‘Fuerza Bruta Wayra’ revisits Seoul

“Fuerza Bruta Wayra” is back in Seoul with a few changes and upgrades after a successful run last year.The 70- to 80-minute show features eye-catching acrobatics, heart-thumping sounds, multicolored lights and projections, as well as wind machines.  A scene titled “Corredor” in “Fuerza Bruta Wayra” (Fuerza Bruta) “Salto” is a new segment in the scene titled “Corredor.” /Fuerza BrutaThe show is all about partying, the production’s team said during a press conference on April 30 at FB Theater, a t

May 8, 2019

Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s ‘Asylum’ to unveil at 2019 MODAFE

The world premiere of Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s “Asylum” will open the 38th International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE) at Arko Arts Theater on May 16.The Israel-based dance company’s most recent work, “Asylum,” which touches on the on-going issues of refugees, immigration, and asylum seekers. Born to a family of Holocaust survivors in 1957, artistic director Rami Be’er has translated his own experience, troubled emotions and identity crisis into a dance.  A scene from “Asylum,“ a ne

May 7, 2019

Super Junior's Kyuhyun completes military service, returns to show biz

Kyuhyun, the youngest member of the 11-piece K-pop boy band Super Junior, will finish his mandatory military service Tuesday, finally returning the band to its full lineup.The 31-year-old started his mandatory service at a state welfare institution in the Seongbuk district in Seoul in May 2017 and reported for duty there for his final day of the two-year stint Tuesday.The return of Kyuhyun will bring all the 11 Super Junior members back together for the first time in many years.  (Yonhap)The pop

May 7, 2019

Momoland to drop new single featuring Vietnamese singer Erik

K-pop girl group Momoland is set to drop a new single, "Momola," featuring famed Vietnamese singer Erik, on Tuesday, its management agency said.The new single, which is on its way to hit the music scene Tuesday evening, is a sentimental ballad song that veered from the group's other energetic, dance numbers, according to MLD Entertainment.The new song, whose Korean title is translated as "You are the only love," delves into the longing and sentimental feelings of love through medium-tempo melodi

May 7, 2019

Xiumin joins military as 1st EXO member to enlist

Xiumin, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, has uploaded on his SNS account a selfie showing his new military-style haircut, hours before officially starting his military service Tuesday.The 29-year-old, whose real name is Kim Min-seok, is set to enter a military boot camp in Gangwon Province in the afternoon to start his 21-month military service as an active-duty soldier.Ahead of the enlistment, Xiumin posted an uncaptioned selfie showing his new haircut online Monday, marking his impending milita

May 7, 2019

‘Beethoven is the center of my life’

Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, an influential Beethoven expert, is to share his understanding of the maestro with the Korean audience through a six-day concert tour.The renowned Austrian pianist, who has put on more than 50 performances of Beethoven’s complete 32 sonata cycle and has recorded the set three times, is to delight the locals with a series of recitals across the nation from Tuesday to Sunday. 　Titled “Rudolf Buchbinder & Beethoven,” the series will comprise a selection of Beethoven’s pia

May 6, 2019

[Herald Interview] Turning the tables on geomungo

Much like other Korean instruments, the geomungo is considered an instrument of the past -- one of royal court music and traditional compositions.But here is a musician who has turned the tables on those preconceptions. Park Woo-jae literally turns the 2,000-year-old instrument around, opening up a whole new dimension to how it sounds. After a five-year absence from performance in Korea, the musician recently held a solo recital at Seoul Namsan Gukakdang. In recent years, he has mostly performed

May 6, 2019

BTS kicks off world stadium tour in Los Angeles

South Korean pop group BTS was to begin its world tour at a 90,000-seat stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday night (local time).The septet was to perform before sold-out crowds at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, according to its management agency.Concert-goers gather outside Rose Bowl Stadium inin Los Angeles for the BTS concert on Saturday.YonhapThe "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" stadium tour follows last month's release of BTS' new EP "Map of the Soul: Persona" that became its thi

May 5, 2019

Sibelius expert becomes SPO’s new music director

Conductor Osmo Vanska, who specializes in Sibelius, has been appointed as music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, ending the orchestra’s four-year leadership vacancy.SPO CEO Kang Eun-kyung revealed the appointment -- made after a three-year screening process -- at a press conference Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary since she took office. “I had the confidence that Vanska is the person that the SPO needs, seeing the devotion he had shown to the orchestras he worked with. The

May 2, 2019

BTS wins two prizes at Billboard Music Awards

K-pop boy band BTS lifted two prizes at this year's Billboard Music Awards, including the competitive Top Duo/Group award.The septet won Top Duo/Group and Top Social Artist in the 2019 BBMA at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday (US time). It was BTS' third consecutive win in the fan-voted Top Social Artist category.  (Yonhap)With the victories, BTS became the first Korean act to win more than one honor at the annual event.The South Korean band competed with four other groups --

May 2, 2019

BTS wins third Top Social Artist prize at Billboard Music Awards

K-pop boy band BTS won the Top Social Artist award at this year's Billboard Music Awards, their third consecutive victory in the category.American rapper and radio personality Sway Calloway broke the news during his red carpet interview with the band ahead of the award event held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday (US time)."In addition to Top Duo/Group, you guys are also up for Top Social Artist, which you have won in the last two years in a row," Calloway told the seven me

May 2, 2019

K-pop to be performed at Lincoln Center

K-pop music is headed to New York’s Lincoln Center, where it will be performed by an orchestra. An orchestral concert exploring Korean popular music over the past century will be held at the Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on June 20. According to the Korean Cultural Center in New York on Wednesday, the orchestral pieces will be performed by a 50-piece orchestra composed mainly of students from the Juilliard School. (AP)The upcoming event, titled “K-Factor,” will showcase orchestral versions o

May 1, 2019

Korea Opera Festival to promote diversity

Aiming to promote interest in the local opera scene, the 10th edition of the Korea Opera Festival will run May 17 to June 9.The festival, now in its 10th edition, hopes to show a wide spectrum of operas, rather than reproducing money-making pieces. “This festival is about providing opera companies an opportunity to perform and, for the audience, it is a chance to watch high quality performances at a discounted price,” Lee So-young, head of the organizing committee, said at a press conference hel

April 29, 2019

Chin Un-suk appointed composer-in-residence at Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

Composer Chin Un-suk, 58, winner of the 2019 Bach Award, has been named composer-in-residence of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. The orchestra, based at the iconic Elbphilharmonie Hamburg concert hall in Germany, announced it had invited Chin as composer-in-residence for the 2019-20 season at a press conference Friday for the inauguration of Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. Unsuk Chin (Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra)The orchestra will explore Chin’s musical universe this season through seven progr

April 29, 2019

Opposites attract, predictably, in ‘An Ugly Man & Beautiful Woman’

Two lovers destined for each other is a popular cliche in the romance genre. The phrase “and they lived happily ever after” is the stock ending.The first-ever theater adaptation of Belgian writer Amelie Nothomb’s novel “Riquet a la houppe” (“Riquet with the Tuft”), a Seoul Arts Center production that runs there through May 19, features a man and a woman destined to meet, but it leaves out the details of their life together.In “Riquet a la houppe,” a 2016 update of 17th-century French writer Char

April 29, 2019

BTS' 'Map of the Soul: Persona' comes in at 3rd on Billboard 200 chart

"Map of the Soul: Persona," the latest, record-breaking album of K-pop boy band BTS, came in at 3rd on the Billboard 200 main album chart for this week, one week after it debuted at No. 1, the Billboard website said."BTS' 'Map of the Soul: Persona' slips from No. 1 to No. 3 in its second week, scoring 57,000 (equivalent album) units," (Yonhap)Billboard said in an article posted on Sunday (US time) ahead of its official release of the weekly chart dated May 4.A week earlier, the BTS album, the op

April 29, 2019

Met Opera soprano to perform ‘Tosca’ concert opera

The Metropolitan Opera’s Jennifer Rowley, who has been performing “Tosca” at the Met since the 2017-18 season, will take to the stage Tuesday at the Seoul Arts Center in a concert performance of the Puccini opera. “This is my debut here, so I am excited to bring my ‘Tosca’ to Seoul,” the soprano said at a press conference Thursday at the center. “Tosca” is one of the three major operas by Puccini, along with “La Boheme” and “Madama Butterfly.” Soprano Jennifer Rowley speaks during a press confer

April 29, 2019

[Herald Interview] Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn talks band, K-pop, future plans

Being in a band is cool, especially if the band is Linkin Park. The iconic American rock band has produced numerous hits, including “In the End” and “Numb,” since its debut in 1996 and boasts a long list of awards. Since the tragic loss of its vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017, the band is on hiatus. Still, the band exists and Joe Hahn has been part of its miraculous journey through the years, standing in the back as the DJ. The 42-year-old Korean-American artist is now stepping forward in Sou

April 26, 2019

A late start, but a quick jump to the top

Until high school, An Jae-yong, 26 and principal dancer at Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, had never thought of becoming a ballerino.An was a student interested in many things. He liked sports, music, drawing and other activities.  Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s principal dancer An Jae-yong performs in the Jean-Christophe Maillot production of “Cinderella.” (Alice Blangero)He had many dreams. Once, he wanted to be a professional snowboarder, but decided to become a plastic surgeon after watching a doc

April 25, 2019

SSF entertains Seoul with classical music

For the next two weeks, the capital city will be filled with classical music as the Seoul Spring Festival returns. The 14th edition of the annual event began Tuesday and continues through May 4. Led by violinist Kang Dong-suk, the festival takes place this year in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province under the theme of “Music & Gastronomy.” Linking culinary culture with music, each performance features a theme related to gastronomy. For instance, performances are titled “Starter,” “Continental Cuisine,”

April 23, 2019