Meet the Soloists | March 14
Paulina Swierczek, soprano
Lauded for her “exceptional voice, cloudless and soaring,” and her “killer sideeye,” soprano Paulina Swierczek is a vibrant storyteller and powerful voice in the operatic and concert repertories.
Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater and Mozart’s Davide Penitente with the Broad Street Orchestra, and Strauss’s Four Songs, op. 27 with The Orchestra Now under Leon Botstein. Paulina is an alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center, the Meistersinger Program at Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar and SongFest. Paulina was featured by Sparks and Wiry Cries on the 2022 song SLAM Festival, and recently reprised Anthony Cheung’s All thorn, but cousin to your rose, which she premiered at Tanglewood in 2017, with NYFOS Next at the Rubin Museum in NYC with Nathaniela LaNasa. She was a prize winner of the 2023 Opera Birmingham Competition.
As a Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist (24-25), Paulina covered Senta in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman and Berta in Rossini’s Barber of Seville, as well as study-covered the title role of Salome. She performed excerpts as the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), Alice Ford (Falstaff ), Eva (Der Meistersinger) and Helmwige (Die Walküre) with the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra and was also seen as Elettra (Idomeneo), Sieglinde (Die Walküre) and the title role of Vanessa in various scene programs. Paulina made her mainstage debut as Chocholka in The Cunning Little Vixen in the 2025 season.
Paulina’s 25-26 season includes her Lincoln Center debut in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Bard Conservatory Orchestra under Leon Botstein as well as the title role in La Traviata (Act I) with the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra.
Heejae Kim, lyric tenor
Heejae Kim, a Korean-born lyric tenor, has appeared in over one hundred opera performances, bringing to life more than twenty leading roles across the United States and Korea. Known for his elegant phrasing and expressive tone, he has performed with major companies including New York City Opera, Regina Opera, Brazilian Opera, Chosun Opera, Mannes Opera, and Rutgers Opera.
Recent highlights include his performances with Rutgers Opera as Don José in Carmen, Candide in Candide, and Rodolfo in La Bohème at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, as well as his featured appearance as Joo Kicheol in The Passion of Joo Kicheol with Chosun Opera at Carnegie Hall.
Previously, Mr. Kim appeared with New York City Opera as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola at Bryant Park, and with Regina Opera in leading roles including Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Alfredo (La Traviata), and Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi). He has also performed in world premieres of contemporary works such as The Seventh Seal and Clara in New York City.
Internationally, he has sung Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Music Academi International in Italy, and at the Boston University Opera Institute, he portrayed Tito (La Clemenza di Tito), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), and Alfredo (La Traviata). In Korea, he appeared with the Seoul Metropolitan Opera, performing Ernesto (Don Pasquale), Duca di Mantova (Rigoletto), and Edmondo (Manon Lescaut).
Mr. Kim earned his Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University, Master of Music from Mannes School of Music, and Opera Fellowship Certificate from Boston University Opera Institute. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rutgers University, specializing in art song and performance practice.
