Well-known South Korean Soprano singer Lee Sang-eun was found dead in a bathroom, just minutes before her performance, last night. She was 46.
On July 7, Korean news outlet News1 reported that police are investigating the death of the singer. The cause of death is yet to be revealed.
The report states that on July 6, at around 8.23pm, an event staffer called the police after finding the singer’s lifeless body in the concert venue’s third-floor women’s bathroom.
The Korean entertainment website, Koreaboo.com, said that according to Yonhap news agency, police are investigating the incident but didn’t suspect foul play.
Lee Sang-eun was a well-known soprano singer who graduated from Seoul National University before getting her Master’s degree from the Mannes School Of Music in New York.
According to an article on culture.seoul.co.kr, after making her American stage debut as Don Pasquale's Norina at the Connecticut Opera, she performed Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute at the Opera Tampa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rigoletto's Gilda at the Virginia Opera, and Lucia in Lammermoore's Lucia at the Opera San Jose. She most recently took part in a production of the opera Lulu at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
She also performed on European and Asian opera stages.
The article says that in Korea, she debuted at the National Opera in 2009 with Pamina in The Magic Flute, followed by Lammermoor's Lucia's Lucia and Madame Butterfly's Chochosan. She also took part in the National Opera's Magic Flute provincial tour and year-end gala concert, and the following year she performed Idomeneo's Ilia with the National Opera Company with conductor Chung Myeong-whun.
In 2019, she performed at the Seoul Metropolitan Opera Company with the Gyeonggi Philharmonic and conductor Massimo Janetti, where she performed Don Giovanni's Donna Anna.
She has also participated in numerous opera gala concerts including the Seoul Opera Festival.
