Sumi Jo Sings In "Youth" Film Competing For Palme D'Or Prize

Soprano Sumi Jo performing in the film Youth.

"American composer David Lang has written what he calls 'candy-wrapper music' for the Cannes competition film Youth in which Michael Caine plays a retired musician wrestling with old age. It won't win him another Pulitzer Prize, the award he got in 2008 for his haunting Little Match Girl Passion, and the music he composed for the film's candy wrapper scenes wasn't even used. Instead, the film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino has occasional scenes with scratchy sounds and a catchy rhythm that come from Caine's character scrunching up a candy wrapper in a very deliberate way and manipulating it back and forth in his fingers. Youth, which is competing for the main Cannes Palme d'Or prize, has Caine playing Fred Ballinger, a retired composer and conductor taking a holiday at a posh resort in Davos, Switzerland. Lang, who gets the music credit for the film, said he had actually composed music for the candy-wrapper scenes, although what he wrote in the end was not used. 'Let's just say I wrote a lot of different versions of candy-wrapper music and we had many, many discussions about what kind of candy it should be,' Lang said after a screening of the film on Wednesday. He said he'd 'auditioned' many different candy wrappers to find the one that was 'most sonorous' but could not remember which one had finally been selected. He credited the director Sorrentino, who got to know of Lang by using his music in La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty), which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, for having a wonderful musical sensibility. 'He loves music, he's very musical, 'The Great Beauty' has an incredible score,' Lang said about working with Sorrentino for the new film. 'When talking to him about it, it was very clear that music was part of the organizing principle of the film.' On behalf of the movie's fictional composer, Lang wrote a piece called Simple Songs which is performed by soprano Sumi Jo, violinist Viktoria Mullova and the BBC Symphony Orchestra." [Source] See the trailer for the film after the jump.

Doritos Capitalizes On The Popularity Of Duet By Delibes

Doritos, promoting their "Go For Bold" campaign, created a commercial for the Super Bowl that uses a duet from the opera Lakmé by Delibes. The piece, "Viens, Mallika, les lianes en fleurs....Dôme épais, le jasmin," comes from Act I of the opera and is commonly known as the "Flower Duet." Read more about the opera by clicking here. See several interpretations featuring sopranos Anna Netrebko, Sumi Jo, Joan Sutherland, Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Montserrat Caballé, and more, after the jump.

Sumi Jo Among Famous Korean Singers At 2014 Asian Games

South Korean soprano Sumi Jo performs
 a solo during the opening ceremony
 of the 2014 Asian Games at the Asiad
 Main Stadium in Incheon, South Korea.

"Pop sensation Psy was the star attraction as a dazzling opening ceremony, showcasing the glorious past and modern-day South Korea in a grand spectacle, launched the 17th Asian Games on Friday. The world's second-biggest multi-sports spectacle after the Olympic Games, that will see over 13000 competitors from 45 countries and regions vying for glory, was kick-started with singing, dancing, besides the expected fanfare and fireworks. The Games were declared open by South Korean President Park Geun-Hye with the words 'I declare open the 17th Asian Games," before celebrated actress Lee Young-ae lit up the flame resembling a fountain of cascading water. As Lee lighted the cauldron, dazzling fireworks lit up the evening sky. The second part of the opening ceremony consisted of two themed songs - 'New Asia, a Song of Hope' and 'Incheon'. 'New Asia, a song of hope' began with poet Ko Un reading 'Song for the Asiad', composed by Kim Young-dong, which was followed by Soprano Sumi Jo brilliantly singing the solo song which was followed by a 10-vocalist choir joining her with a large screen showing Incheon citizens reading the latter part of the poem. The song changed into Arirang, a very popular Korean folksong often sung as an unofficial national anthem. Then 'Incheon, a place for one Asia' expressed the Games hosting city as a bridge to unite Asia as one family and open the future of the continent." [Source]

Sumi Jo Sings For Assumption Day At Papal Mass Of Pope Francis

Sumi Jo Donates US$10,000 To Unicef After Philippines Recital

"Korean soprano Sumi Jo held music lovers in the palm of her hand during her Manila debut at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura in Taguig City. Voice teachers, classical singers, choral directors, pianists, theater directors, students and voice enthusiasts had earlier filled up the hall, eager to listen to the Korean diva, the pride of Asia. The concert was presented by the Korean Cultural Center, Edsa Shangri-La and Steinway Boutique Manila for the benefit of victims of Typhoon 'Yolanda.' The diva performed a bouquet of operatic arias from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary eras; as well as classical, Korean folk and Broadway songs. She immediately revealed her vocal might with her opening song, Henry Bishop’s 'Lo, Here the Gentle Lark,' for which she got a thunderous applause from the audience. The voice is of world-class quality, unmistakably honed in the bel canto style of singing. 'Beautiful singing,” the literal translation of the style, emphasizes the voice as the most expressive element in singing, especially in opera. Through a rigorous honing of a dynamic technique, singers of the bel canto style effortlessly intone elegant, velvety melodic lines that are well-kept in the same passage. To bring out the innate beauty of the human voice is the chief concern of such a style so necessary to express the dramatic import of the musical piece....Sumi Jo presented a facsimile check of the P450,000 donation to Margaret Sheehan, chief field officer of Unicef. She deserves to be heard again in Manila!" [Source]

Sumi Jo Counts Italy As Her Second Home For Over 30 Years

In an interview with Il Tempo, Sumi Jo discusses her life-long love of Italy. After attending Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia she quickly ascended to performing Un Ballo in Maschera with Plácido Domingo and Herbert von Karajan. She discusses her love of Rome, advice from Maestro von Karajan, Koreans in Italy, music education in the country, and her favorite roles. Read the full interview here.

Sumi Jo and Cecilia Bartoli: A 25-year Working Relationship

A video from circa 1987 shows Sumi Jo and Cecilia Bartoli working together with Herbert von Karajan in an excerpt of "Et in unum dominum" from Bach's Mass in B minor. Now more than 25 years later, they team up again for a recording of Bellini's Norma on Decca. 

Sumi Jo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian Close Festival

The trio rocking out "La Melodia" 

Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky was joined by soprano Sumi Jo and Belgian pop star Lara Fabian for the final concert of New Wave 2011, which is an international competition for young singers. The concert, celebrating its 10th anniversary, was recorded live for television on July 31, 2011, at the "Dzintari" concert hall in Jūrmala, Latvia. Conductor Constantine Orbelian led the Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir. There are plans for a new concert program that will begin at the Kremlin in Moscow beginning in October 2012 with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Russian producer/composer Igor Krutoy. For more information about New Wave 2011, click here.

BONUS: Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Lara Fabian in rehearsal for the big closing show of New Wave 2011:

The Skinny on Sumi Jo

"On Jan. 12, at Sherman Clay Pianos, Jo told an audience of close to 100 that she doesn’t eat any chocolate, cold foods, or deep-fried foods. That means no ice cream, milkshakes, refrigerated juices, deli meats, seafood cocktails, or salads. Absolutely no smoking or drinking alcohol is allowed because they would instantly kill her voice. Jo knows six languages including Korean, German, French, Italian, Russian, and English. Many of her teachers were Italians. She has studied music since she was 4 years old." [Source]