.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
| Park Ki-hyun, president of the Korea Opera Group, speaks during a press conference Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Yun Suh-young
.jpg) |
"Rinaldo" by Georg Friedrich Handel will open the festival on May 6, along with "La Pizza Con Funghi" by Seymour Barab, which will be performed May 6-8.
"Der Mann von funfzig Jahren (Man of 50 years old)" by Korean composer Seong Se-in will be performed on May 13-15, followed by "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi from May 19-21. After "Carmen" by Georges Bizet, from May 27-29, a gala performance by the Korea National Opera will close the festival on June 3-4.
On May 28, a special outdoor opera concert, featuring soprano Shin Young-ok, will be held at the outdoor stage of Seoul Arts Center.
"This time we've prepared ‘Rinaldo _ The New Way,'" said Park Ki-hyun, general artistic director and president of the Korea Opera Group, during a press conference Thursday. "It will be in the form of a theater inside a theater. We organized it in the 'new way' concept, where it transcends time and space. This opera is a very abstruse piece, so it had been difficult to stage in Korean theaters."
"Rinaldo" is represented by the song 'Lascia chio pianga,' which was featured in the film ‘Farinelli The Castrato' (1994).
"The performance will offer an opportunity for the audience also to participate on stage," said "Rinaldo" director Maurizio di Mattia.
"Rinaldo features Baroque music and is about a dream, a dream for freedom. It sings for a hopeful future, which we can all relate to."
This is the second time Handel's "Rinaldo" has played on a Korean stage. It first premiered in 2007. The opera's conductor is Antonio Pergolizzi. An Italian cast will join the performance. Counter tenor Antonio Giovannini will play Rinaldo while baritone Renato Dolcini will play Argante.
"We hope this festival will serve a pioneering role in developing the opera scene in Korea," said Choi Nam-in, chairman of the organizing committee of the Korea Opera Festival.
"Although opera faces a lot of difficulties to be fostered in the current environment, with the lack of governmental support or supply of facilities, we believe that if we show our sweat and spirit, it will help the opera industry grow. I hope to see the whole nation come and enjoy opera."
All the performances will be at the Seoul Arts Center during the festival from May 6 to June 4. For more information, call 02)580-1300 or visit www.koreaoperafestival.com.
