3-Hour Epic Opera 'Faust'... Begins as a Play

Jeong Donghwan to Make Opera Debut
Opening at Sejong Center on April 10

Actor Jeong Dong-hwan, boasting 57 years of acting experience since his debut in the 1969 play 'Natsseon Sanai' (Stranger), will take the opera stage for the first time.

The stage is the Seoul City Opera's production of the opera 'Faust,' which will be performed from April 10 to 13 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Grand Theater. Among various performance genres, the public often considers opera particularly difficult to approach. To break this prejudice, Seoul City Opera plans to perform Faust in an "O-play" format, which combines theatrical elements with opera. "O-play" is a coined term combining "opera" and "play," meaning theater.

Actor Jeong Dong-hwan, who plays the role of the elderly Faust, is attending the press conference for the Seoul Opera Company's opera "Faust" held on the 20th at the comprehensive rehearsal room of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul, sharing his thoughts on participating. 2025.3.20. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Jeong Dong-hwan will play the role of the elderly Faust, appearing at the beginning and end of the play. Especially, he will lead the opening part of the play, which consists of Faust's monologue, helping the audience easily immerse themselves in this grand opera composed of five acts.

At a press conference held on the 20th at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, actor Jeong Dong-hwan said he has many concerns as this is his first opera and that he has been preparing for the performance with sleepless nights. "The formats of theater and opera are fundamentally different, so I have many worries about how to align them. The lines are neither long nor many, but I cannot afford to miss a moment."

Park Hye-jin, director of Seoul City Opera, explained, "The theatrical format is applied to the early part of Act 1, and the opera performance begins from the scene where the devil Mephistopheles meets Faust and tempts him. Overall, about 80 to 90% of the performance can be considered an opera."

Faust is a play written by Germany's great literary figure Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749?1832) over about 60 years and completed just a few months before his death. It deals with heavy themes such as good and evil, life and salvation. Faust is regarded as the archetype of many works about humans making a deal to sell their souls to the devil. French composer Charles Gounod (1818?1893) composed an opera of the same title, which premiered in Paris, France, in 1859. The opera Faust is a grand work with a running time close to three hours, excluding intermissions.

Seoul City Opera's Faust, even with the introductory part condensed into a theatrical format, is expected to run about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Including two intermissions, the total performance time is expected to be about three hours.

Park Hye-jin, director of the Seoul Opera Company, is giving a greeting at the press conference for the Seoul Opera Company's opera "Faust," held on the 20th at the comprehensive rehearsal room of the Arts Building, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.3.20. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Opera is a genre where vocalists both sing and act on stage, but the focus is on singing. Therefore, the story, which is mainly conveyed through acting, is often reduced or sometimes omitted. Audiences unfamiliar with opera may find it difficult to follow the storyline. O-play can compensate for such shortcomings.

Director Eom Sum-jeong said, "Faust is a difficult five-act work with a long running time. We are preparing the performance in an O-play format to deliver the rapidly progressing scenes more easily and intimately to the audience. The scene where the elderly Faust appears in Act 1 contains many important concepts that encompass the entire work. I expect that the theatrical format will not break the unique characteristics of the (opera) work but rather add something better and function positively."

Conductor Eden also said, "I think that strengthening the acting aspect can create a greater synergy musically."

While most opera protagonists are tenors, Faust is a work where the baritone playing Mephistopheles receives as much attention as the tenor. The role of Mephistopheles will be performed by bass-baritone Samuel Yoon, who received the highest honor in the German-speaking world, the title of 'Kammers?nger,' and bass Jeon Tae-hyun, who won second place at the Berlin International Music Festival Competition. The young Faust will be played by tenor Kim Hyo-jong, a resident vocalist at the Bremen Theater in Germany, and tenor Park Seung-joo, who was selected as a 'Lindemann Young Artist' at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and is gaining worldwide attention. The role of Marguerite will be performed by soprano Son Ji-hye, a resident singer at the Dortmund Theater in Germany, and soprano Hwang Su-mi, who won the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Additionally, the role of Valentin will be performed by baritone Lee Seung-wang, who won the Giulietta Simionato International Competition, and Kim Ki-hoon, the first Korean vocalist to win the 'BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.' The role of Siebel will be performed by countertenor Lee Dong-gyu, a member of the male quartet 'Fortena' and runner-up on JTBC's 'Phantom Singer 4,' and rising mezzo-soprano Jeong Ju-yeon, who played the lead role of Carmen in last year's Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture Han River Nodeul Island Classic Opera 'Carmen.'