Art of Collaboration Shown in Opera
 

Goyang Aram Nuri Art Center, Gyeonggi Province, Daejeon Culture & Arts Center and Daegu Opera House stage a cost-effective joint project, Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore" through September and October. / Courtesy of organizers

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Art centers around the country have long ``obsessed'' over staging premieres and homespun productions, but are now turning to smart collaborative projects that lower costs while ensuring both quality and outreach to a wider range of audience members.

Every year about 30 to 40 operas are staged here. The genre is drawing an increasing number of fans but the audience sizes still remain restricted, and shows run on average for only about four days.

``Operas are an extremely expensive endeavor, requiring quality costumes and sets, lighting and a huge cast of lead singers, choir members and an orchestra. Rehearsal time is also considerable. But it is difficult to stage them for more than a few days because there are only a certain number of operagoers in a given region,'' said Jo Seok-joon, president of the Goyang Cultural Foundation.

For the fall season lineup, Goyang Aram Nuri Art Center, Gyeonggi Province has thus joined hands with Daejeon Culture and Arts Center and Daegu Opera House for Donizetti's ``L'Elisir d'Amore,'' while three other theaters ― Uijeongbu Arts Center and Hanam Arts Center, Gyeonggi Province, and Nowon Art & Culture Center, Seoul ― are co-producing Massenet's ``Werther.''

``It is important for regional theaters to create their own content but it becomes difficult to produce quality `software' with budget constraints. It is now about time theaters collaborate,'' said Rhee Jin-bae, president of Uijeongbu Arts Center.

L'Elisir D'Amore

Donizetti's popular love story will tour three cities beginning with Daejeon, Sept. 17-19, then Daegu, Oct. 8-10 as part of the Daegu Opera Festival, and finally Goyang, Oct. 16-18.
The 800 million-won production cost was split among the three theaters. This naturally lowers the admission fee ― tickets are marked between 10,000 and 70,000 won and thus caters to more audience members.

The respective troupes of each art house will perform the rendition by Paolo Baiocco.
``Opera is the most comprehensive, specialized and costly performance art I know, and I think it is inevitable to divide production costs. This joint project truly benefits everyone in a win-win situation, and this is something that Europeans can learn from,'' the Italian maestro told the press recently in Seoul.

The esteemed artistic director returns to Korea for a second time after dazzling fans earlier this year with his atmospheric, highly-stylized interpretation of ``Norma'' (National Opera of Korea).

``The audience can look forward to feeling the aroma of 19th-century Italy, but the story has a very contemporary significance,'' he said.

``L'Elisir d'Amore'' is essentially a romantic comedy about a naive young man who buys a fake love potion to win the heart of the beautiful Adina, who is being pursued by another man.

Even though the National Opera of Korea will also be offering the bel canto opera this month in Seoul, organizers said this would not be a problem. ``Considering geographical distance, the audience won't be split. Also, staunch opera fans and related professionals will have the chance to compare productions,'' said Kim Hong-seung, director of Daegu Opera House.

``It doesn't matter how many times the same opera is staged. The artist of a given production is not the artistic director or conductor but the composer, Donizetti in this case. The work is timeless and must be performed as many times as possible,'' said the artistic director.

For more information call: (042) 610-2222 (Daejeon Culture and Arts Center); (053) 666-6111 (Daegu Opera House); or 1577-7766 (Goyang Aram Nuri Art Complex).

Werther

Operagoers in Seoul and neighboring cities in Gyeonggi Province can look forward to seeing "Werther" at Uijeongbu Arts Center, Oct. 22-24; Hanam Arts Center, Oct. 30-31; and Nowon Art & Culture Center, Seoul, Nov. 21-22.

``There are many obstacles that stand in the way of opera's popularization. The skyrocketing production costs, conservative practices and limited repertoire are a few examples,'' said Rhee Jin-bae, president of Uijeongbu Arts Center.

The opera by Massenet is rarely performed in Korea and will be a fine alternative to the usual batch of operas seen here: this year alone, ``The Magic Flute'' was staged on five occasions; ``Madame Butterfly,'' four times; and ``Tosca,'' ``Carmen'' and ``L'Elisir d'Amore,'' three times each.

Based on Goethe's novel ``The Sorrows of Young Werther,'' ``Werther'' is not an unfamiliar story among the performance art-going crowd. A popular musical version was staged over a prolonged period of time and its artistic director Kim Gwang-bo joins the crew of the opera.

``Kim Kwang-bo has a strong background in directing musicals and plays, and we're confident that he will bring a contemporary edge to the opera. That, combined with the singers' acting skills, will yield something dramatically entertainment for fans,'' said Rhee.
``Werther'' tells the story of a young star-crossed couple. Werther, heartbroken that the love of his life must marry another man, eventually takes his own life.

``This is my first time working on an opera so I am very nervous, but `Werther' has a strong theatrical quality. The opera won't be very visual; it will instead focus on depicting the emotions of characters and the subtext underlying the narrative,'' said Kim in a press conference in Seoul.

A unique aspect of the production is that the libretto will be delivered alternately in Korean and in the original French. ``Opera being sung in a foreign language is one of the many things that make the genre seem difficult to approach for the public. This will be a chance, moreover, to develop and establish Korean diction for opera,'' said conductor Kim Deok-gi, who will lead the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra in ``Werther.''

Tickets cost between 20,000 and 70,000 won. Call (031)828-5841 (Uijeongbu Arts Center); (02)951-3355 (Nowon Art & Culture Center); and (031)790-7979 (Hanam Arts Center).


[THE KOREA TIMES]09-08-2009 17:25/By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter