Korea Opera Festival showcases folk-tale based fusion operas
.jpg?w=728)
A scene from "Orfeo ed Euridice" by Seoul Opera Ensemble / Courtesy of SAC
By Yun Suh-young
While opera is a musical genre that originated in the West, it doesn't mean traditional Korean music or folk tales can't weave their way into operatic performances. The 9th Korea Opera Festival this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of performance in Korea, will be doing just that. For a month from April 27 through May 27, six different opera organizations will be performing six different pieces on different days at the Seoul Arts Center in Seoul -- and they will seem as new as they can be.
Pieces include "Un Ballo in Maschera" (April 27 to 29), "Orfeo ed Euridice" (May 4 to 6), "Yeo Wu Djeon” (The Fox of Misfortune) (May 11 to 13), "Opera Gala" (May 19 and 20), "Le Nozze di Figaro" (May 18 to 20) and "Heungbu and Nolbu" (May 25 to 27). But despite their classical origins, many of them are contemporary versions fitted to the modern day Korean setting, or otherwise, something completely new.
What is noteworthy of this year's festival is the creative revisions of classical operas and folk tales. There are two interesting creative operas based on Korean folk tales.
The first is "Yeo Wu Djeon” performed by the Nuova Opera Company. The opera is based on the story of "Kumiho" which is about a nine-tailed fox who waits a thousand years to become human. In this revised version of the opera which premiered in 2016, the story goes a step further from the love story between a fox and a human and portrays the conflicts between humans and foxes.
"Nuova is a group that always pursues newness. We brought Kumiho to the 21st century. Everything, including the stage, is fusion. It's not a musical and seems less like an opera, but it's still opera. We wanted to be closer to the public. There are not many pieces that deal with Korean folk tales so we chose this piece because we thought it was more approachable," said Kang Min-woo, executive artistic director who heads Nuova Opera, during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.
A scene from "Heungbu and Nolbu" by Korea Arts Group / Courtesy of SAC
Another piece is "Heungbu and Nolbu" by the Korea Arts Group which is based on the famous tale of the good younger brother Heungbu and evil older brother Nolbu.
"Our group aims to create new content and spread Korean culture. We wanted to merge the West and the East (Korean). So we decided to mix Korea's pansori with Western opera. It premiered in 2008 and was well received by the audience so we decided to continue. We're planning to do a five-part opera series on Korean folk tales. Next year it will be Soogeungga (based on Beoljoobujeon)," said Ha Man-taek, executive artistic director who leads the Korea Arts Group.
Others are creative revisions of classical operas.
"Orfeo ed Euridice" by Christoph Willibald Gluck which premiered in Seoul in 2010 and ran until 2015 will return to the stage with a contemporary version whose plot has been revised to a modern day Korea setting.
"It's a Korean adaptation of Baroque opera. There are many ways we can revise Baroque opera based on Greek mythology to fit Korean sentiments. Korea doesn't stage Baroque operas because they don't sell well due to the lack of an audience. Everyone knows Baroque opera is good, but it's difficult to perform. So we wanted to bring the Baroque into modern day Korea and speak in contemporary language," said executive artistic director Jang Soo-dong, who heads the Seoul Opera Ensemble which will perform the piece.
"Le Nozze di Figaro" by Mozart is another European opera adapted to a modern day Korea setting.
"It's a revised Korean version of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. We brought the setting to contemporary Korea and will perform in Korean because we wanted to enhance the audience's understanding. The story is relatable to the everyday lives of Koreans and has many theatrical elements. Comic scenes are performed in recitativo (speech-like lines instead of singing)," said executive artistic director Kim Bang-sool, who heads Ulsan Singers Opera which performs the piece.
Meanwhile, the Korea National Opera will showcase four different pieces for the Opera Gala -- "A Match Made in Heaven," "Rigoletto," "La Traviata," and "Wandering Netherlander."
"Many opera artists have worked hard till this day but the public still has a perception that opera is a cultural activity for a few. The reason why we're holding these festivals is to play a key role in closing the gap with the public audience. We want this opera festival to be easily accessible for everyone," said Chung Chan-hee, chairman of the Korea Opera Company Association.
"There are some differences in this year's festival from previous years. There has always been criticism that opera is too expensive to consume. But the truth is, the more investment that goes into an opera, the better quality comes out. Nevertheless, we have reduced the ticket price by far this year by more than 30 percent. We hope to reduce it more by next year."
"Next year meets the 10-year anniversary of the opera festival so we wish to hone and complete it so that all ages -- from children to the elderly -- can equally enjoy the event."
For more information, call (02) 580-1300 or visit www.koreaoperafestival.com.