Weekender East meets West like never before
Artistic links between Asia and Europe span back across centuries -- Debussy, Mahler, Messiaen and Schumann were each inspired by Asian sounds and colors, while Unsuk Chin contributes to the contemporary classical repertoire with works featuring the ‘sheng’ and cello.
By Lee Hyo-won
French composer Claude Debussy found inspiration in the Javanese Gamelan during the Romantic period while “gayageum” (12-string zither) maestro Hwang Byung-ki contributed to 20th-century discourse on John Cage.
East-West artistic exchange has been occurring for centuries but international artistic collaborations are becoming more dynamic in this digital age, setting the stage for cross-cultural dialogue and, moreover, creative energy.
A German record label recently signed the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra to an unprecedented long-term contract, and this summer the ensemble will take center stage in Scotland with two other local troupes.
But of course the relationship is a bilateral one, and opera fans will soon be able to enjoy the Asian premiere of a contemporary French masterpiece in Seoul.
Exporting talent to Scotland
This summer the Edinburgh International Festival will spotlight Asia’s vibrant culture, and will feature a strong lineup of Korean artists.
“Korea is the country with the largest contribution to the festival this year,” Jackie Westbrook, marketing and communications director of the Scottish festival, told reporters in Seoul, Wednesday.
The festival has invited three Korean troupes to perform during the three-week event to be held from Aug. 12 to Sept. 4.
Iconic theater director Oh Tae-suk will see the European premiere of “The Tempest,” which re-imagines the Shakespearean classic in a 5th-century Korean setting for the Mokhwa Repertory Company.
Choreographer Ahn Eun-mee and her company will present “Princess Bari,” a colorful retelling of the ancient legend, while the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will make its U.K. debut through the festival.
This is the first time that Korean troupes will be featuring in the invitation-only program. In the past, leading individual local artists have had the chance to perform in the prestigious event, such as traditional dancer Ahn Sook-seon in 2008. Jump and Nanta also received favorable reviews but performed as part of the fringe, which is held in conjunction with the festival.
“The Edinburgh International Festival is curated. Every company is there at the invitation of the director. It’s his taste, his decision,” said Westbrook about festival director Jonathan Mills. While the strong presence of Korean troupes may be attributed to the 2011 edition’s thematic focus on Asia, she explained, it is a more important part of the Mills’ plans to diversify the event.
“The reason why there are so many from Korea is because of relationships. (Mr. Mills) has been talking to artists up to two years ago,” she said. Mills asked Ahn to take part in the festival after watching “Princess Bari” in Germany in 2009.
“It was so difficult for me to keep quiet about being invited for two years,” said Ahn. She said her story, which is based on an ancient Korean legend, celebrates the human capacity to forgive and sacrifice without bloody revenge — “It’s one of the most beautiful Korean values, and resonates strongly with the type of life we lead as artists.”
The choreographer also experimented with style and structure and fused “jeongga” and “pansori,” two very different vocal art forms, in an unprecedented way. “I hope audiences, many of whom might be experiencing Asian art for the first time, will be able to feel this unique Korean energy,” she said.
Meanwhile, Oh earned critical acclaim in London by retelling “Romeo and Juliet” in an ancient Korean village in 2006. When Mills asked him to create something new, the thespian chose another Shakespearean piece, “The Tempest.” The festival director attended the Seoul showcase last September and asked Oh to bring his piece to Edinburgh.
“I thought Shakespeare would be a great means of introducing our folk traditions. I hope the audience and actors will be able to breathe together, with viewers taking a proactive part in the performance and fill in the missing links of the story. I hope it will be a new way to experience Shakespeare,” he said.
The festival will feature other Asian spinoffs of Shakespeare, including Shanghai Peking Opera’s new take on “Hamlet” and the Contemporary Legend Theatre of Taipei’s adaption of “King Lear.”
Oh will also give a master class for young actors during the festival. He and Ahn will also take part in a series of debates and talks titled “Continental Shifts.”
Meanwhile, the Chung Myung-whun-led Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will realize part of its goal to branch out internationally through the festival.
“A year-and-a-half ago, Mr. Mills mentioned having the orchestra in Edinburgh but I was doubtful about whether we’d sell in Europe,” said the orchestra’s CEO Kim Ju-ho. “About seven months after our talk, our ensemble had a successful tour across Europe. This comes to show that festivals like Edinburgh act like an antenna for the arts scene, as it spots and sets trends.”
The orchestra’s first recording under Deustche Grammophon will be available by the festival date, said Kim. During the event, the orchestra will present an eclectic program including Unsuk Chin’s “Su,” which features a “sheng” (17-pipe Chinese mouth organ) solo.
Another piece by the Korean composer, “Fantaisie Mecanique,” will be performed by Soloists of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal.
Other Korean artists taking the stage include soprano Inn Sun-hae, who will take the role of Eurilla in Haydn’s opera “Olrando Paladino.” Soprano Suh Ye-ree will also make an appearance, with musicians from the Bramberg Symphony Orchestra for a chamber performance of Mahler’s 4th Symphony.
“Art is a critical part of the relationship between Korea and the United Kingdom, and it’s also a great recognition of Korea’s creative talent,” said Roland Davies, director of the British Council in Seoul.
The festival will present various dance, theater and music pieces by artists from China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam as well as Belgium, the United Kingdom, Russia and North American and pan-Arab countries. Visit www.eif.co.uk for more information.
Importing art from France
Forget Lulu’s bloody femme fatale schemes — the Carmelites nuns will shock opera fans to the core as 14 guillotine chops morph into a chilling operatic score.
In May, the Korea National Opera will stage Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” in Seoul. The Franco-Korean production will mark the Asian premiere of the 1957 opera. The project, which is supported by the French Culture Ministry, has attracted the attention of the European press, including Opera Magazine and Le Monde.
“The development of Korea’s opera scene in recent years is extraordinary, while the success of Korean opera singers on the world stage is also impressive. We also thought highly of the Korea National Opera’s focus on contemporary works,” said Pascal Juste of the French Cultural Center in Seoul, Tuesday.
Top performers from both countries will gather for the occasion.
Sopranos Annick Massis and Park Hyeon-ju will share the lead role of the young Blanche, who abandons her aristocratic roots to enter the Carmelites convent. But the onset of the French Revolution endangers the convent, and Blanche undergoes the classic Shakespearean dilemma of “to be or not to be.” She eventually meets a tragic finale at the guillotine along with the other nuns.
“It’s a very powerful, passionate piece of work... It captures a very distinct French spirit but it also provides a universal panorama of the human soul, making it one of the masterpieces of the 20th century,” said Stanislas Nordey, who will direct the production.
“Because I try to draw from the singers’ personalities in expressing characters, I expect the production to have a distinct Korean character.”
Conductor Daniel Kawka, who visited Korea three years ago to showcase works by Korean contemporary composers, said it was a great pleasure to introduce a piece by a French counterpart here. “It’s an exciting intercultural project. I’m very impressed by the orchestra’s comprehension of the music,” he said about conducting the Korean Symphony Orchestra.
“This complex, tragic drama is expressed in a harmonious combination of simple musical lines and the peculiarities of the French language,” said Massis. And so, Korean vocalists are practicing their pronunciation. “French has a lot of sounds that do not exist in Korean, which adds to the difficulty. But it’s a beautiful project that will heighten exchanges between Korea and France,” said music coach Antoine Palloc.
“Dialogues of the Carmelites” will be staged from May 5 to 8 at Seoul Arts Center. Tickets cost from 10,000 to 150,000 won. For more information, call (02) 586-5282.
