National Opera Company to Premiere Domestically Next Month at Seoul Arts Center
Protagonist 'Paul' Keeps Hair as Memento of Late Wife
Conflicted by Dancer 'Marietta' Resembling His Wife
"The opera 'Die tote Stadt' premiered in 1920, just after the end of World War I (1914?1918). It was a time when many people were struggling with a sense of loss. The reason this work received acclaim from its premiere was that audiences saw themselves reflected in the protagonist Paul, who had lost his wife."
Choi Sang-ho, director of the National Opera Company, explained at the 'Die tote Stadt' production meeting held at the Seoul Arts Center on the 22nd that the success of 'Die tote Stadt' was because audiences empathized with Paul's desperate longing.
The National Opera Company will stage the domestic premiere of Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold's (1897?1957) opera 'Die tote Stadt' from May 23 to 26 at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center. 'Die tote Stadt' is Korngold's most famous opera. He composed it at the age of 23, and it premiered simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne, Germany.
The protagonist Paul deeply misses his deceased wife Marie and lives keeping all her belongings. He cannot forget her to the extent that he even keeps her hair. Then, Marietta, a dancer from a traveling troupe who looks exactly like his wife, appears before Paul, and he experiences confusion between reality and dreams.
Julien Chavaz, the director, said, "The audience will be confused about whether the scenes are reality, dreams, or if the entire opera performance is a hallucination," adding, "It is a work where endless dialogue continues between reality, dreams, and hallucinations."
In extreme confusion, Paul eventually strangles Marietta with his wife's hair and kills her. Director Choi Sang-ho said, "'Die tote Stadt' might be a somewhat chilling story, but on the other hand, it can be a story that comforts anyone who has experienced loss."
Choi also mentioned that although it feels somewhat incongruous to perform 'Die tote Stadt' in May, the most beautiful month of the year, he emphasized that 'Die tote Stadt' is a work that shows the aesthetics of contrast. He explained, "It is a work where death and life, spiritual love and sensual love collide."
National Opera Company 'The City of Death' Production Meeting Scene [Photo by National Opera Company]
Korngold was an outstanding composer praised as a genius by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.
Conductor Lothar Koenigs explained that the success of 'Die tote Stadt' is due to its romantic and excellent music. He said, "Percussion is used extensively, and the bass trumpet, which is rarely used in opera music, is also employed," adding, "You will be able to hear rich music through various instruments."
The two main roles of 'Die tote Stadt,' Paul and Marie/Marietta, are famous for their extreme difficulty. The National Opera Company also explained that the reason 'Die tote Stadt' is only now being introduced domestically is because it demands extremely high difficulty from vocalists.
Tenors Roberto Sacc? and Lee Jung-hwan will perform as Paul, and sopranos Rachel Nichols and Oh Mi-sun will perform as Marie/Marietta. Conductor Lothar Koenigs and Roberto Sacc? performed 'Die tote Stadt' together at the La Monnaie Royal Theatre in Belgium in 2020. Rachel Nichols also performed 'Die tote Stadt' at the Loughborough Festival in 2022.
Baritones Yang Jun-mo and Choi In-sik will perform as Frank and Fritz, mezzo-soprano Lim Eun-kyung as Brigitta, soprano Lee Kyung-jin as Juliette, mezzo-soprano Kim Soon-hee as Lucienne, tenor Kang Do-ho as Victorin, and tenor Wi Jeong-min as Count Albert. Mime artist Lim Jae-heon will perform the role of dancer Gaston, showcasing pantomime.
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