Musical star vows to impress ahead of concert
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Ramin Karimloo will perform at Samsung Hall of Ewha Womans University in Seoul on Wednesday and Thurday, and the Gwangju Culture & Art Center on Friday. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Ramin Karimloo isn’t exactly a rock star, at least not yet. But it’s hard to notice from the significant buzz ahead of his concerts here.
The 34-year-old Iranian-born actor is a highly sought-after commodity in West End, starring as Raoul and Phantom in the British run of “The Phantom of the Opera” and playing Marius, Enjolras and Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables.”
These two titles happen to be all-time favorites in Korea, a country where the demand for musical theater seems insatiable. So despite never having performed in Korea, Karimloo is likely to walk into screams louder than jet engines in his upcoming concerts in Seoul and Gwangju.
“I’m surprised (about the support) because I’ve never been here. It filled me with a lot of confidence and excitement to come and do a show here and people will hear me," said Karimloo, mentioning the overflowing comments of Korean fans on social media services such as Facebook and Twitter.
He said he had been tipped by other artists that “Korean fans can be crazy,” and would love them to be that way.
“This is the first time I am doing a solo concert outside of English speaking territory. I hope I can make the Korean audience understand what I say between the songs.”
So far, the highlights of Karimloo’s career were playing Enjorlas in the 25th anniversary concert of “Les Miserables” in 2010 and the Phantom in the 25th anniversary production of “The Phantom of the Opera” in 2011. Both performances were released on DVD and brought him international fame.
Karimloo arrived in Seoul Monday after participating in the “4 Stars: One World of Broadway Musicals Concerts” in Japan. He will do three concerts in Korea — two in Seoul followed by a stop in Gwangju — as part of his “Broadway to Bluegrass” tour. His performances in Korea will accompany the local release of his first studio album “Ramin,” which was released in Britain last year.
Karimloo says he is serious about balancing a career as a thespian and singer. He first thought about an independent career in music while performing in “Love Never Dies,” the highly-anticipated sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera” that ended up being a commercial disappointment.
Karimloo played the role of Phantom in “Love Never Dies” and would spend hours in the dressing room putting up the heavy make-up required for the role. Purely out of boredom, Karimloo picked up the guitar given to him by the father of co-star Sierra Boggess and started to learn playing it. He was soon composing his own songs with it.
He doesn’t seem to care much about the success of first album, but more interested in the pure joy of composing.
"I don’t write for any other purpose, but to tell a story. I’m learning to be a better songwriter every day," he said.
"When it comes to being a singer-songwriter, it was never about me being a music theater singer. This has to be separate. I even thought about not doing theater while I embark on a solo career, but I soon found I wouldn’t enjoy this because I love theater songs too much. It was the matter of how do we take the character out and put Ramin into it.”
While Karimloo hasn’t finalized the list of the songs he will perform in the Korean concerts, it will likely be a mix of songs from famous musicals and also some from his own album. His personal favorites from the musicals are “Music of the Night” from “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables.”
“I picked the songs that relate to me (emotionally),” he said.
“The thing that is special about my show is that I never do the same set twice. It’s always different. So I never know what I’m going to do until I get there ... I don’t sing songs because I feel I have to. One night I don’t feel like singing a certain song, I wouldn’t do it because it won’t have the heart that it deserves."
After finishing his Korean concerts, Karimloo will prepare his return as Jean Valjean for the Toronto production of Les Miserables starting in October. He is excited about playing the role again.
“I’m spending four months changing my body, eating different to add another 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and read the novel again. When I leave Korea, it’s the last time I shave,” he said. “I can’t wait to do it. It’s time to become Valjean.”
Karimloo’s first concert in Korea will be held at Samsung Hall of Ewha Womans University today and Thursday and he will move to southern city of Gwangju for another concert at Gwangju Culture & Art Center on Friday. The Seoul concerts are currently sold out, but a few cancelled tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com or ticket.yes24.com.