Dr. Helen Sohyun Park, serving as a lecturer at the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, is a native of Seoul, South Korea. Her career focus is on opera directing and opera production. She completed her Bachelor of Music (BM) in Vocal Performance at the Seoul National University and also achieved her Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Opera Directing at The University of Texas at Austin. She had studied opera directing with Dr. Robert Desimone, Dr. Chía Patiño, and Garnett Bruce. 

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        Recently, Dr. Park directed many Opera Scenes Performances for Opera/Voice Division students at the CUHK-Shenzhen. She teaches 4 courses for undergraduates and graduates: Opera Workshop, Advanced Opera Workshop, Acting and Movement for Singers, and Concert Performance Training. 

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       Dr. Park was a Director Fellow at Opera Saratoga, and she directed a Gala Concert and assisted in two full productions: Don Pasquale and The Selfish Giant. She made her grand debut at the Seoul Metropolitan Opera Company and directed Faust at the S-Theater in Sejong Art Center in 2022. Furthermore, Dr. Park directed Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up in 2023 and directed the full production of Carmen, Shakespeare Gala, and Song re-imagined in 2022 at McCullough Theatre for Butler Opera Center while she was in the DMA program. Dr. Park was the first Korean Teaching Assistant at Butler Opera Center for the 2022-2023 season. She was a Directing Fellow for the Chicago Summer Opera in 2020 and 2021, and she directed opera scene performances and assisted in the full production of Alcina and Hänsel und Gretel. In 2019, she directed opera La Traviata and La bohème in Seoul. She also assisted Sarah Meyers, a directing staff at Metropolitan Opera House; the production was Verdi’s Rigoletto in Seoul. Dr. Park also directed a full production of L’elisir d’amore in 2016 and directed La bohème in 2016 for the Opera for Youth organization. Furthermore, she directed another La bohème production for the Opera Institute of Seoul National University in 2016.

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Dr. Park is a Director Fellow for Opera Saratoga in 2024 and she will be assisting Gisela Cardenas for Cosi fan tutte.