Complex life of Napoleon turned into musical
A poster for Korean production of the musical "Napoleon" / Courtesy of Show Media Group
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Director Richard Ouzounian / Yonhap
The turbulent life of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first emperor of France, will be staged as a musical this summer at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul.
"Napoleon," a musical by composer Timothy Williams and bookwriter Andrew Sabiston, premiered in Canada in 1994. It was reimagined in 2009 in London and in 2015 in New York. Richard Ouzounian, who helmed the new productions, will lead the Korean premiere of the musical.
Park Young-seok, the Korean producer of the show, said it took a while for the show to arrive in Korea and it will be a whole new spectacle.
The musical portrays Napoleon's multi-faceted character ― a man of strategy and an eloquent military orator ― in relation with his wife Josephine de Beauharnais and politician and adviser Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who assisted Napoleon’s rise to power.
“I feel he is a perfect choice for a musical because in his lifetime he created many emotions in people _ he was admired, feared, revered and loved. These are all the kinds of emotions you feel when you go to musicals,” Ouzounian said at a press conference Tuesday.
“We do not deny the negative sides of Napoleon. There are times he was a cruel dictator, exiled his brother for a disagreement and divorced his wife when she was not able to produce an heir. He is not any kind of Saint. However, people love him and even admire him.”
To help audiences sympathize with the character better, the show begins with how Napoleon grew up in a corrupt society and equips him with the devious counselor Talleyrand.
“The figure of Talleyrand is the third important character in the show, following Napoleon and Josephine. He is a man who never has real power himself. However, he acquires a sort of power helping people rise to power when he wants them to,” Ouzounian explained. “How Napoleon’s rise and fall is not all engineered by himself, but has been designed to a certain degree by Talleyrand is an interesting plot. Napoleon is not a hero or a villain, but a combination of both.”
The Korean production is based on the original script and music, but character description, sets, costumes and choreography are all renewed by a Korean creative team. Ouzounian directs the show for the third time and said this is a totally new version with musical numbers, scenes and dialogue never seen or heard on stage before.
In the first act, the innocent side of Napoleon will be emphasized and he will take a sharp turn after his coronation, which will reenact Jacques-Louis David’s 1807 painting “The Coronation of Napoleon” on stage.
In the Korean production, three actors Michael K. Lee, Im Tae-kyung and Han Ji-sang alternate the titular role. Director Ouzounian spoke highly of this unique Korean casting system.
“The greatest joy and challenge of this production is that I have three brilliant Napoleons. We all work together to achieve a series of interpretations,” the director said. “They all say the same words, sing the same songs and even largely do the same movements, but each one is absolutely different.”
Ouzounian described each Napoleon as “One is a creature of emotional passion, one is a man who has many problems working in his mind and one is going through a spiritual struggle of Napoleon’s life,” but refused to label the descriptions, asking the audiences to find the answer at the theater.
Napoleon’s wife Josephine is played by Jeong Sun-ah, Park Hye-na and Hong Seo-young; Talleyrand by Kim Su-yong, Jung Sang-yoon and Kang Hong-suk; Napoleon’s brother Lucien by Baek Hyeong-hun, Jin Tae-hwa, Lee Chang-sub of BTOB and Jung Dae-hyun of B.A.P.
“Napoleon” opens on July 15 and runs through Oct. 22. Tickets cost from 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call 02-549-9550.