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Arts & Theater

Musical Hero Heightens Expectation

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The much-anticipated musical ``Hero,'' which deals with the life of Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, has unveiled its lineup two months before its premiere. The musical was designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ahn's assassination of Japan's first Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi on a railway platform in Harbin, Manchuria, on Oct. 26, 1909. ``I have tried to portray the national hero as a human being in this musical. I hope this musical will contribute to the commemoration of his achievement in line with the centennial anniversary,'' said Yun Ho-jin, the show's director, at a showcase for the musical on Monday evening. The epic is produced by Acom International and directed by Yun, who is renowned for ``The Last Empress'' and head of the company. It casts Ryu Jung-han, Jung Sung-hwa, Kim Sun-young and Sonya. ``It is my first home-grown musical since I have been in foreign-licensed musicals. But this musical is better prepared than any others,'' said Ryu. Ryu, who will take the role of Ahn, has starred in ``Jekyll

Sep 1, 2009

Brad Little Steals Limelight on Jekyll Stage

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The Broadway musical ``Jekyll and Hyde’’ is undoubtedly a longtime proven quality show with a local casting of musical star Cho Seung-woo. But this time, a world touring troupe brought the original version to the stage for the first time in Korea with a star-filled cast featuring the internationally renowned singer and performer Brad Little. Based on the novel ``The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’’ by Robert Louis Stevenson, with music composed by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics written by Leslie Bricusse, the musical opened at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Friday. The theater was packed with musical buffs who were eager to see musical heartthrob Little, known for his turn as the Phantom in ``The Phantom of the Opera.’’ As his fans expected, Little showed the ``art of the actor’’ in performing the characters ― both the good and the evil. Little, who has a strong fan base in Korea, captured the sensitive side of both Jekyll and Hyde. In the story set in 1885 in London, Dr. Jekyll, a brilliant doctor, tries to

Aug 31, 2009

Explore Passion with Fever Tango

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Unexpected opportunities can be a thrill, and for tango expert Kong Myung-kyu, his experience with Tango became a life-changing one. The 49-year-old tango ``maestro'' came to Korea to stage his masterpiece ``Fever Tango'' next month in Seoul, and although he looked tired from his numerous interviews with the media, his eyes twinkled as he talked about the upcoming event with The Korea Times in southern Seoul, Tuesday. ``I visited Argentina in 1980 as a taekwondo master. Because I was an Asian, I had to mingle with others in a more active way, and that was when I finally started to learn the tango,'' he said. Tango, among many other dances, was considered too sexy for the general public to enjoy during that time in Korea, and it was natural for Kong to have the same impression. But he quickly realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn the ``fascinating'' dance from professionals. ``When I first started, I practiced walking for six months, which is the most important basic. Tango is actually similar to taekwondo as you

Aug 30, 2009

Art Fair Promotes Prints, Photography

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Print and photography are often overlooked in the Korean contemporary art scene. The upcoming Seoul International Print Photo Art Fair (SIPA 2009) hopes to shine the spotlight on print and photography, especially works by Korean artists. The SIPA opens Sept. 12 and will run through Sept. 16 at the Hangaram Design Museum, Hangaram Museum and V Gallery, Seoul Arts Center. Hwang Dal-seung, chairman of the Korea Print Photography Promotion Association, said this year's art fair will tackle the issue of technical replication in the print and photography genre. ``What is the meaning of the value of the arts that exist not as one pure original but as many?" he said. ``Thus what is the genre for the arts that are classified as an edition? SIPA2009, now holding its 5th event, is opening an exhibition of print and photography with the idea of reproduction or multiple editions as its superior concept. The print genre is the first medium to make technical reproduction possible and because of this, diverse images and graphic products have

Aug 28, 2009

Clubs, Art Exhibitions & Sports Games

Clubs The Circle Cheongdam-dong Located in the upscale Cheongdam-dong neighborhood, it's notorious for turning you down unless you're dressed chic and sleek. Faithful to its name, it has a round revolving floor - looking for your "lost" table gives clubbers the perfect excuse to sit down with a sexy stranger. Located on Dosan-daero near Hak-dong intersection. Call (02) 546-5933 or visit www.thecircle.co.kr. Club Answer Cheongdam-dong With giant chandeliers and digital images of famous paintings, it's like an ultra luxurious version of a typical Hongdae club. It offers an intimate partying environment with groovy electronic music by star DJs. You can reserve tables and the ones on the second floor provide an open view of the dance floor. Located in Cheongdam-dong across the street from Prima Hotel, near the entrance of Yeongdong-daegyo. Call (02) 548-7115 or visit www.clubanswer.co.kr. Underlounge Seoul Hongdae or Hongik University Area This is the local club of a hip Japanese chain that's also to be found in Shanghai. Located in the famous clubbing a

Aug 27, 2009

Concerts, Museums & Theater

Classical Concerts KBS Symphony Orchestra Concert Concert Hall of Seoul Arts Center Through Aug. 28 The KBS Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Hubert Soudant, holds a concert with violinist Vadim Gluzman. They will perform Brahms' "Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica." Tickets cost from 20,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit kbsso.kbs.co.kr or call (02) 781-2252~5. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Cellist Yang Sung-won's 'Schubert Project' LG Art Center Sept. 27 Teamed up with French colleagues violinist Olivier Charlier and pianist Emmanuel Strosser, cellist Yang Sung-won will present Schubert's two great piano trios, D. 898 & D. 929, Sonata "Arpeggione," and violin sonata "Grand Duo." Tickets cost from 30,000 to 60,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 2005-0114. Located near exit 7 of Yeoksam Station on subway line 2. Opera Gala Concert 'Turandot' The National Theater of Korea Sept. 25-26 One of Puccini's classics

Aug 27, 2009

Seoul Performing Arts Festival Beckons Theatergoers

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) 2009 will feature about 40 performances from 12 nations: Russia, Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Canada, Australia, Japan, China and Korea. The 40-day festival from Oct. 13 to Nov. 21 will take place at the Arko Arts Theater, Daehangno Arts Theater, Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Myeongdong Theater and Namsan Arts Center. Under the theme of “Analog & Digilog,” the ninth festival will highlight the fundamental elements of performing arts ― the past, the present and the future. “Many people think (performing) arts are far from technology,” said Kim Chul-lee, artistic director of the SPAF, in a press conference. “But leading artists have adopted the technology of the time on stage. Performing arts have always interacted with the state-of-the-art technology. But I want to emphasize although digital technology develops, human beings are central in any kind of stage performances. So we chose the theme as ‘Analog & Digilog,’ which puts much emphasis

Aug 26, 2009

American Artist Stewart Shows The Hard Way

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter In today's world, it's hard to imagine what life was like without computers, the Internet, cell phones and other technologies that make everyday life so much easier. American artist Mike Stewart has always thought about what life would be like in a world without technology. It is human nature to look for the easiest way to do things, but he wanted to explore what would happen if everyone had to go back to doing things the hard way. His original concept has evolved into a new series of prints that delve into a world in which the government forces people to do everything in a difficult way. Around 18 new prints will be displayed at Stewart's ``The Hard Way'' solo exhibition at the Sun Baba Ra Gallery, which opens Sept. 1. ``It's sort of an imaginary world where there are no convenient things, where there is no technology, or technology has been abandoned or refused. In the past, I did some installation work on that topic, showing examples of the world without technology. This new exhibition is about the government machine pus

Aug 26, 2009

French Jazz Pianist Bolling to Perform in September

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Acclaimed French jazz pianist Claude Bolling will be performing at the Guro Arts Valley Theater, Guro on Sept. 18. Bolling, who is also a composer and conductor, will be accompanied by a seven-member jazz band for his September concert. Bolling is considered by some as the creator of ``crossover music,'' after he and Jean-Pierre Rampal released the groundbreaking ``Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio'' album in 1976. His idea of combining jazz with classical music proved to be a success, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for a phenomenal 10 years. Born in Cannes in 1930, Bolling studied at the Nice Conservatory and later transferred to Paris. He was considered a child prodigy, and he was already playing jazz piano professionally by the age of 14. He performed with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge and Kenny Clarke. Bolling is also known for his musical compositions for more than a hundred films. He composed the score for a documentary about the Cannes Film Festival in 1957, as well as the films ``Bors

Aug 25, 2009

French Musical Stars on Stage

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Eight French musical actors will present memorable musical numbers at a concert in Seoul, two years after they performed together in 2007. This year's concert has a new line-up consisting of eight actors ― Matt Laurent (Quasimodo), Richard Charest (Gringoire), Roddy Julienne (Clopin), Nadia Bel (Esmeralda) from ``Notre Dame de Paris'' and Sergio Moschetto (Moses) and Ahmed Mouici (Ramses) and Lidia Malgieri (Bithia) from ``Les Dix Commandements'' and Jean Francois Breau (Don Juan) from ``Don Juan.'' They will sing songs such as ``Le Temps Des Cathedrales,'' ``Bohemienne,'' ``Du Plaisir,'' ``Aimer'' and ``Il S'Appellera Moise'' which were featured in top French musicals ``Notre Dame de Paris,'' ``Les Dix'' and ``Don Juan.'' They will also showcase the musical numbers of ``Le Roi Soleil,'' a successful French musical about the life of Louis XIV, for the first time to a Korean audience. ``Notre Dame de Paris,'' based on Victor Hugo's work and directed by Gilles Maheu, is a representative French musical, which premiered in Paris in 1998

Aug 25, 2009
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