Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
INTERVIEW Puccini's final opera 'Turandot' shows transforming power of true love to audiences
Soprano Lilla Lee, center, performs for Puccini's final opera “Turandot” during a dress rehearsal open to the media at Seoul Arts Center's CJ Towol Theater, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
Puccini's final opera “Turandot” is no doubt one of the most famous opera works in history with its powerful story of achieving seemingly impossible love, along with heart-penetrating arias, including “Nessun dorma (None shall sleep).” The new production of this grand three-act opera is being staged in Seoul this week. The Seoul Arts Center presents its new rendition of “Turandot” for 10 days from Aug. 8 to 18 at its CJ Towol Theater as its annual flagship “Family Opera” program.
Since 2001, the arts center has been staging a “Family Opera” production annually, hoping to expand the viewership of the opera genre to a wider audience in the nation. More than 126,000 have been counted to enjoy the annual opera productions during the past 18 years. This year, the arts center handpicked Puccini's “Turandot,” inviting internationally renowned Korean opera singers, including Lilla Lee and James Lee, who are actively performing in various European theaters.
This opera tells the story of how Chinese princess Turandot's cold-blooded heart transforms and melts with a lofty power of love and sacrifice, shown by prince Calaf and his slave girl Liu. The libretto was written by Adami and Simoni, based upon Schiller's play “Turandot,” which is adapted from Cozzi's original fable story.
Turandot was premiered in April 1926 at La Scala in Milan, Italy; this grand three-act opera was left incomplete, when Puccini suddenly passed away in November 1924. But Puccini had written most of the opera, and only the final scenes were added by Italian composer Franco Alfano after Puccini's death.
Opera director Pyo Hyun-jin / Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center
During a recent interview with The Korea Times, stage director Pyo Hyun-jin, who is leading this production of the emotion-packed 150-minute opera, stressed that she tried not to miss two integral pillars of the opera: the magnificence of Puccini's grandiose music, as well as its powerful central theme of love.
“Turandot is known for its splendid staging and grandiose music. As a director, it was very challenging to extract new and fresh ideas for opera works that are already famous like this one. Yet I tried to focus on conveying the central theme of love to the audience, along with its spectacular staging and imposing music,” Pyo said.
Although the opera production is being held at the 1,000-seat Towol Theater, a smaller opera theater, the director created the stage to be glamorous and bold. She fused various mythical elements of traditional legends of Asia, strengthening the production's fantasy-like characteristics. Splendid and ornate costumes designed by Jung Min-sun also highlights the stage's visual charms.
Emperor . Emperor Altoum's costume design Courtesy of Minsun Jung
“I want my productions to be very loyal to the opera's original main themes, while adding modern touches in visual aspects. I believe each work's central theme holds a symbolic significance, and it is the key to producing the stage. I always try to make it very cohesive from the start to the end under the main theme,” the opera director explained.
“Turandot's central theme is love, which is a fundamental emotion for any human being. It shows the power of love, which makes people defy the impossible, sacrifice oneself, and transform any cold-blooded heart into someone capable of being loved and loving,” she added.
Tenor James Lee performs as Calaf during a dress rehearsal open to the media at Seoul Arts Center's CJ Towol Theater, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center
Now an established opera director, having worked on recent opera productions in Korea, including Puccini's “La Boheme,” and Mozart's “Magic Flute” with various national and municipal opera companies, Pyo said opera directing came to her as love at first sight in her early 20s. She was a young aspiring vocalist at the college of music, dreaming to be a professional soprano singer. But the first experience of working as an assistant director at her college opera production had deeply mesmerized her, and ever since then she followed her bliss and destiny.
“As a soprano, I used to analyze each character that I performed. But as a director, I had to analyze the opera as a totality. There were so many steps, processes and so much work involved, as well as staff involved, to create a single production. It was very physically and mentally demanding work. Yet I call it my destiny, as my soul was completely fascinated by directing at the very first moment I get to experience it, and immediately realized that this was what I was designed to do. I accepted it as my destiny, and so far I have enjoyed every moment of it,” she recounted.
“I never regretted it, not even once. It is really painful, though. In order to direct a production, I need to read a libretto a thousand times, and study music a thousand times. Sometimes all brilliant ideas flash through my mind, and they're all suddenly gone like a sandcastle. And the repetition of all this a thousand times. This never-ending process is so painful, yet at the time, so much fun and sweet.”
This production of “Turandot” balances both magnificence of music and glamorous visual elements. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center
Pyo hopes audiences will be smitten by the charm of opera through this Turandot production.
“I hope audiences can enjoy the production's live orchestra music and enthusiastic performances and singing by the vocalists. I wish they can enjoy the story and lyrics of it, while carefully watching how music unfolds along the plot; for example, audiences can see how the chorus sings differently according to the psychology of protagonists, and how lighting and stage designs are changed, and how orchestral accompaniments are played out along the music drama,” she said.
“I also hope to deeply touch the hearts of audiences with the Turandot production.”
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to make a reservation or call the Seoul Arts Center at 02-530-1300 for more detailed information about the production.
A poster image for the opera production / Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center