Yoora Lee-Hoff

Coloratura soprano Yoora Lee-Hoff (Yoora Lee) was born in Seoul, South Korea and lives in Dresden/ Germany. As a child she was learning to play the piano and won several national prizes in South Korea. Later she started playing the violin. She studied violin in Seoul/ South Korea, Berlin and Leipzig/ Germany. While she was active as a violinist, her beautiful voice was discovered and she was invited to study vocal arts/ opera at the university of music and theatre in Leipzig/ Germany.
Her first engagements as a soprano led her to the leipzig opera house/ Germany (2002 and 2003) and the Saxony’s theatre Dresden-Radebeul/ Germany (2004-2005), while she was still studying.
She performed at the international music festival Palma de Mallorca/ Spain, the Luisenburg Festival Wunsiedel/ Germany and the opera festival Salvador de Bahia/ Brazil.
She was engaged at the Dresden State Operetta, theatre Goerlitz and Bautzen, the state opera Schwerin, the theatre Dessau, the opera house Chemnitz, the theatre Gera and others in Germany and during the „Vienna Johannn Strauss concert gala“ tournee she was singing at several major concert halls in Germany and Switzerland, among others at the Tonhalle Zurich, the Residenz Munich and the Berlin Philharmonie.
Her concert work took her to concert halls in Germany, USA, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Ukraina , Estonia, Japan, China and South Korea.
For the 2013-2014 season Yoora Lee-Hoff is looking forward to various concerts in South Korea, China, USA and Germany.


Press
„...Yoora Lee-Hoffs airy and light interpretation of the „Fruehlingsstimmenwalzer“, that she was twittering like a little bird. Very pleasing was also the duett „Wer uns getraut“ from the Zigeunerbaron.“
Bremer Weserkurier/ Germany

„...The secret star of the evening was the korean soprano, that enravished the audience with charming humour, virtuous coloratura, flawless intonation and enormous vigour.“
Westfälische Rundschau/ Germany

„...she started with her well-shaped voice and clear but warm timbre... with her immensely intensive recital she enthused the audience... in addition she satisfied with charism and acting talent...“
Neustaedter Kreisbote/ Germany

"The highlight of the evening was Yoora Lee-Hoff (soprano). Her voice combined in unsurpassable way crystalline clarity with a dark undertone. At the highlights, she rose to seraphic beauty. "

Die Harke Nienburg/ Germany

„...Her sensibility and expressive acting and dancing enthused the audience…”

Korean Times Atlanta/ USA

"...she lets dance the very lively "Dorfschwalben (house martins)" in the truest sense of the word through the hall, accompanied with her voice in the most wonderful colors to the rearmost room corner - clean, warm and full of expression..."

Die Volksstimme 13.1.14

Education:
1996 – 1999 Violin studies at university of music and theatre Leipzig (Diploma)
2000 – 2003 voice arts/ opera studies at university of music and theatre Leipzig (Diploma)
2003 – 2006 voice arts/ opera studies at university of music and theatre Leipzig (Concert Diploma/ doctorate degree)

Master classes:
2002 Julia Hamari/ University of music Vienna/ Austria, active participation and selected participant for the final concert
2006 Siegfried Jerusalem/ Festival Musica Mallorca/ Spain, active participation and selected participant for the final concert

Opera Engagements:
- theatre Dresden-Radebeul/ Germany
- state operetta Dresden/ Germany
- opera house Chemnitz/ Germany
- opera house Leipzig/ Germany
- state theatre Schwerin/ Germany
- theatre Dessau/ Germany
- theatre Altenburg-Gera/ Germany
- theatre Goerlitz-Bautzen/ Germany
- Teatro Castro Alves Salvador de Bahia/ Brazil

Concert Engagements:
- Vienna Johann Strauß Gala concert tournee germany, Switzerland and Ukraina (conductor Herbert Prikopa) 2006. 2007 and 2008 at Berlin Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zuerich, Residenz Munich and others
- International Music Festival Musica Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca/ Spain (2007)
- Cantatas and Oratorios in concert halls and churches all over germany 2008 to 2014 (among them Frauenkirche Dresden, Thomaskirche Erfurt, Dreikönigskirche Dresden, St.Martin Nienburg etc.)
- Recital in Dallas, Tx, USA (2008)
- Recital in Atlanta, Ga, USA (2010)
- Recital in Budapest/ Hungary (2010)
- Recitals in Osaka, Hiroshima and Kobe/ Japan and Busan, Tongyong and Seoul/ South Korea (2012 and 2013)
- Recitals in Toronto/ Canada and Chicago/ USA (2012 and 2013)
- Several Recitals in China in 2012 and 2013
- New Years concert Tournee 2014 (15 cities in Germany)
- Concerts with orchestra at St.Martin Nienburg and Hannover Area: Mahler-Sinfonie, Richard Strauss ("Vier letzte Lieder") and Carmina Burana (2014)

Next Plans for 2014/15:
- as Zaide in the opera concertante "Zaide" by W.A. Mozart at Magdeburg/ Germany
- operetta gala concert tournee at several cities in germany
- as Gilda in the opera "Rigoletto" by G. Verdi in Chicago and other cities/ USA
- "Stabat mater" by A. Dvorak in Nienburg - Hannover /Germany