Kim is the oldest of three children.[4] The children grew up in a musical household as their mother, mezzo-soprano Jang Kyung-ae, was a former opera singer who gave up a promising career to raise her children.[5]
In contrast to many of her peers, Kim did not attend a performing arts high school and has stated in a 2013 interview that she had started out playing the violin and actually shunned singing. She injured her wrist in middle school and decided to try singing after listening to a recording of La bohème.[5]
In 1994, Kim was admitted to Seoul National University's College of Music, majoring in voice.[4] She graduated with her bachelor's degree in 1998. In 2012, shortly after the birth of her son, she completed her master's degree.[6][7][8]
Career
Opera beginnings
Initially Kim intended to pursue a career in opera, following in her mother's footsteps.[5] She participated in various vocal competitions, placing in the top three or reaching the semi-finals in all of them.[9][10] Prior to switching to musical theater, she made her Seoul Arts Center debut, starring in La bohème (as Mimi)[11] and The Magic Flute (as Pamina).[12]
Musical theater and television
In 2001, then a graduate student, Kim was given the opportunity to try musical theater despite having no experience outside of opera and classical music.[13] She successfully auditioned for the role of Christine Daaé in the Korean-language production of The Phantom of the Opera.[14] Musical theater had only been recently introduced into South Korea, spurred by the advent of Korean-language versions of popular musicals, with The Phantom of the Opera being one of the most famous and well-attended productions. Up until then, Kim had rarely sung in Korean as she had mostly been performing opera repertoire from the Western classical tradition.[9] She has come to be associated with the role, having portrayed Christine Daaé in the 2009 run of The Phantom of the Opera and two productions of Phantom.[15]
When Kim first entered musical theater, classically-trained singers were uncommon as singers with her training often preferred to pursue careers as opera singers in Europe while most musical actors were primarily trained in acting rather than singing. Her powerful bel canto voice subsequently led to her being cast as female protagonists, particularly royalty;[15][9] she has portrayed Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Elisabeth, Empress Myeongseong in The Last Empress and Marie Antoinette in Marie Antoinette to critical acclaim.[11][16] In 2008, she won her first acting award, being named Best Actress at the Korean Musical Awards that year for her role as Eliza in My Fair Lady.[17]
Kim gained wider public recognition through her appearances on variety shows and televised music programs. Together with her husband, the couple have performed together multiple times on Open Concert and Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend.[18]
Personal life
Kim married musical actor Son Jun-ho in 2011 and they have a son (born in 2012).[7] They first met in the 2009 production of The Phantom of the Opera as he was cast as Raoul. As working musical actors, they largely avoid starring as a married couple in the same production but made a rare exception for The Last Empress and Elisabeth.[19]
^Chun Yun-hye (December 28, 2021). "뮤지컬 배우 김소현, 팜트리아일랜드와 전속계약..김준수와 한솥밥[공식]" [Musical actress Kim So-hyun, exclusive contract with Palm Tree Island...] (in Korean). Herald POP. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jeon Ha-na (February 12, 2022). "'스물다섯 스물하나' 김소현, 발레 콩쿠르 포기한 딸 최명빈에 "1등 아니면 의미없어?"" ['Twenty-five Twenty One' Kim So-hyeon, daughter Choi Myung-bin who gave up ballet contest "Is it meaningless if it's 1st place?"]. Herald POP (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^Park Ah-reum (November 28, 2022). "연매살' 김소현♥손준호 출격, 고래싸움에 새우등 터진 이서진 大분노" ['Behind Every Star' Kim So-hyun ♥ Son Jun-ho scramble, Lee Seo-jin's great anger in the whale fight]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Naver.
^Choi Na-young (December 9, 2021). "김이나♥︎조영철→야옹이♥︎전선욱, 파격 예능 동반출격('쌍쌍 인비테이셔널')" [Ina Kim ♥︎ Jo Young-cheol → Meow ♥ ︎ Jeon Seon-wook, scramble for a special entertainment together ('Ssangsou Invitational')] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021 – via Naver.
^"슈베르트콩쿨" (in Korean). Schubert Society of Korea. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
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