Includes 2 Korean Songs "Feeling a Sense of Responsibility as a Korean"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The heroine of the opera The Barber of Seville, Rosina, is a young and beautiful lady. Bartolo, an elderly count who is Rosina's guardian, tries to confine her and marry her. With the help of the barber Figaro, Rosina outwits Bartolo and marries the young Count Almaviva.
Soprano Park Hye-sang gained attention last year when she performed the role of Rosina at the Glyndebourne Festival, an opera festival in the UK. Clemens Trottmann, president of Deutsche Grammophon (DG), the world's most prestigious classical music label, praised Park Hye-sang highly, saying that the opera was among the top three most memorable operas for him. He also asked, "What should the next CD be?"
Thus, Park Hye-sang signed an exclusive contract with DG last May and released her DG debut album in June. At a press conference held at Oddport on the 10th, Park expressed her joy, saying, "Signing with DG was something I never even imagined."
"It was an unfamiliar and awkward journey, but through the DG debut album, it became an opportunity for me to develop and grow a lot. I think it will continue to be that way, so I am very excited. I consider it a great honor. I will do my best to fulfill the given mission well."
Park Hye-sang said she agonized over the selection of repertoire to the extent of revising it more than ten times for her debut album, including many soubrette arias. A soubrette is a soprano who plays the role of a cute and lively young lady or a witty maid in opera.
"I like soubrette roles. They also have hardships in life to overcome, but they never forget cheerfulness and joy. I think that part is very similar to me. No matter how great something is, if you don't want it, you are not happy. I believe the happiness of getting what you want, even if modest, is indescribable. Rosina is a character who knows how great the happiness from small and simple things is, so she is a character I really want to resemble. Although everyone is struggling due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), I hope people do not forget joy."
The debut album also includes two Korean songs. One is "Like the Wind Meeting the Lotus," composed by Kim Joo-won to a poem by Seo Jeong-ju, and the other is "Psalm 23," composed by Na Un-young.
"As a Korean, I felt a sense of responsibility and wanted to promote Korean composers and culture. Above all, I think singing Korean art songs shows my most authentic self. Korean art songs may be unfamiliar at DG, but I had a spirit of challenge to break down that barrier. When I sing Korean songs, foreigners like them a lot. They seem to find them new and fresh. I have sung Korean art songs at every recital and tried to promote them, but I felt I should sing them even more."
Park Hye-sang will hold a concert commemorating the release of her DG debut album on the 20th at Lotte Concert Hall. She said, "I chose the repertoire according to the COVID-19 situation," and added, "I will sing songs that give hope and songs that accept sorrow as reality and overcome it."
Park said, "It is true that being recently in the spotlight feels very awkward and burdensome. But if such a situation is given to me, I think I must accept it with responsibility. I will keep thinking about what I should do and what meaningful things I can do. I will work hard so that being in the spotlight is not shameful."
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