Karen Vuong - Biography

Soprano Karen Vuong is from Los Angeles, CA. She is a second-year member of Los Angeles Opera’s new Domingo-Thorton Young Artist Program where she works closely with many opera legends, including Mr. Placido Domingo. Ms. Vuong kicked off her career with LA Opera by winning the CulturArte prize at the distinguished 2006 Operalia International Competition in Valencia, Spain. As the winner, she was invited to Puerto Rico to give an honorary televised concert. She has also appeared in several LA Opera productions, including Kurt Wiell’s The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny with Patti Lupone and Audra McDonald; Wagner’s Tannhauser; Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf; and her recent starring role as Mimi in LA Opera’s student production of La Boheme.

With childhood dreams of becoming a veterinarian, Ms. Vuong’s plans quickly changed when her middle school music teacher recognized her innate singing ability and ignited a passion for music that Ms. Vuong has cherished ever since. She attended her first opera at LA Opera through her middle school English class, and after watching the performance was convinced that her purpose in life is sing opera. She continued to cultivate her musical ability at the Hamilton High School Music Academy. At the age of fifteen, Ms. Vuong was able to coax her parents into getting opera lessons, and was trained for the next four years by Korean Mezzo ______ Shine.

During her college education at UCLA, Ms, Vuong studied under Ms. Julianna Gondek and performed in many school opera productions. During this time, she also won Second Place at the 2003 Palm Springs Opera Guild Vocal Competition. Ms. Vuong received a Bachelors Degree in Music from UCLA in 2006. Upon graduation, she was accepted into the Doming-Thorton Young Artist Program. She is currently studying with Mr. Cesar Ulloa.