[On Stage] 'Masulpiri' Kim Geon-woo... Like Prince Tamino Embarking on an Adventure

Tenor Kim Geon-woo, Prince on a Quest to Rescue Princess Pamina
"I Hate Being a Frog in a Well" Chooses 'Free Declaration' Adventure Over Stability
Royal Opera Young Artist & Operalia Competition Winner

Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute, can be summarized as the story of Prince Tamino embarking on an adventure to rescue Princess Pamina. Tenor Kim Geon-woo, who plays Prince Tamino in the Seoul Opera Company's production of The Magic Flute at the Sejong Center from March 30 to April 2, also chose adventure about three years ago in search of something important in life.

In July 2019, Kim Geon-woo completed a two-year Jette Parker Young Artists Program at the Royal Opera House in the UK. Although he could have lived a stable life as a singer affiliated with a European opera house, he declared himself a freelancer and chose adventure. Like Prince Tamino in The Magic Flute, hardships came when he set out on his adventure. Before spring fully ripened the following year, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. After three years of the pandemic, Kim Geon-woo is now facing his practical "first spring" as a professional opera singer.

The Magic Flute is one of the operas he has performed in most frequently, but this stage brings many new experiences as if it were his first spring. Typically, operas are performed in their original language, but the Seoul Opera Company will perform the dialogues in Korean instead of German in this production. For Kim Geon-woo, who is accustomed to singing arias and speaking dialogues in German, this is an unfamiliar experience. "It was very fascinating because it was my first time performing the dialogues in Korean. I wondered if it would be okay, but after the first rehearsal, I felt it was really going to be great."

Tenor Kim Geon-woo, who played the role of Prince Tamino in the Seoul Opera Company's production of "The Magic Flute"
[Photo provided by Seoul Opera Company]

Preparing for the performance while communicating in Korean is also an unfamiliar experience. "Preparing the stage using my mother tongue feels very different. It feels emotionally very close. No matter how well you speak a foreign language during overseas performances, there are limits to communication. Many people in this production are meeting for the first time, but they welcomed me warmly, so I feel very comfortable. It is impossible to have this feeling abroad. When I first arrive at a rehearsal abroad, people look at me with suspicion, thinking 'Let's see how good you are' or 'Who are you to be the lead?' I have to perform well to gain their support. Here, that is not necessary. Because they welcome me warmly, the pressure is reduced, and even though not much time has passed, I feel like a colleague."

It has been about five years since Kim Geon-woo last appeared on an official opera stage in Korea. At that time, he played the lead role of Nemorino in the outdoor opera L'elisir d'amore at the Mapo Cultural Foundation's M-PAT Classic Music Festival. As he returns to the homeland stage after a long time, his determination is special. He plans to fully showcase the skills he has honed on European stages.

Although Kim Geon-woo faced the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after declaring himself a freelancer, he said he was relatively lucky. He was able to seize an opportunity to perform on stage within a relatively short period after the pandemic. "Some colleagues rested for as long as a year and a half, but I rested for about five months." His first stage after the COVID-19 pandemic was in Sweden, Northern Europe. While theaters across Europe were closed, Sweden attracted global attention by emphasizing personal responsibility and autonomy during the pandemic and implementing minimal quarantine measures. Performances continued there.

"Northern Europe is unique in that performances run for a long time. Because theaters have sufficient budgets, when they prepare a production, they perform it more than 10 times. This Seoul Opera Company production will be performed four times, but in Sweden, I performed 15 or 18 times." The more performances, the higher the pay, which was a significant economic help.

The fact that Kim Geon-woo was able to get on stage quickly can also be interpreted as recognition of his skills. He won the gold prize at the National Opera Competition in 2013 and first place at the Montreal Competition in 2015. In 2016, he gained worldwide attention by winning the Operalia Competition hosted by the world-renowned tenor Pl?cido Domingo. Before completing the Jette Parker Young Artists Program, he was also cast as a lead on the main stage. On July 18, 2019, he debuted at the Royal Opera House, one of the world's top three opera houses, as Tonio, the lead in The Daughter of the Regiment. These achievements likely became a magical flute that instilled confidence in Kim Geon-woo.

In Act 1 of The Magic Flute, Prince Tamino is depicted as a weak character who faints at the sight of a snake. However, upon seeing the portrait of the beautiful Princess Pamina, he falls in love at first sight and recklessly begins his adventure to rescue her. Imagining him fainting at the sight of a snake makes him seem reckless. As Prince Tamino embarks on his adventure, the Queen of the Night, Pamina's mother, gives him a magic flute for protection through her maid.

Tenor Kim Geon-woo (left), who plays Prince Tamino, and baritone Kim Ki-hoon, who plays Papageno, are demonstrating a scene from the Seoul Opera Company's production of The Magic Flute.
[Photo by Seoul Opera Company]

Kim Geon-woo's decision to declare himself a freelancer right after completing the Royal Opera House Young Artists Program might have been as reckless as Prince Tamino's impulsive adventure, enchanted by Princess Pamina's beauty.

He said, "Declaring myself a freelancer was a very risky choice. Opera houses prefer experienced singers who have performed roles before, but I had no experience at all. There was no reason for them to cast me. Fortunately, my manager thought freelancing might work and shared the same idea. We decided to give it a try, and a performance was scheduled."

He said the reason he chose this reckless adventure was that he did not want to become a frog in a well. "I want to gain as much experience as possible. Being a resident singer at an opera house provides stability, but you end up performing similar works repeatedly with the same people. That would make me a frog in a well. I want to meet many people, go to various countries, have diverse experiences, and perform many roles."

Kim Geon-woo will appear twice in the four performances of The Magic Flute. The role of Princess Pamina, who will perform alongside him, is taken by soprano Hwang Su-mi, who won the 2014 Queen Elisabeth Competition and sang the Olympic anthem at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony. The comic role of the bird-catcher Papageno, who brings laughter to the audience in The Magic Flute, is played by baritone Kim Ki-hoon, who feels like a longtime friend to Kim Geon-woo. Kim Ki-hoon was the first Korean to win the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.