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| Soprano Park Hye-sang performs during a press conference at ODE Port in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday. She released her first album "I Am Hera" on Deutsche Grammophon, one of the best classical labels in the world, on Nov. 6. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
This year has been tough for soprano Park Hye-sang ― she was to perform as Gretel in "Hansel and Gretel" at the Metropolitan Opera, and as Zerlina in "Don Giovanni." However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these were cancelled.
"It was tough," Park, 32, said during a news conference at ODE Port in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday.
She eventually released an album on the German classical music label Deutsche Grammophon (DG), Nov. 6. Its release was dramatic because the album project in Germany was moved due to the pandemic. She was able to release it after she moved to Austria for the recording.
Two songs sung in Korean were included.
"I felt a responsibility to promote gagok (or Korean vocal music sung by singers with a small orchestra)," she said. "I can sing African or Spanish songs, but gagok was the best fit for me to deliver my free spirit … I feel natural when singing gagok."
"Gagok may sound strange to DG, because no one ever sang Korean-language songs, before but I wanted to break such boundaries."
Out of the 18 tracks on the album, which was DG's first recording amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Korean-language songs are "Like the Wind That Met With Lotus" written by the late Korean poet Seo Jeong-ju and set to music by Kim Ju-won, and "Psalm 23" with music by La Un-yung. Park is the second Korean artist to sign an international contract with DG after pianist Cho Sung-jin.
DG's contract with Park came after company President Clemens Trautmann heard her singing at the Met Gala, a fashion show. Before the show, she had gained international fame as a classical music artist after winning prizes at renowned international competitions, including the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2014 and the Montreal International Musical Competition and the World Opera Competition, or Operalia, in 2015. Performing as a soprano with a skilled lyric coloratura voice she has been with the Metropolitan Opera since 2015.
She has also had concerts with prestigious orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic.
It was tough for her to come up with a selection for her first album and go through the aftermath of a series of cancelations and delays due to the virus spread; but she used the time to reflect on herself and expand her world as an artist.
"I was inexperienced in coming up with a repertoire for the album," she said. "Many people had advised me to add stereotypical pieces first. But after the coronavirus spread, I asked myself whether to sing stereotypical songs was really the best … so I focused on showing my originality."
"After the lockdown in Germany, I made kimchi for myself and was thinking of selling it to others. But I started to think that I needed to practice and study more to take responsibility for my music. So I read a lot of books about composers while taking online language and painting classes."
She said she hoped to become a soprano who can help others and feel proud about herself through her music.
"I don't consider myself a diva," she said. "I think I am very realistic and natural. But I want to become someone who can help others … Singing an opera cannot be done by myself. We always need colleagues to communicate with. I would like to become a supportive person in the opera-production process while doing my job as a soprano."
"Of course, it is impossible to make a perfect album, but I want to be satisfied with the process. I want to be proud of myself through the development of my work."
She is scheduled to perform at the Lotte Concert Hall, Nov. 20, where she will sing songs from the album and pieces in Korean.
