Korea National Opera

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Seoul Arts Center , venue of the KNO

The Korea National Opera (KNO) in Seoul was founded in 1962 and 2000 respectively.

It is an independent opera company that mainly presents works from the classical repertoire of the West, but also works by Korean composers.

Most of the performances are currently taking place at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu , a district in the south of Seoul. An average of six works are presented in one season. There is also a gala and a best-of production,

Opera in Korea

The Koreans' fascination with Western music has its origins in the 18th century, when the Korean philosopher Bak Ji-won described Western music and the organ instrument in his diary from Jehol , the summer residence of the Manchu emperors . Unlike in China and Japan, Western music, especially vocal music, was introduced in Korea primarily through Christian missionary work. After the country opened up, numerous mission schools were set up where music lessons were given. In 1919 there were 1,195 of these schools.

The first opera performance in Korea was in Seoul in January 1948, Chun Hee [La traviata] by Giuseppe Verdi , sung in Korean , performed exclusively with local artists from the Kukje Opera Company at the Sigongkwan Theater, now the Myeongdong Theater in central Seoul. The producer of the performance series, the five performances of which were sold out, was the tenor Lee In-seon , who had trained in Italy and was now singing Alfredo. Kim Ja-kyung and Ma Geum-hee alternated as Violetta. The producer miscalculated, however, and offered the tickets at too low a price. As a result, he had to sell his house and piano.

From 1962, a department of the Korean National Theater in Seoul regularly organized opera performances. In 2000 this department became an independent institution, the KNO. In 2009 the Conservative government under Prime Minister Lee Myung-bak caused a scandal by canceling the subsidies for the KNO choir, pointing out the costs. Ten years later, this decision was heavily criticized by those affected and the press.

Korean artists have been guesting at major opera houses around the world or are part of their ensembles since the 1980s. They include the pianist and conductor Chung Myung-whun , the coloratura sopranos Ha Young Lee (Hamburg) and Eun Yee You (Leipzig) or the bass-baritone Kwangchul Youn and the tenor Yonghoon Lee en , who are in the French version of Don Carlos at the Wiener State Opera father and son portrayed.

Seoul Arts Center

The Seoul Arts Center (예술 의 전당, SAC) is located in Seocho-gu , a southern district of Seoul. It was built in 1988 and consists of five main buildings - the opera (with three halls), the concert hall (with two halls) and three museums (for visual arts, design and calligraphy). The opera house architecturally reflects the shape of a traditional Korean bamboo hat. In addition to the opera, the SAC also houses the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the Korean National Ballet and the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, as well as the Korean National Choir.

  • Main entrance
  • foyer
  • Open spaces
  • Fountain
  • Chandelier

game schedule

The repertoire of the Korea National Opera is similar to that of a medium-sized German city theater. Above all, the popular works by Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Tchaikovsky, Beethoven's Fidelio and the front runners of French opera, Carmen , Hoffmann's stories and Massenet's Manon are scheduled . In addition, the management tries to get first and world premieres of works by Korean composers. For example, the work Soul Mate by en: Lim Jun-hee (premiered in 2006 under the title Wedding Day at the Frankfurt Opera ) was on the program of the KNO for years. It is based on a play by the poet Oh Young-jin (1916–1974) and tells the comedic story of a traditional Korean wedding. With this production, the KNO also made a guest appearance in Singapore. The world premiere of The Red Shoes by the composer Yie Eun Chun was scheduled for 2020 , based on Hans Christian Andersen 's fairy tale of the same name.

Web links

Commons : Seoul Arts Center  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hio-Jin Kim : Korean and Western Music Education , Historical Reconstruction - Comparison - Perspectives, T% ectum 2000, 105
  2. ^ Christian Utz : New Music and Interculturality: from John Cage to Tan Dun , Franz Steiner Verlag 2002, 218
  3. ↑ Korea JoongAng Daily : Korean opera finds itself at a crossroads , April 10, 2018
  4. ↑ International Federation of Musicians : Members of Korea's National Opera Choir must be reinstated! , April 13, 2019
  5. ↑ Jonathan Gilbert (Ed.): Michelin Green Guide South Korea , London: Michelin Apa Publications 2012
  6. ↑ Korea.net: Korea - Singapore, 'Soul Mate' , October 23, 2014
  7. ↑ KNO: * World Premiere * Korean Original Opera: Red Shoes , accessed March 30, 2020

Coordinates: 37 ° 33 ′ 8.9 ″  N , 126 ° 59 ′ 59.1 ″  E