Busan Citizens Hall Returns to the People After One Year

Grand Theater Remodeling Reopens in 3 Days... 'Beethoven' Citizens' Hope Concert Commemorative Performance
Busan Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Choir, and Gugak Orchestra All Take the Stage

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan Citizens Hall is waking up from a year-long slumber and stretching wide.

Busan City and Busan Cultural Center will hold the reopening commemorative performance of the Busan Citizens Hall Grand Theater, "Busan Running Again, Citizens' Hope Concert," on the 3rd at Busan Citizens Hall. Under the subtitle "Beethoven: The Giant in Fate, Singing Hope," Beethoven's music will be performed on stage.

This is the reopening commemorative performance of the grand theater, newly opened after one year of remodeling. Representative orchestras of Busan, including the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Busan City Choir, and Busan Traditional Korean Orchestra, will all participate.

Marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth this year, the grand and powerful melodies of Beethoven are expected to deliver messages of hope and joy to citizens exhausted by COVID-19.

The performance program mainly features Beethoven's works that sing the will to overcome fate and the joy of life through music despite the hardships and misfortunes of losing hearing.

The Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Artistic Director Choi Soo-yeol, will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 "Fate," and the Busan City Choir and Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Artistic Director Lee Ki-seon, will present the "Choral Fantasy" in collaboration with pianist Yoo Ji-soo.

The final stage will be performed by the Busan Traditional Korean Orchestra, featuring spirited taepyeongso playing and pungmulnori, wishing for the development of the Citizens Hall reopening and creating a joyful scene of great harmony among citizens.

Local medical staff, quarantine officials, volunteers, donors, and local merchants who devoted themselves to citizens' safety and health on the front lines of overcoming COVID-19 were invited to this performance.

Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, said, "We have prepared a meaningful occasion to gather those who have done their best in various fields to overcome COVID-19. I hope the powerful melodies and hopeful messages of Beethoven will bring healing."

Opened in 1973, Busan Citizens Hall was Korea's first public professional performance hall and attracted great attention as a large-scale venue during a time when cultural infrastructure was severely lacking. It has been a space that never saw a lack of visitors over the past half-century, hosting various national holidays, the Asia Film Festival, and the International Skills Olympics, among other multi-purpose uses.

Due to aging facilities, extensive remodeling began in June last year, and after one year, it has reopened to meet citizens with a new look.

To improve stage facilities, the demands of actual users such as performing artists and stage workers were reflected, and a state-of-the-art digital system was introduced. This enables the realization of various directing effects. The grand theater lobby, which had been criticized for being cramped and inconvenient, was also renovated with an expanded ticket desk and newly refurbished rest areas, creating a more convenient and comfortable viewing environment.