paolo Sorrentino's 2015 film Youth, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2016 in the Best Song category. Other nominees included "Manta Ray" (performed by Anohni), "Til It Happens to You" (performed by Lady Gaga), "Earned It" (performed by The Weeknd), and "Writing's on the Wall" (performed by Sam Smith, who won the award). Although Jo was invited to the ceremony and attended, she was not invited to perform the song. Anohni, a transgender singer, was similarly excluded and subsequently boycotted the ceremony. The other nominees performed their songs during the ceremony. On the red carpet prior to the ceremonies, Jo and Lang voiced their disappointment with the producers' decision to exclude the song, indirectly referencing the controversy related to that year's Academy Awards and its lack of racial diversity.

3.1. Albums as Principal Artist

• Carnaval! French Coloratura Arias (Decca Records, January 1994)
• Saeya Saeya (새야 새야^Korean) (Nices, June 1994)
• Virtuoso Arias (Erato Records, August 1994)
• Peter and the Wolf (Korean version) (Erato Records, March 1995)
• Ari Arirang (아리 아리랑^Korean) (Nices, September 1995)
• Sumi Jo Sings Mozart (Erato Records, 1995)
• Bel Canto (Erato Records, 1996)
• Live At Carnegie Hall (Erato Records, 1997)
• La Promessa (Erato Records, September 1998)
• Les Bijoux (Erato Records, December 1998)
• Echoes from Vienna: Tribute to Johann Strauss (Erato Records, April 1999)
• Only Love (Erato Records, March 2000) - sold 1,055,170 copies in South Korea, a record for a classical artist.
• Opera Love (Decca Records, December 2000)
• Prayers (Erato Records, January 2001)
• The Christmas Album (Erato Records, September 2001)
• Hyangsu (향수^Korean) (ENE Media, September 2002)
• Be Happy: Falling In Love With Movie (Warner Classics, July 2004)
• Baroque Journey (Warner Classics, January 2006)
• Sumi Jo 101 (Warner Music, December 2007)
• Missing You (Deutsche Grammophon, October 2008)
• The Sumi Jo Collection (Warner Classics, August 2009)
• Ich Liebe Dich (Deutsche Grammophon, January 1, 2010)
• Libera (Deutsche Grammophon, January 1, 2011)
• La Luce: Sumi Jo Sings Igor Krutoy (Universal Music, December 27, 2012)
• Only Bach: Cantatas For Soprano, Violin & Guitar (Deutsche Grammophon, January 1, 2014)
• Longing (그.리.다.)^Korean (Universal Music, August 27, 2015)
• La Prima Donna: 30th Debut Anniversary (Universal Music, August 23, 2016)
• Mother (Universal Music, April 18, 2019)
• LUX3570, collaboration with I Musici (Decca Records, December 10, 2021)
• In Love (사랑할 때^Korean) (Warner Music, December 6, 2022)

3.2. Opera Recordings

• Rossini: Le comte Ory (Philips Classics Records, 1988)
• Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten (Decca Records, 1989)
• Verdi: Un ballo in maschera (Deutsche Grammophon, 1989)
• Mozart: The Magic Flute (Decca Records, 1990)
• Rossini: Il turco in Italia (Philips Classics Records, 1991)
• Mozart: The Magic Flute (Decca Records, 1992)
• Auber: Le domino noir (Decca Records, 1993)
• Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Virgin Classics, 1994)
• Rossini: Tancredi (Naxos Records, 1994)
• Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Erato Records, 1996)
• Adam: Le toréador (Decca Records, 1997)
• Bellini: Norma (Decca Records, 2013)

3.3. Other Album Appearances and Singles

Sumi Jo has also contributed to various compilation albums, film soundtracks, and released individual singles.

• Philharmonie Berlin: Gala Opera Concert (Capriccio, 1988)
• Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand' (Deutsche Grammophon, 1990)
• Rossini: Messa di Gloria (Philips Classics Records, 1992)
• Orff: Carmina Burana (Warner Classics, 1992)
• Requiem After J.S. Bach (Black Box Classics, 1995)
• Ave Maria: The Myth of Mary (Teldec, 1999)
• "Mirame Bailar" from the Korean version of Rhythm & Romance by Kenny G (Concord Records, 2008)

3.4. Soundtrack appearances

3.5. DVD

• Sumi Jo in Paris - For My Father (2006)

4.1. Cinema and Television Appearances

4.2. Variety and Other Broadcast Appearances

5.1. Major Music Awards

5.2. State and Cultural Honors

6.1. Family and Personal Beliefs

Sumi Jo is the cousin aunt of South Korean actor Yoo Gun, being his father's cousin sister. Her personal life has been marked by significant family events. In 2006, just before she performed Ave Maria at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, her father, Eonho Jo, died. Despite her desire to cancel the performance and return to South Korea for the funeral, her mother reminded her of her commitment to her audience, urging her to perform in honor of her father. Her performance was dedicated to him and later released as a DVD titled Sumi Jo in Paris - For my Father. Jo's mother, Malsoon Kim, died in 2021 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for ten years. Due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, Jo, who was in Italy at the time, was unable to attend her mother's funeral in South Korea.

Jo is a devout Catholic, and in August 2014, she had the honor of performing three songs, including Nella Fantasia, during the welcoming ceremony before Pope Francis's Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption in South Korea. She also sang the Catholic hymn "Panis Angelicus" during the Mass celebrated by the Pope.

Despite her global success, Jo has expressed a desire for a simpler life, stating that if she were to be reborn, she would wish to live a normal life, marry, have children, and experience the complete happiness of a woman. She believes that true artists are those who embody the essence of their homeland and that their art should reflect a pure heart. She consistently includes Korean songs as encores in her performances, believing that artists ultimately return to the inspiration of their homeland. Jo also believes that an artist's inner purity and kindness are essential for their music to truly move people.

She has been candid about her struggles, including a period early in her career when a severe cold, bronchitis, wisdom tooth pain, and food poisoning led to her losing her voice for several months. This experience made her realize the profound importance of her voice, leading her to prefer singing all year round over a month of silence. Jo also revealed that she does not have a uvula, which a doctor once suggested might contribute to her unique vocal abilities. She generally prefers a natural look, often going without makeup, which has led to humorous situations where neighbors, unaware of her identity, have complained about loud music from her practice. To manage performance anxiety, she often does laundry while thinking about her music.

Jo also had a notable relationship with South Korean fashion designer André Kim. Early in her career, unable to afford expensive dresses, she would buy fabric from markets to create her performance attire. After her first recital in Korea in 1988, André Kim, who was in the audience, contacted her directly and offered to design her dresses. This partnership lasted over 20 years, with Jo proudly wearing Kim's designs, numbering over 200, on international stages. Kim would always have a front-row seat at her Korean performances, and Jo would introduce him during curtain calls. After Kim's death in 2010, Jo, who was overseas, immediately returned to Korea to pay her respects and later held a tribute concert, singing Caccini's "Ave Maria."

6.2. Social Activities and Advocacy

Sumi Jo is a passionate advocate for animal rights and is a pescatarian, consuming only fish among animal products. She was one of only five Asian celebrities to be included in PETA Asia-Pacific's first-ever Best-Dressed 2008 list. She actively supports animal welfare organizations through donations. Additionally, she consistently contributes to children's organizations and various other charitable causes.

She has served as a public relations ambassador for numerous international events hosted by South Korea, prioritizing these engagements even over other international schedules, sometimes leading to disagreements with her foreign managers. Her ambassadorships include:

• PETA Ambassador (2012)
• 2014 Incheon Asian Games Ambassador (2012)
• 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo Ambassador (2011)
• 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Bid Committee Ambassador (2010)
• Korean Red Cross Goodwill Ambassador (2010)
• Yeosu Expo Ambassador (2007)
• Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Honorary Ambassador (2006)
• World Expo Bid Committee Ambassador (2002)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002)
• Busan's bid for Expo 2030 (2022)

Jo is also a passionate football fan, as evidenced by her release of the World Cup cheering song "Champions" in 2002. She candidly admits to having difficulty with numbers, recounting an incident where a hotel mistakenly charged her for 2,222 cups of coffee instead of two, which her manager fortunately caught.

7.1. Musical Impact and Critical Reception

Sumi Jo is widely acclaimed for her extraordinary vocal technique and artistry. Richard Strauss's "Zerbinetta's Aria" from Ariadne auf Naxos, composed in 1912, is a notoriously difficult piece, over 20 minutes long with numerous high notes, leading Strauss to modify parts of the score, believing it impossible to sing in its original form. However, in 1994, Jo became the first artist in the world to record the unedited original version of the song, alongside Japanese-American conductor Kent Nagano in Lyon, France. She described this recording as the most challenging of her career, requiring her to use "every ounce of strength."

Jo's pioneering status extends beyond this recording. She was the first Asian soprano to win six international competitions and the first Asian prima donna to star in the world's five major opera theaters, a record that remains unbroken. In 1993, she became the first Asian to receive the prestigious Italian Siola d'oro award.

Her talent has garnered immense praise from leading figures in classical music. Herbert von Karajan, considered one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, hailed her voice as "the best gift God has given" and "a voice from above," expressing astonishment at the quality of teaching in Korea. Opera News of the New York Metropolitan Opera praised her, stating, "Her song has already risen above criticism." The French newspaper Le Monde lauded her vocals, saying that "Even fairies listen to her songs." In 2008, she was selected as one of the world's top three sopranos, alongside Renée Fleming and Angela Gheorghiu, leading to her participation in the Beijing Olympics ceremony.

7.2. Cultural Contributions

Sumi Jo has played a significant role in promoting Korean culture internationally and fostering cross-cultural artistic exchange. She has actively sought opportunities to perform at international events in Korea, often prioritizing them over other engagements, demonstrating her deep commitment to her homeland. She believes that a true artist expresses their national identity through their art.

Her influence is also evident in her remarkable album sales in Korea. Her first crossover album, Only Love, released in 2000, sold over 1 million copies, an unprecedented achievement for a classical artist in Korea. Her 1994 album of Korean songs, Saeya Saeya, sold over 400,000 copies. These sales figures highlight her unique ability to connect with a broad audience and popularize classical music in her home country. Her popularity in Europe is also notable, with her album Only Love becoming a hit in Portugal, leading to her being named the most popular artist in Portugal in 2000. She has also been credited with facilitating cultural diplomacy, such as when the South Korean ambassador to France sought her help to gather French corporate leaders, who readily attended a dinner accompanied by her recital.