Sumi Jo

Sumi Jo ( born November 22, 1962 in Seoul as Jo Su -gyeong ) is a South Korean soprano. Jo regarded as the first Asian opera singer, who achieved a global career.

She studied from 1981 to 1983 at the Seoul National University and from 1983 to 1986 at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1986, she made ​​her debut as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto. In 1989, she was to sing under Herbert von Karajan pages Oscar in Un ballo in maschera at the Salzburg Festival. Because of Karajan's death during rehearsals, she sang the role then there under Georg Solti; recording under Karajan was completed earlier.

Since then she sings mainly coloratura soprano roles to the great opera stages of the world. For the recording of the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, she won a Grammy in 1992 for Best Opera Recording category.

She had a cameo appearance in the South Korean drama series Dream High ( 2011). At the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, she sang a classic version of the Korean folk song Arirang.