‘Phantom of Opera’ extends show suspension to April 22

The Seoul run of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” will be suspended until April 22. After a Canadian female ensemble cast member was confirmed with COVID-19 infection on March 31, the show was halted through Tuesday. Another COVID-19 case involving a male cast member led to the organizers putting the show on hold until April 22.  The rest of the 128-member team tested negative for COVID-19. The crew, however, remains in self-quarantine at a serviced residence in Jongn

April 8, 2020

NGC to highlight traditional art performers online

Keeping up with the trend of online streaming for art performances amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the National Gugak Center plans to support traditional art performers by streaming their performance videos online. The center will offer performance opportunities for 61 artist individuals and teams. Though the center is currently conducting its “Daily Gugak” series -- releasing a video clip that focuses on one instrument or art form at a time every weekday -- this time, the list

April 7, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ production confirms 2 cases of COVID-19, others test negative

While two cast members of the international tour of musical “The Phantom of the Opera” have been confirmed with COVID-19 infection, the rest have tested negative. A Canadian ensemble cast member was confirmed with the virus infection on March 31. Two days later, her colleague, an American actor, was also confirmed.  The final test results came Monday, confirming the rest of the 128-member team had tested negative for COVID-19. However, they all remain in self-quarantine at a

April 6, 2020

Jeongdong Theater to stream ‘Red Cliff’ online

Jeongdong Theater in central Seoul is to stream its signature show “Red Cliff” through YouTube on Wednesday. The show, originally slated to run from Feb. 14 to Sunday, has been on hold to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 since Feb. 24 after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ordered all national theaters and art troupes to cancel their performances.   Instead, for patrons who had been eagerly awaiting the show, Jeongdong Theater will stream the show live Wednes

April 5, 2020

Seoul to monitor all 8,578 audiences of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

The Seoul City government on Friday announced that it will monitor all the 8,578 people who watched “The Phantom of the Opera” at Blue Square in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. On Tuesday, a Canadian female ballet dancer of the show was confirmed with novel coronavirus infection and another American actor in the ensemble was tested positive on Thursday. “We have the list of all the audiences and will send out text messages,” Na Baek-joo, director of Seoul City’s public healt

April 3, 2020

K-pop star Kim Jae-joong cancels schedule amid public uproar over making April Fools‘ Day joke about coronavirus

K-pop group JYJ’s Kim Jae-joong canceled his schedule in Japan after criticism for announcing he had the new coronavirus as an April Fools‘ Day joke. Kim released his third Japanese single “Brava Brava Brava” in March and was scheduled to promote the album by appearing on several music shows in Japan. Kim’s agency CJes Entertainment on Friday announced that due to the current situation Kim would not appear as scheduled on TV Asahi’s music show “Musi

April 3, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ tour production confirms one more case of COVID-19

A second cast member of international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has tested positive for COVID-19, organizers said Thursday. After the first cast member was confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, all 128 members of the production team were tested. On Thursday, another ensemble cast member was confirmed with the infection. Another 80 members of the team tested negative, while 46 were still waiting for results as of Thursday afternoon. The organi

April 2, 2020

‘Phantom of the Opera’ tour in Korea suspended after cast member infected with coronavirus

The international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has decided to temporarily halt its Seoul run after one of its ensemble cast members tested positive for the new coronavirus. The cast member was confirmed with COVID-19 infection Tuesday and the show decided to cancel shows from Wednesday.   According to the organizers, the cast member was in self-quarantine with some symptoms of COVID-19 infection despite a normal body temperature. The production team, includin

April 1, 2020

Halsey cancels Seoul concert over COVID-19

American singer-songwriter Halsey called off her Seoul concert due the novel coronavirus spread. “‘Halsey - Manic World Tour Live in Seoul,’ originally slated to be held on May 9 at the Olympic Hall in the Olympic Park, has been canceled,” said the concert’s local organizer Live Nation Korea in a statement issued Monday. The organizer stated that all tickets will be automatically refunded without any charges. Those who canceled their tickets after 5:30 p.m. on

March 30, 2020

[Herald Review] Doomed but eternal love of ‘Dracula’

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak shutting down most performing arts shows, the house was nearly full at Friday’s performance of “Dracula: The Musical,” with fans eager to see singer Kim Jun-su’s portrayal of the lonely yet romantic vampire. The musical began its run on Feb. 11 at Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. While the performing art scene suffers badly due to the health crisis, the hit musical show has been recording an average admission rate of 95 percent.   T

March 30, 2020

Coronavirus takes a heavy toll on small music labels

As the entertainment industry struggles through the novel coronavirus outbreak, the prolonged pandemic is taking an especially heavy toll on small music labels and independent musicians. According to Record Label Industry Association of Korea on Thursday, the 44 member labels of the association have seen a loss of more than 3.5 billion won ($2.85 million) due to the cancellation or delay of events scheduled between Feb. 13 and April 11. A total of 61 gigs have been either rescheduled or called

March 26, 2020

Celebrating World Piano Day, Cho Sung-jin goes online

In celebration of World Piano Day, which falls on March 28 this year, internationally renowned pianists, including Korea‘s much-beloved Cho Sung-jin, are to stream their performances online. World Piano Day takes place on the 88th day of the year, corresponding to the number of keys.   Universal Music‘s classical music label Deutsche Grammophon announced Thursday that pianist Cho Sung-jin will stream his performance with baritone Matthias Goerne at 2 p.m. Saturday. Together,

March 26, 2020

[Herald Interview] Lauv says working on two songs with BTS was natural progression

Lauv, the US pop star who is popular among Korean fans for his songs “Paris In The Rain” and “I Like Me Better,” described his two collaborations with K-pop sensation BTS as a natural progression. “Basically, I met them at their show in London, and right after that they asked me to do the remix for ‘Make It Right’ and I was super-flattered and said, ‘of course,’” Lauv stold The Korea Herald by email. “Make it Right” is

March 25, 2020

10cm holds first #TogetherAtHome concert in Korea

Indie singer 10cm hosted a YouTube live concert on Thursday night, joining the #TogetherAtHome challenge. After watching Coldplay singer Chris Martin perform a live concert online for people stuck indoors due to the spread of coronavirus, 10cm was inspired to join the challenge, becoming the first major Korean singer to do so. 10cm performed his best-known songs, including “Stalker” and “Phonecert.” He also played Coldplay’s “Fix You” in tribute to M

March 23, 2020

Performing arts scene staggers under virus pandemic

While Monday marks a month since the COVID-19 alert level was raised to “red,” the national health crisis is pushing the local performing arts scene to the edge. According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, managed by the Korea Arts Management Service affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, roughly 70 productions opened in March as of Sunday. In February, around 380 shows opened. Moreover, data shows that performing arts ticket sales

March 22, 2020

Rock musician celebrates record 30th year as radio host

Rock musician and radio show host Bae Chul-soo celebrated his 30th year as the host of a popular pop music radio show on Thursday, making himself the longest-sitting host of a radio program in Korean entertainment history. Since his first day hosting the evening radio show "Music Camp" by MBC on March 19, 1990, as a flourishing, rebellious 37-year-old rock musician, Bae has matured into a widely trusted, gray-haired show host over the past 30 years. His established status also lande

March 19, 2020

[Weekender] National Gugak Center goes online

While the National Gugak Center in southern Seoul remains closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the center continues to put on creative gugak performances and make them available online. As more people became more reluctant to visit concert halls out of fear of COVID-19, the center recently launched various online programs to offer quality gugak performances. One of the highlights is the virtual reality gugak experience.  On Thursday, the center released 37 clips on its YouTube chann

March 19, 2020

Invitation to the world of salon music

It is said that Frederic Chopin loved to play at small venues for small audiences, and meaningful musical interactions for Chopin usually happened at salons. Though more than two centuries have passed and large concert halls now dominate the classical music scene, there are musicians who perform in intimate salon settings for the sheer joy it brings.  Going against the conventional grammar of classical music -- formal attire, absolute stillness and silence -- salons allow the audience t

March 18, 2020

Celebrities around the globe join #SafeHands challenge

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is nominating high-profile people around the world to participate in WHO’s “SafeHands” challenge on Twitter, including K-pop boy band BTS. So far, 62 Twitter accounts have been targeted, with the list of nominees ranging from Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio to 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Of the 62 nominees, 15 had tweeted videos of themselves washing their hands as of Wednesday at noon. Phumzile

March 18, 2020

[Newsmaker] Korean National Ballet fires dancer for breaking quarantine

The Korean National Ballet has fired a dancer for inappropriate behavior, the first such action since the troupe was founded in 1962. Na Dae-han, 28, corps de ballet dancer at the Korean National Ballet, was fired for traveling to Japan during home quarantine period. The national ballet company held a disciplinary committee meeting on Monday where the decision was made to fire Na. Other members of the state ballet company were suspended for conducting private lessons during the home quarant

March 17, 2020