Performing arts fest for youngsters to kick off nationwide

The ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival, a performing arts festival for children and teenagers, will be held around the country for the first time this year. The 23-day event will run July 17-Aug. 8 in major cities, including Seoul, Daegu, Gwangju and Incheon both in-person and virtually. “Quality performances for children are concentrated in the metropolitan area,” Bang Ji-young, chairperson of ASSITEJ Korea, said during a press conference held at Dream Art Center in Seoul

July 6, 2021

Q&A: Kings of Convenience on new album and key to longevity

SEOUL (AP) -- “What happened to Kings of Convenience” was, until recently, a prominent search result that would appear when looking up info on the Norwegian indie-pop folk duo. Largely quiet since the release of their last album, the band recently broke their silence with “Peace Or Love,” Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe’s first album together in 12 years. The duo picked up exactly where they left off, returning with a bundle of warm melodies familiar in their ear

July 5, 2021

Stage actor tests positive for COVID-19

Actor Cha Ji-yeon, 39, has been tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, although the rest of the cast on the musical she was starring in tested negative. Cha’s agency C-JeS Entertainment announced Sunday that Cha -- who has been starring in musical “Red Book,” while preparing for upcoming musical show “Gwanghwamun Sonata” and an upcoming Netflix series “The Bride of Black” -- was confirmed with COVID-19. “Cha was being tested for COVID-1

July 5, 2021

[Herald Interview] Pianist shines new light on Rachmaninoff

Though the works of Russian composer Rachmaninoff are often appreciated for their ardent passion and overflow of emotions, pianist Cho Jae-hyuck aims to examine a more reserved, thought-out side of the Romantic composer’s works with his latest recording of his piano concerto pieces. In Korea, Cho recently released a studio-recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, and No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, under the French music label Evidence. The international relea

July 3, 2021

[Herald Review] Puccini’s Wild West opera makes debut in Korea

After a yearlong postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea National Opera went onstage Thursday for the Korean premiere of Puccini’s 1910 opera “La Fanciulla del West.” After the Italian production team completed a two-week, mandatory self-quarantine, the national opera troupe took to the stage Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center. Every other seat at the theater was left empty due to coronavirus restrictions. “La Fanciulla del West” was written by Itali

July 2, 2021

Chuncheon Mime Festival to begin summer run

The summer edition of the 2021 Chuncheon International Mime Festival will open Monday, under the title “Summer:Movement.” The summer festival held in the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province will kick off with its Mime Fringe program from Monday to Wednesday. The program was launched in 2018 to support young mime artists. This year it has been expanded to also include artists who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 13 acts, the organizers will award one act with prize

July 2, 2021

S. Korean performing arts scene posts 19% rise in H1 revenue

The South Korean performing arts scene posted a 19 percent on-year rise in its revenue for the first half, showing clear signs of a recovery from the yearlong pandemic, data showed Friday. The combined revenue of theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 116.9 billion won ($103.1 million) in the first six months of this year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). It marked a 19 percent increase from 98 bill

July 2, 2021

Orchestra to present fantasy period musical

The Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra is to present its new original musical, “Geumak,” Aug. 18 to 29 at the Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The fantasy period musical is set in the Joseon era (1392-1910). A mysterious event surrounding a forbidden music score from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) unfolds at Jangagwon, the institution in charge of court music and dance. The orchestra’s Artistic Director Won Il directs the production. Won was the music director fo

June 30, 2021

Explore Wild West with Puccini opera

The Korea National Opera is set for the Korean premiere of Puccini’s 1910 opera “La Fanciulla del West.” The upcoming performance, set to run from Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, features sopranos Karine Babajanyan and Lilla Lee, tenors Marco Berti and Oliver Kook. Puccini wrote the opera after watching the play “The Girl of the Golden West,” written by the American author David Belasco, in New York. The opera is set in a mining camp in Calif

June 29, 2021

Soprano Sua Jo releases debut album

Soprano Sua Jo, known locally as Jo Su-a, has released her debut album “La Prima Donna” under the Sony Classical label Monday. According to Sony Music Entertainment Korea, the album features well-known arias such as “Lascia Ch’io Pianga” and “Ombra Mai Fu” from Handel’s 1711 opera “Rinaldo,” and Italian baroque music such as “Amarilli, Mia Bella” and “Amor Ch’attendi” written by Caccini and “Caro Mi

June 28, 2021

[Herald interview] Today’s K-pop is more intricate, complex

Unlike most music critics who jump into the world music at a young age, K-pop music critic Cha woo-jin confesses he was not a music lover as a youngster. At home after school, he reached for comics, short stories and movies rather than music. Things changed when he entered his teens. “There was a moment as a teenager when I sensed an earnest desire for music,” he said. Looking back, Cha thinks that spark came when he had grasped the meaning of the long-held definition of music -- m

June 28, 2021

Cho Seong-jin to release new Chopin album

Concert pianist Cho Seong-jin, the first Korean to win the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, is to release a new album featuring Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on Aug. 26. Like the debut studio-recorded album in 2016, Cho joined hands with the London Symphony Orchestra led by the Italian maestro Gianandrea Noseda. Though Cho has performed the work on multiple occasions including the debut performance at the BBC Proms in 2018, it is the first time for the concer

June 27, 2021

Stray Kids’ Hyunjin resumes activities after bullying controversy

Hyunjin of K-pop boy band Stray Kids has resumed his activities with the group after taking time out due to accusations that he had bullied a classmate in middle school. The act’s agency, JYP Entertainment, officially announced Saturday that Stray Kids had released a new record, “Mixtape: Oh,” as a whole group including Hyun-jin. In February, a former classmate who did not want his identity made public posted a message online saying he had suffered “severe emotional st

June 27, 2021

Visualizing the beauty of scattered melodies

The National Dance Company of Korea’s “Sanjo” is to begin run at the National Theater of Korea on Thursday. In the 80-minute dance show, the national dance company visually depicts the aesthetics of “sanjo,” which refers to a style of traditional Korean music in which an instrumental solo performance is accompanied by “janggu” drumming. 　 While the term sanjo directly translates to “scattered melodies,” it features the gathering and scatte

June 24, 2021

Korean-language Broadway musical ‘Beetlejuice’ to be delayed again

The premiere of the licensed Korean-language musical “Beetlejuice” will be delayed once again as technical glitches continue, according to CJ ENM, the co-producer of the show. The show is now set to start July 6, and performances scheduled before then will be canceled, with compensation to be provided, the co-producer announced on Thursday. The Korean version of the Broadway musical “Beetlejuice,” a production based on Tim Burton’s iconic film, was postponed l

June 24, 2021

Musical ‘Hedwig’ to return with Cho Seung-woo

Cho Seung-woo is to return as the iconic rock star character Hedwig in the rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” According to production company Shownote, Cho, Oh Man-seok, Lee Kyu-hyeong, Ko Eun-sung and Ren from boy band Newest will take the title role in the 13th run of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in South Korea. The musical, written by Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell, tells the story of a genderqueer rock singer from East Germany. The singer, Hedwig, lea

June 23, 2021

Sejong Center presents sound immersive play

Sound immersive play “In This Garden We Loved” began its run at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, complete with 60 speakers installed across the theater. The play is the third edition of the Sejong Center’s Contemporary S series project that aims to present innovative, original show productions. It is the first time that French writer Pascal Quignard’s play “Dans Ce Jardin Qu’On Aimait” (“In This Garden We Loved”) is bei

June 23, 2021

Rock band YB takes part in Metallica’s charity album

South Korean rock band YB, formerly known as Yoon Do-hyun Band, will be featured in legendary US heavy metal band Metallica’s newest album dedicated for charity, scheduled to be released Sept. 10. On Tuesday, YB posted the cover of Metallica’s new album, “The Metallica Blacklist,” on its Instagram account and announced it had participated in the project in February. The upcoming album is a special compilation and reissue to mark the 30th anniversary of Metallica&lsquo

June 23, 2021

Violinist Kim Bomsori says new album is like action film ‘The Bourne Identity’

When violinist Kim Bomosori was asked to describe her new album “Violin on Stage” during a press conference held Monday in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, she relayed her acquaintance’s response to the album. “My acquaintance told me that after starting the first track, he couldn’t stop the music for a bathroom break because it was like the movie ‘The Bourne Identity,’” Kim, 31, said with a shy smile. “He said the album is like watching continuous a

June 22, 2021

Baritone singer Kim Gi-hoon wins BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition

Baritone singer Kim Gi-hoon,won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition held in the United Kingdom on Saturday. Established in 1983, the competition is organized jointly by BBC Wales and Welsh National Opera and its winners include some of the biggest names in opera such as Bryn Terfel. With the win, Kim became the first Korean to receive this main prize at the competition. Kim received 20,000 pounds ($27,600) in prize money. Korean Baritone No Dae-san and bass Park Jong-min have wo

June 20, 2021