In 2013 the Seoul Arts Center began filming a number of its live stage productions, creating ultrahigh-definition movie versions of their shows, which are recorded using more than 10 different camera angles and surround sound.

On Tuesday, the SAC held a screening of “The Last Empress” -- pegged as Korea’s first original blockbuster musical -- alongside a piano recital by the legendary Paris-based pianist Paik Kun-woo at the CineCube Theater in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

The film of the Korea National Opera’s rendition of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” was screened the following day. The opera, originally staged last July, was SAC’s first opera production in six years: From 2001 to 2009, the local favorite was staged at the SAC every year, selling out every show.

While watching films based on a live show has obvious drawbacks -- lacking the ambience of a live opera theater setting and the pure acoustics of the artists’ raw vocals -- there is no question that seeing the film version provides one with visual angles that no VIP seating can offer.

Although the small theater was nowhere near packed, a handful of audience members said that being able to view the opera production from so close up was something they would never be able to experience live.

The movie theater setting provides art lovers with a reasonable alternative, whether it’s because it saves the audience from the trouble of having to travel all the way to the capital just to attend a performance, or in order to save a few bucks, with the average theater ticket costing upward of 100,000 won. The screenings are free.

The SAC screening project was first launched in November 2013 in an effort to remove boundaries to seeing local arts productions and entice younger people to enjoy the performing arts. Last year, the SAC completed the filming of six productions.

Since its launch, SAC on Screen has filmed a total of 12 productions including local renditions of “The Nutcracker,” “Giselle” and “La Bayadere” ballets. The project has held 510 screenings so far, attracting more than 84,000 people to the theaters in Korea and abroad.

Since last May, the “SAC on Screen” productions have hit theaters across the world including Los Angeles, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Argentina and Mexico as part of promotion of Korean culture.  Last year alone, SAC’s film productions were screened at 85 theaters globally with 391 screenings, attracting 64,680 audience members. 

This year, the Seoul Arts Center announced that it planned to produce films of a number of new productions including the “Pericles,” based on the eponymous Jacobean play written in part by Shakespeare. 

Also on the books for “SAC on Screen” is the Universal Ballet’s production of the Korean original ballet “Shim Chung” as well as six to eight live concert performances by international orchestras at the SAC.

The complete screening schedule is available at www.sac.or.kr/saconscreen.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)