Kim Jaehyung Encore... 'Tosca' Georgiu Who Stormed the Stage and Refused Curtain Call
Turns Back and Exits Amid Audience Booing at Curtain Call... Sejong Center "Requests Apology"
On the 8th, during the opera "Tosca" performance at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, soprano Angela Gheorghiu (59), who played the lead role of "Tosca," did not appear on stage for the final curtain call. Gheorghiu interrupted the performance in dissatisfaction when tenor Kim Jae-hyung, playing the role of Cavaradossi, encores the famous aria "E lucevan le stelle" twice during the last act. After the performance ended, she also refused to greet the audience, displaying behavior unbefitting her reputation as a world-renowned soprano.
The Seoul Opera Company, affiliated with Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, staged Puccini's representative work "Tosca" at the Grand Theater of Sejong Center from the 5th to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's death. They invited the world-class soprano Gheorghiu from Romania to play the lead role of Tosca, and Gheorghiu performed twice, on the 5th and the 8th.
Soprano Angela Gheorghiu as Tosca (left) and tenor Kim Jae-hyung as Cavaradossi in a performance scene Photo by Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
Although Gheorghiu was a soprano who once dominated the era, the performance on the 5th received some criticism. Approaching 60 next year, Gheorghiu showed signs of physical fatigue and did not demonstrate the same level of skill as in the past. On the other hand, tenor Kim Jae-hyung, who played Tosca's lover Cavaradossi, received high praise. Gheorghiu herself highly praised Kim. At a press conference held on the 30th of last month before the performance, Gheorghiu said about Kim, "I was very surprised to hear such a fantastic voice during rehearsals."
The same was true for the performance on the 8th. Kim captivated the audience with his solid and powerful vocalization. After Cavaradossi's representative aria "Recondita armonia" in Act 1, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. Many called for an encore. However, after Tosca's representative aria "Vissi d'arte" in Act 2, the applause was not as loud as in Act 1, and no encore requests were heard.
Things escalated in Act 3. The aria "E lucevan le stelle," sung by Cavaradossi in Act 3, is considered one of Tosca's signature arias. After Kim sang "E lucevan le stelle," even louder applause than in Act 1 broke out, and conductor Ji Jung-bae waited for the applause to subside for a long time before finally conducting the orchestra to play "E lucevan le stelle" once more as an encore.
During Kim's second rendition of "E lucevan le stelle," Gheorghiu stormed onto the stage. Appearing from the right side of the stage, Gheorghiu raised both arms, expressing disbelief. After lingering at the corner of the stage for a while, she moved toward the center and repeatedly said "Excuse me," then stated, "This performance is not a recital," before exiting the stage. She expressed dissatisfaction with Kim singing "E lucevan le stelle" twice. Immediately after Gheorghiu left, the audience murmured, showing confusion over her attitude. After Kim's encore ended, Gheorghiu returned to the stage and completed the performance without incident but did not appear for the encore stage. After Cavaradossi Kim Jae-hyung appeared on the curtain call stage, Gheorghiu was supposed to appear last, but she did not show up for a long time. After several minutes, Gheorghiu appeared from the left side of the stage, but some in the audience booed, and she turned around and left.
Ultimately, the curtain call ended without Gheorghiu. After the performance, the audience criticized Gheorghiu's attitude and expressed dissatisfaction. They raised their voices demanding an official apology, accusing Gheorghiu of ignoring Korean audiences, and some even requested ticket refunds. Although rare, opera singers sometimes perform encores depending on audience response. Last year, during the opera "Turandot" at Sejong Center, tenor Lee Yong-hoon, playing Prince Calaf, sang the famous aria "Nessun dorma" twice.
Conductor Ji Jung-bae said after the performance that there were many encore requests for Kim Jae-hyung's aria during the performance on the 5th as well, but they could not perform it then; however, since there was a request during the final performance, they performed the encore. Some performance officials speculated that the proud Gheorghiu was displeased that tenor Kim Jae-hyung received more attention than herself.
Gheorghiu also caused an incident during the 2016 "Tosca" performance at the Vienna State Opera. At that time, when tenor Jonas Kaufmann, her counterpart, sang "E lucevan le stelle" twice, she delayed appearing on stage for a long time, confusing the audience.
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts issued a statement immediately after the performance, saying, "We strongly protest to Gheorghiu's side and plan to request an apology to the Korean audience."
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