Asian musicians to perform at Paradise City in June

Paradise City in Incheon is set to mesmerize music fans with an Asian music festival in June. The Asian Pop Festival, hosted by Paradise Culture Foundation and APF Co., will take place June 22-23 at Paradise City, Yeongjongdo, Incheon, and will feature well-known artists from different countries in Asia. The first lineup announced Wednesday includes Korean musicians such as Kim Chang-wan Band, Nell, Playbook, Yeoyu and Seolbin, Lang Lee, Glen Check and CHS. Taiwan's No Party For Cao Dong,

March 27, 2024

[Herald Interview] Making the jump from corps de ballet to swan

A new swan is scheduled to grace the stage, as the Korean National Ballet presents “Swan Lake” at the LG Arts Center in Seoul from Wednesday to Sunday. On Friday, ballerina An Su-yeon, a member of the corps de ballet, will take center stage, making her debut as the iconic Odette and Odile. It's a highly unusual and bold move to cast a dancer in the corps de ballet, the lowest in the ballet company's ranking system, to take the lead role in “Swan Lake.” Such cast

March 26, 2024

Tongyeong International Music Festival’s composer-in-residence Peter Eotvos dies

Hungarian composer and conductor Peter Eotvos, who was named the composer-in-residence for the 2024 Tongyeong International Music Festival, has passed away in Budapest at the age of 80, the TIMF said Monday. An internationally acclaimed composer whose works were inspired by Zoltan Kodaly, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, Eotvos' ties with Tongyeong run deep. Having composed the opera "Golden Dragon" for the 2017 TIMF, he was invited to compose for the 2020 edition of TIMF.

March 25, 2024

NTOK Live+ lets theatergoers enjoy plays from UK, Netherlands onscreen

The National Theater of Korea will screen three plays in April as part of NTOK Live+, a program introducing prominent overseas theatrical performances. The three plays -- Ivo van Hove’s “The Hidden Force,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” and Lyndsey Turner’s “The Crucible” -- were produced by the International Theater Amsterdam; DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre; and the National Theatre in London, respectively. They will be scree

March 22, 2024

NTCK brings inclusive theater experience with ‘Scapin’

The National Theater Company of Korea is set to present their cherished production, "Scapin" (Les Fourberies de Scapin), geared toward fostering an inclusive environment with what they term "open audience" performances aimed at providing a more relaxed experience. Scheduled to run from April 12 to May 6 at the Myeongdong Arts Theater, the Korean rendition of French playwright Moliere's classic "Scapin the Schemer” is returning for its fourth run. The comedy ma

March 18, 2024

Kim Jong-kook to hold first Japan fan meeting in 16 years

Singer Kim Jong-kook will meet his Japanese fans in April for the first time in 16 years. The "Loveable Fanmeeting in Japan 2024" will be held at the Tempo Harbor Theater in Osaka, Japan, on April 6, according to his agency Turbo JK Co. Kim Jong-kook's last fan meeting in Japan took place in Tokyo in 2008, and he last performed in Japan in Tokyo and Osaka in 2010. Kim's agency noted that the singer is preparing a variety of events to entertain his fans, as it has been a long

March 18, 2024

Noel Gallagher to return to Korea in July

Noel Gallagher, the lead guitarist and a vocalist of 1990s megahit rock band Oasis, will visit Korea in July. Live Nation Korea, the organizer of the concert, said the singer-songwriter will hold a concert at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on July 26. Local indie rock band Silica Gel will be the opening act. Gallagher posted an image to promote the concert on his Instagram and added, in Korean, "You are all living young and invincible, right? See you in the summer." His most recen

March 18, 2024

Pro-Putin Russian ballerina's Seoul performance canceled amid backlash

A Seoul ballet performance featuring Russia's star ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova, was canceled Friday due to public backlash over staging shows by individuals supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially amid the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. The Ukrainian-born Russian principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet was scheduled to perform in "Modanse" at the Seoul Arts Center on April 17 and 19-21 with leading dancers from the same ballet troupe. Despite her position

March 15, 2024

Stella Jang to hold stand-alone concert with four different personas

Singer-songwriter Stella Jang is set to hold a solo concert in April. The upcoming concert, dubbed "Interstellar Festival 2024," will be held at the Noduel Live House on Nodeul Island, Seoul, at 6 p.m. on April 13 and 5 p.m. on April 14. The poster, released through the singer's official social media, includes mysterious space-themed images. The concert will be a festival-style performance that will include various artists appearing on the stage. Stella Jang will deliver a unique

March 15, 2024

AleXa to tour six American cities

Singer AleXa will kick off her American concert tour and visit six local cities. AleXa will begin her United States tour concert dubbed, "Sick of you US Tour," on March 29, local time. The tour will open in New York, move to Chicago, Atlanta and Tulsa, Texas, before ending in Los Angeles. Concert title "Sick of you" is an extension of AleXa's latest song title, "Sick," which was released in the US on Feb. 23. AleXa has prepared a "love and concern counseli

March 14, 2024

[Herald Review] Two Victor Hugo stories unfold on musical stage

Two musicals based on works by French author Victor Hugo are attracting audiences in Korea: “Les Miserables” and “Notre-Dame de Paris.” Both musicals are inspired by stories written by the prominent French writer, poet, and playwright and utilize a sing-through format, where the majority, if not all, of the dialogue is sung rather than spoken. The musicals include melodies that are iconic numbers worth enjoying on a live stage. “Belle (Beautiful),” sung by Q

March 13, 2024

[Indie spirit] With gentle comfort, Kim Sawol portrays raw emotions

Singer-songwriter Kim Sawol is a sincere yet mysterious figure, a quality that is often reflected in her music. Not much is known about the soft-voiced musician, including her real name and age. She uses the stage name "Sawol," the Korean word for April, which is the month of her birth. Kim explained that she began her musical journey without disclosing any of her personal details because she is shy. "I am a musician, which means I need an audience. But paradoxically, I didn&rsquo

March 13, 2024

'The Best Sopranos' concert highlights Maria Callas' life through familiar tunes

A tribute to American and Greek soprano Maria Callas took place Monday at Lotte Concert Hall. The concert, titled “The Best Sopranos” brought together five sopranos, whom the artistic director Ha Man-taek of the concert and CEO of Korea ARTS Group, said “are the best sopranos to me, even though they are so far less-well known to the world.” The sopranos -- Park Mi-ja, Kim Ra-hee, Shin Eun-hye, Lee Yun-jeong and Veronica Yoo -- were joined by two tenors Ha and Son Ji-hoon

March 12, 2024

Rock band Sanullim's music to regain life in Europe

Legendary Korean rock trio Sanullim's songs, which marked a big milestone in the Korean music scene, will be officially released in Europe as four separate LPs. The rerelease project started when Guerssen Records, a record label group based in Spain, requested licenses for a rerelease. The four Sanullim LPs are rereleases of the first album, "Already Now," second album "Spread Silk on My Heart," third album "My Heart (My Soul Is a Wasteland)" and the compilatio

March 11, 2024

[Herald Interview] Pianist Lang Lang celebrates French music, female composers in latest album

In bringing to life a long-envisioned French project, celebrated pianist Lang Lang stumbled upon a wealth of intriguing discoveries, spanning from the works of five female French composers to even the world of Taekwondo, a Korean martial art. He said he wanted to do a French project for a long time, but it wasn't until he encountered Saint-Saens' Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22, “which is underrated despite its excellence,” that he decided to mak

March 11, 2024

Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra visits Korea on 10-day tour

The Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra in the US, is returning to South Korea for the first time since 2015 in a tour of three cities. The HRO, comprising Harvard students and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 1808. The 110-member ensemble led by music director and conductor Federico Cortese will perform music by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bernstein, making three stops across the country -- Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on March 13, Moak Hall in Jeonju, Nort

March 10, 2024

[Herald Review] Slowdive captivates Korean fans with hypnotic performance

British shoegaze star band Slowdive presented absorbing hours to Korean fans with its first stand-alone concert in Seoul, Saturday. About 2,000 audience members gathered at the Myunghwa Live Hall, in west Seoul, to enjoy Slowdive's sold-out concert. The performance was held in a free, festive mood, with a small snack bar next to the venue entrance which sold beer and simple snacks. Slowdive, a representative band of the shoegaze genre, was formed by Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell in 1989.

March 10, 2024

Dystopian musical 'The Origin of Evil by Darwin Young' returns for 4th run

The Seoul Performing Arts Company kicks off the fourth season of its original production, "The Origin of Evil by Darwin Young," on Friday. Adapted from the novel by late writer Park Ji-ri, the play is set in a meticulously segregated society based on caste, spanning from the privileged first district, where residents have to adhere to strict standards of behavior to maintain their status, to the slum-like ninth district, where an uprising was suppressed 60 years earlier. The musical pl

March 8, 2024

[Herald Review] 'Bea' challenges perspectives on life, death

In a vibrant dress, Bea (a nickname for Beatrice) dances joyfully to Madonna's "Ray of Light" and then, addressing the recently arrived Ray, implores him to write a letter on her behalf. She says, "I want to die." Ray and Bea's mother, Katherine, are taken aback, with Katherine painfully choosing to ignore the letter. The scene is part of stage drama "Bea," which kicked off its run on Feb. 17 at the LG Art Center in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul. Contrary to t

March 8, 2024

Changgeuk 'Lear' reimagines Shakespeare with traditional Korean splendor

The National Changgeuk Company of Korea's "Lear" is set to make a comeback after two years. Affiliated with the National Theater of Korea, the company will perform the changgeuk adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear" at the Daloreum Theater from March 29 to April 7. Changgeuk is a genre of Korean opera. It derives from pansori, a traditional narrative singing form involving a solo singer and a percussionist that is registered as UNESCO Intangible Cu

March 6, 2024