Pioneering South Korean soprano Sumi Jo joins K-pop label SM, sings with Exo’s Suho
Sumi Jo opens up on great moments in her 40-year career, her new album Continuum, and why she signed with K-pop label SM Entertainment
South Korean soprano Sumi Jo is marking the 40th anniversary of her international career with a new album, a fresh partnership with K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, and a year-long slate of concerts and mentorship projects.
At a recent press conference in Seoul, the 61-year-old singer looked back on four decades of breakthroughs, beginning with her 1986 debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy.
Jo has built a globe-spanning career that has taken her to the world’s top stages, from La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera to concert halls across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
She became the first Asian to win seven major vocal competitions and the first Asian to star as prima donna at five of the world’s leading opera houses. She was also the first Asian to win a Grammy for best opera recording and has been awarded France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Her recording contract with SM Entertainment is central to this new chapter. Under the deal, SM will handle global distribution and promotion of the new album, titled Continuum, and future projects, using its vast K-pop infrastructure to reach listeners who may have never set foot in an opera house.
“The title of the special album is a Latin word meaning ‘to continue’, and rather than piecing together songs that I have already sung as a classical artist, I wanted to reinterpret my life through new music and another kind of language,” Jo says.