Eun Sun Kim
South-Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim, 39, has been appointed as Music Director of San Francisco Opera (SFO), effective August 1, 2021. She succeeds Nicola Luisotti, who left the opera house at the end of the 2017-2018 season. Kim will become the fourth music director in the history of San Francisco Opera, leading the orchestra, chorus, and music staff. Effective immediately, she is Music Director Designate, in which role she will participate in the planning of future seasons and in orchestral auditions.
Eun Sun Kim conducts frequently at major opera houses across Europe. She made her U.S. debut in September 2017, leading a production of La Traviata at Houston Grand Opera, and she was subsequently named the company’s first principal guest conductor in 25 years.
Ms. Kim began her career in Europe, where she assisted Jesús López-Cobos at the Teatro Real and Kirill Petrenko at Opéra National de Lyon, before making her own professional debut in 2012 conducting La Bohème in Frankfurt. Another important mentor to Ms. Kim was Daniel Barenboim. Among her future European engagements is her debut at the Wiener Staatsoper.
