"A Shining Tenor" Konu Kim gave a profound performance filled with different colors and emotions. No one could ever anticipate what Kim would do with the role as he first entered Act one, singing with a bright timbre and giving each phrase a smooth and delicate color. His phrases starting out with a piano sound and would eventually crescendo to a forte with smoothness and facility. That bright optimism could be seen in the aforementioned duet with Sylvia. While Fridman sang with delicacy and darker hues, Kim’s timbre contrasted with gleam, his high notes projecting beautifully into the hall.  That brightness continued into his first aria “Quelle ivresse et quel délire,” a marchlike cavatina. Here, Kim displayed power and heroism in his tone. He did, however, show some torment in the B section, singing with a more desperate and breathy timbre, his interpolated high note adding to that desperation. But that happiness for his renewed freedom returned in the ensuing section. That authoritative and controlled vocal quality returned particularly as he ascended into his high notes and a final gleaming B. During the finale to Act three when Leone discovers that Sylvia is in fact the king’s mistress, Kim sang with desperation, repeating “La maîtresse del re” each time with more fury and agony. The voice rang into the hall with great power and one could understand the suffering that he was conveying. The final act finally saw the Kim’s Leone turn to a man filled with pain. One of the highlights of the evening was without a doubt his aria, “Hélas! Envolez-vous, beaux songes!” He began the aria with a delicate, piano sound that was reminiscent of a whimper. Then when he was asked to ascend into the higher tessitura, he gave the high notes a forte dynamic that expressed a cry of desperation. At one point he delivered an exquisite mezza di voce that  while a display of virtuosity, effectively conveyed how he felt more and more trapped after becoming a monk. This was of course beautifully displayed in the images of kings that continuously appeared and surrounding him. In his final duet with Sylvia, Kim initially sang with anger, accenting the text and singing with shorter lines. His timbre also took on a heavier and darker hue. But in the final portion part of the duet, his voice returned to that brightness from the beginning and he sang with that same elegance, gorgeous pianos, and gleaming high notes. There was also a tenderness to this moment as his voice harmonized gorgeously with Fridman’s. That would once again turn to torment when Sylvia dies. Kim’s Leone’s final notes were pleas and cries of lament. (...) this is a tenor to look out for in the coming years