A recently-discovered 19th century Austrian ballet about two young Korean lovers at a time of war will be restaged by Korean National Ballet with new choreography, the state-run troupe said Monday.

The music score of the piece, titled “Die Braut von Korea” (The Korean Bride), was discovered in Germany by Korean scholar Park Hee-seok, who has been researching how Korea was perceived in the European country in the 19th century.

Park discovered the score last year, which had been left neglected in the warehouse of a German publishing house. There is no remaining record of the ballet’s choreography, according to the Academy of Korean Studies, of which Park is a member.

The ballet was performed a total of 38 times from 1897 to 1901, at Wiener Hofoper, which is today’s Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) in Vienna. The piece takes place during the first Sino-Japanese war, which was fought between Qing China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea.

The story was written by Austrian writers Josef Hassreiter and Heinrich Regel. Its music was composed by Josef Bayer (1852-1913), who served as the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death.

The ballet tells the story of a Korean prince who falls in love with his courtier’s daughter during the war. He marries her right before he goes off to the battlefield to fight against the Japanese. His wife, driven and brave, disguises herself as a male soldier and follows her husband to the field.

The Academy of Korean Studies stressed that “Die Braut von Korea” was in fact premiered earlier than Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly” (1904), which told the tragic story of a Japanese girl betrayed by her American Naval officer lover, and “Turandot,” (1926), another opera by Puccini about a cold Chinese princess who eventually finds her love.

“Many Europeans were interested in Asia and its culture from the mid-19th century to early 20th century,” said Jeong Yoon-jae from the Academy of Korean Studies. “Puccini’s operas reflect the trend of the time period. But this ballet about the Korean prince and his wife was in fact introduced earlier than the operas.”

The Korean National Ballet hopes to premiere the show in June of next year, at Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul. The troupe also plans to hire a local artist to create choreography according to the 19th century score.

“We think it is meaningful to stage a piece which has such a historical value,” said Kim Hyun-ah from the ballet troupe.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)