Conductor Eun Sun Kim Renews Contract at San Francisco Opera

Kim, who is just the fourth conductor in the company's 102-year history, will remain its Music Director until at least 2031

The San Francisco Opera has announced a five-year contract extension for Eun Sun Kim, who became the fourth Music Director in the company's 102-year history at the opening of the 2021/22 season.

The extension will allow Kim to continue work on the new initiatives she has begun with the company, including a pledge to program at least one opera by Verdi and one by Wagner every single season. In 2025, she will lead a brand-new production of Wagner’s final opera, Parsifal, and she anticipates the launch of a full Ring cycle in a future season.

As well as shepherding the company through the pandemic, Kim also spearheaded a successful Centenary Season for the company in 2022/23 — the highlight of which was the world premiere of a new John Adams opera, Antony and Cleopatra.

Hailing originally from Seoul, South Korea, Kim studied composition and conducting there, before continuing her studies in Stuttgart, where she graduated with distinction. She launched her career by winning First Prize in the International Jesús López Cobos Opera Conducting Competition at the Teatro Real Madrid.

Kim regularly appears at houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Berlin, Opéra national de Paris, and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

"This is a joyous day for San Francisco Opera as we look out to a thrilling future of music-making with Eun Sun Kim," said general director Matthew Shilvock. "Eun Sun is shaping our artistry in such compelling ways, breathing exuberance, sensitivity and humanity into every score she takes on and allowing us to hear each work as though for the first time."

"It is a privilege to partner with Eun Sun on carrying forward the extraordinary legacy of San Francisco Opera and shaping it anew as we take the Company into its second century. Under her leadership, we feel with such awe these vast arcs of human creation. It’s exciting to envision what lies ahead, particularly in her exploration of the works of Wagner."

"We work in an art form that has been told, every day for hundreds of years, that it is on the precipice of an existential crisis. And yet, opera endures," Kim said. "Thanks to the unwavering dedication of orchestras and choruses, artists and makers, administrators and audiences, we are able to create and share moments of collective transformation."

"In honor of those who believe, as I do, that the work we do matters deeply, I have accepted the offer to renew my commitment to San Francisco Opera. I am honored each day that we strive together for the highest artistic quality, and I look forward to undertaking my first Ring cycle here in the coming years. Every performance on the War Memorial stage builds on the storied legacy of this historic company, reaffirming our purpose and bolstering our art form for the future."