Sumi Jo has been named Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, the highest rank of France’s prestigious cultural order.

The award was presented to the acclaimed soprano on May 26 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris by former Minister of Culture Fleur Pellerin. Jo was recognized for her outstanding artistic achievements and her role in promoting cultural exchange between France and Korea.

Jo is the third Korean to receive this honor, and in her acceptance speech, she said, it is “beyond anything I could have imagined.”

The soprano made her debut in 1986 as Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and went on to perform at the Teatro alla Scala, Salzburg Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Royal Opera House. Jo has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including a Grammy Award and the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, Korea’s highest cultural honour.

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