South Korean Tenor Dies at 39, Prompting Calls for Mental Health Support

The 39-year-old South Korean tenor Sehoon Moon passed away on December 18th. His death has prompted calls for mental health support for opera singers.

Driving the news: This week, Vienna’s Sono Artists announced that tenor Sehoon Moon had passed away at the age of 39. Born in South Korea, Sehoon Moon achieved prominence through roles at Teatro alla Scala and high profile competitions such as Operalia and the Viñas Competition in Spain. Career highlights included the role of Rodolfo in La bohème at Glyndebourne and many roles at Sweden’s Malmö Opera.

The conversation: Sehoon Moon’s untimely death by suicide has prompted conversations regarding mental health in the opera industry. Agents report numerous clients receiving treatment for depression, citing insecure job prospects and the difficulties of finding a partner within such a peripatetic lifestyle.

The music psychologist and singer Jane Oakland describes how the demands of the operatic profession frequently lead to body dysmorphia, excessive health anxiety, social phobias, perfectionism, performance anxiety, neuroticism, and depression. Singers frequently experience unemployment and a resulting loss of self-esteem and the majority of institutions and professional companies lack care and prevention programs relating to singers’ health.

Let’s hope this tragedy helps to inspire the change the opera industry so direly needs.

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.