Naver TV 'Gangdong Cultural Foundation' Channel Online Live Broadcast...Open to All Viewers...July 2 Grand Opera Gala Show, 4 The Barber of Seville, 11 Madama Butterfly, etc.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The ‘2020 Seoul Opera Festival’ will be held as an ‘online performance’ from July 2 to 11.
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) announced that the ‘Seoul Opera Festival,’ now in its 5th year, will open its doors online and be broadcast live through the Naver TV ‘Gangdong Cultural Foundation’ channel, as it has become difficult to meet audiences due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
The ‘2020 Seoul Opera Festival’ is jointly hosted by the Gangdong Cultural Foundation (CEO Lee Je-hoon) and Noble Art Opera Company (Director Shin Seon-seop), with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service.
The festival features a variety of stages where audiences can enjoy operas that are usually considered difficult, including the opening concert ‘Grand Opera Gala Show,’ the greatest masterpiece of comic opera ‘The Barber of Seville,’ and ‘Madama Butterfly,’ the 2019 Korea Opera Awards winner.
The festival begins on July 2 at 7:30 PM with the ‘Grand Opera Gala Show.’ Held as part of Gangdong Cultural Foundation’s regular program ‘Thursday Art Stage,’ it is titled ‘Opera for Everyone’ and filled with familiar arias and ensembles from operas such as ‘The Magic Flute,’ ‘La Boh?me,’ ‘Carmen,’ ‘Rigoletto,’ and ‘La Traviata.’ The Korea Coop Orchestra, conducted by Seong Gi-seon, will perform, and eight top-class vocalists including sopranos Kim Seong-eun, Kim Su-yeon, Kim Soon-young, tenor Shin Sang-geun, and baritone Lee Dong-hwan will take the stage.
On July 4 at 5 PM, Rossini’s representative work ‘The Barber of Seville’ will meet the audience. This world-loved romantic comedy opera will be performed in a concertante style focusing on arias and orchestral music without stage sets. The story depicts how the beautiful Rosina and Count Almaviva confirm their love with the help of the versatile Figaro, despite all the obstacles from Dr. Bartolo. Directed delicately by Kim Sook-young, with the New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yang Jin-mo, the performance features baritone Kim Jong-pyo as Figaro, soprano Jang Yu-ri as Rosina, and tenor Jeong Je-yoon as Count Almaviva, delivering a highly complete stage.
The finale on July 11 at 5 PM is the opera concertante ‘Madama Butterfly.’ Puccini’s work tells the tragic love story of a woman who falls in love with a soldier stationed in Japan. Noble Art Opera Company’s ‘Madama Butterfly,’ winner of the 12th Korea Opera Awards, captivates the audience with emotional and rich music and direction. The New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jang Yoon-sung, accompanies soprano Han Ji-hye, former principal singer of the Vienna Volksoper, as Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly), and tenor Shin Sang-geun, a principal singer at the Metropolitan Opera, as the soldier Pinkerton.
A representative of the Gangdong Cultural Foundation stated, “In accordance with COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, we have temporarily suspended planned performances and will resume operations through no-audience live broadcasts. We hope the ‘2020 Seoul Opera Festival’ will provide an opportunity for citizens tired of staying at home to enjoy the true essence of opera.”
This performance can be viewed by anyone, anywhere through devices such as PC, mobile, and tablets on the online Naver TV ‘Gangdong Cultural Foundation’ channel. Subscribing to the channel also allows viewers to receive alert notifications before the live broadcast.
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