Entertainment - The Korea Times

Traveling light, a cappella groups take songs to provinces

By Kwaak Je-yup A cappella singers have a distinct advantage over fellow musicians when they tour. Performing without instruments, and therefore light on luggage, they can break into tune on any street corner or city plaza. They can also travel more easily to remote corners of the world. Audiences in regional cities, therefore, will not have to travel to Seoul to see two world-famous ensembles — Naturally 7 and b vocal — when they visit Korea in the next few months. While not the most popular of all genres, a cappella has a considerable following worldwide. It has spawned well-recognized bands like The Real Group, Rockapella and The King’s Singers among others. Some of these groups have sung to packed Korean venues in recent years, garnering critical acclaim and commercial success. Each group has been active for more than 20 years and will both perform here as established names in the world of a cappella. Naturally 7, an American group of seven singers, make their Korean debut at the Seongnam Arts Center in Gyeonggi Province south of Seoul on May 11 and 12.

May 8, 2012

Home-grown opera to highlight fest

By Do Je-hae The upcoming Korea Opera Festival will present home-grown works, alongside some of the world's best-loved masterpieces. In its third year, the month-long event will start on May 6 with a gala performance of popular duets and arias at the opera theater of the Seoul Arts Center. Participating companies include the state-funded Korea National Opera and four private opera companies _ New Seoul Opera Company, Grand Opera Company, Nuova Opera Company and Seoul Opera Company. They will present well-known works like "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," "La Traviata," "Tosca" and "Le Nozze Di Figaro." It remains to be seen how well these low-budgeted troupes will deal with the multi-task of presenting a proper opera performance, where the staging, singing and acting are delivered with equal proficiency. A key aim of the organizers is to increase the popularity of home-grown works, some of which will be presented by the Korea National Opera (KNO) to conclude the festival. The KNO will present 12 pieces it has created in the last 50 years to close the festival on June 7 and 8.

Apr 30, 2012By Do Je-hae

Gaga‘s tour playful but not shocking

By Kwaak Je-yup Thanks to the government’s controversial adult rating, Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” was expected to be substantially provocative. But nothing from the Friday evening seemed to justify the fuss. The 45,000-strong audience on the opening night of her world tour at the Seoul Olympic Stadium was treated to a highly entertaining show, with impressive singing and dancing as well as ample imagination applied to her costumes and set designs. The presentation was surprisingly demure, however, for a singer most famous for her ability to shock. It is unclear, therefore, whether she kept her promise to her Twitter followers that she would deliver “the tour of your life.” “I was told your government decided my shows should be 18 and over,” she said to a roaring crowd during her first on-stage break bteween numbers, “so I’ll make sure it will be.” But never mind the scenes of scantily-clad male dancers caressing each other and the singer grinding against a female dancer on a motorcycle. They did not feel sensual; the former, especially, seemed rather mechanical

Apr 29, 2012

Violinist Vengerov returns to Seoul

By Do Je-hae Maxim Vengerov has been more of a conductor in recent years, taking a break from the violin due to a shoulder injury in 2008. As the popular Russian virtuoso has not played here in eight years, his forthcoming recital in Seoul is a source of excitement for local violin fans. His performance on May 1 will be the highlight of the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music from April 30 through May 13, organizers said Friday. “Vengerov is ready to re-launch his solo career as he is on a smooth path to recovery. During the festival, the violinist will give a solo recital, besides participating in some chamber music performances,” Rose Kwon, the PR manager for the event’s organizing committee said in a statement. “Conducting has added new depth and sensitivity to his violin-playing.” The 37-year-old virtuoso will deliver a program of two sonatas by Handel and Beethoven, with a D minor Bach solo partita in between. This recital is expected to be a departure from the fiery Vengerov performance that fans are used to. His is known for a jaw-dropping technique a

Apr 27, 2012By Do Je-hae

Speak out, Lady!

Gaga concert restricted by age, only in Korea By Kwaak Je-yup That parental discretion is necessary for children’s choice of entertainment is accepted worldwide, with differences in the level of enforcement. On the Korean government’s controversial restriction of Lady Gaga’s upcoming Friday concert, however, entertainment industry insiders complain that non-local acts suffer from systematic discrimination under an outdated law. The superstar arrived in Seoul last Friday, and preparations for her concert are underway under a heavy shroud of secrecy at Seoul Olympic Stadium. The performance law, first written into the books in the 1960s, details that foreign artists and performances must obtain government approval. This regulation is optional for locals, who may ask for a review if they are concerned about content. No concert organizer or promoter would speak publicly about this unfair treatment openly, fearing direct or indirect retaliation, yet there is a wide consensus among them that Korea is out of step with the rest of the world in this regard. “Even Singap

Apr 23, 2012

‘Wicked‘ to turn Seoul green from May

By Kwon Mee-yoo The green magic of “Wicked” is coming to Korea at central Seoul’s Blue Square in May. Known for the catchphrase of "so much happened before Dorothy dropped in," "Wicked" is full of imagination and a twist on the classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" series, revolving around the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Wizard of Oz. The Australian production of “Wicked,” which successfully finished a three-year run in their country, kicked off an Asian tour in Singapore last December. Jemma Rix will play the role of Elphaba, or the Wicked Witch, and Suzie Mathers will play blonde counterpart Glinda. Nina Essman of 321 Management, general manager of “Wicked” worldwide, is the person who takes care of everything to stage the show and maintain the quality. Her company is responsible for making sure the show looks as good as it can. Theatergoers are fascinated by the acting, direction, choreography and music, but a musical also needs housekeeping and Essman knows how to do that. "We have a team of creative personnel and we m

Apr 18, 2012

Chung Kyung-wha to perform ‘Bible of violin‘

By Do Je-hae The biggest surprise of Chung Kyung-wha’s official return to the stage last December was that she would finally start preparations for recording J.S. Bach’s (1685-1750) sonatas and partitas for solo violin, called the “Bible of the Violin Repertory.” She will perform all of them for the first time in her career starting May 15, CMI, her agency, announced Wednesday. For 30 years, she recorded most of the major repertory for the violin and chamber music from Vivaldi to Prokofiev. But she has shunned recording Bach’s solo works, saying that she would wait until she was ready to take on the monumental challenge. “We are nearing an agreement with Universal Music to start the Bach project. The recitals will be an opportunity for audiences to get a taste of what her solo Bach will sound like ahead of the release of the recording,” CMI official Yoo Ji-in said. Chung will play the works on May 15, 22, 31 and June 4 at Myeongdong Cathedral. Very few violinists have recorded the whole set of the solo works by the Baroque master. Deutsche Grammophon, for example,

Apr 11, 2012By Do Je-hae

Seoul Olympic Stadium to host world‘s best DJs

By Kwaak Je-yup Four of the world’s best DJs are slated to spin beats in Seoul as part of a world-famous festival in August. Household names in electronic music such as Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Tiesto and Carl Cox have confirmed that they will headline the inaugural Seoul edition of the Ultra Music Festival (UMF), with the first two spinning on Aug. 3 and the other two on the following night. UMF is one of the world’s largest outdoors festivals specializing in electronic and dance music. It started 14 years ago in Miami and has graced Ibiza, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Warsaw before Korea’s capital city. “With the strongest EDM (electronic dance music) artists ever assembled in one place in Asia, UMF Korea is expected to be the biggest electronic dance music event ever in the history of the continent and the country,” said the organizers in a statement Monday. Just last month, the event in Florida attracted more than 200,000 people with an ear pleasing line-up of Tiesto, Kraftwerk, Justice, Avicii, David Guetta, Armin van Buren, Skrillex and more. Even Madonna made a surp

Apr 10, 2012

Korea Foundation to presents Music from Norway

By Kim Bo-eun The Korea Foundation is hosting its annual spring concert, on the theme of Norwegian lyricism. Norwegian violinist Stephan Barratt-Due and violist Chung Soon-mi, playing with celebrated Korean pianist Park Chong, will fill the performance with the sounds of spring. The concert will be held on April 17, at 8 p.m., at the LG Art Center, and is sponsored by the Korea Foundation. Barratt-Due is a world-renowned conductor and violinist, as well as the director of the Barratt-Due Institute of Music, the most prestigious music institute in Norway. Chung is a reputed violist and also Barratt-Due’s lifetime and musical companion. With the much loved Korea pianist Park, the trio will create a harmonious performance, which blends the sentiments of both cultures. The three performers will play pieces by Norway’s most renowned composers such as Grieg, Halvorsen, and modern composer Nordheim. Reservations can be made on the Korea Foundation website at www.kf.or.kr. For more information, call 02) 2151-6520/13. Kim Bo-eun writer is an intern for The Korea Times.

Apr 9, 2012

Mraz to perform in Korea

By Kim Bo-eun Jason Mraz, American singer-songwriter, will visit Korea in June as part of his “Tour is a Four Letter Word” 2012 World Tour around 56 cities. The Grammy Award winner best known for his song “I’m Yours” will perform at the Busan Exhibition Center on June 8 and at the Rainbow Island 2012, a music festival, in Nami Island, northeast of Seoul, on June 9 and 10. The performances will not only feature his hit tracks, but also numbers from his latest album “Love is a Four Letter Word” which is set to be released this month. The single “I Won’t Give Up,” which was released as a sneak peek, has already topped various charts including the Billboard Digital Song Chart. Mraz debuted in 2002 as a singer-songwriter and holds the record of the longest stay on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart; “I’m Yours” remained on the list for 76 weeks. Ticket prices range from 88,000 won to 165,000 won and reservations start today. For more information on either performance, call Interpark (1544-1555).

Apr 8, 2012

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