After preparing his talents for a lifetime, Hyun-soo Choi will have a chance to share them at the Seoul Olympics.

In highly competitive contests in his youth, in his college days and after college, he has frequently emerged as the first-place winner. And after refining his skills abroad for three years, he was invited by his government to return home for the Olympics.Yet Choi is an artist, not an athlete; a promising young baritone with enviable credits in the Italian operatic community. He was asked by his government to perform in Korean operas and classical music productions being held in Seoul as Korea becomes a world showcase for the Olympics that begin Sept. 17.

"I study opera all the time," he said in an interview in Milan, Italy, recently. He said he also finds time to perform at Church firesides for the Milan (Italy) Ward, where he and his wife, Kyung-shin Yang, and their son Jiho attended until their return to Korea for the Olympic performances.

Choi was introduced to the Church by a cousin in the early 1980s, and he gained a testimony and was baptized in 1982 at age 22. His wife was a member when they married.

His musical experience was quickly put to work after his baptism when he was called as director of an LDS choir. However, after his graduation from college, he was accepted at La Scala Academy in Milan, Italy, and left Korea.

Choi has a repertoire of 20 complete operas, and is specially experienced in singing baritone parts from Giuseppe Verdi's works. He sings in German, French and Italian.

His resonant voice has been heard in theaters across Italy, and in other European nations, and in his homeland. For many Italian patrons, at first the notion of hearing a Korean singing in Italian was a novelty. But his performances erased the questions and established for him a good reputation.

With a distinctive voice even as a child, Choi began voice training at age 7. He performed frequently and, as the youngest contestant in the Seoul Sacred Music contest, he won first place at age 14. Later he won national competitions including the Korean National Broadcasting System Youth Singers contest. He made his debut on Korean television at 17, and by age 19 was appointed director of a prestigious Protestant choir, the Aquinas Cathedral in Seoul.

When the Choi family moved to Italy, they were readily accepted into the Milan Ward. The opera singer's first calling was to play the piano at priesthood meeting. This priesthood meeting pianist was performing concerts every week while completing his studies.

The highlight of their stay in Europe came last February. The Choi family traveled to the Swiss Temple where they were sealed.

Now as they return to their homeland for his command performance at the Olympics, the family's plans for the future remain uncertain. However, one thing is certain, said Sister Choi. They will stay close to the Church and to music.