To mark its seventy fifth anniversary, The Korea Instances brings the magic of musical theater to the live performance stage with a gala “The Musical,” helmed by music director and conductor Kolleen Park. That includes Kang Hye-jung, Michael Ok. Lee and Choi Jae-rim, the live performance pays tribute to the legacy of Korea’s oldest English every day and the common language of music.
Born to a Korean father and Lithuanian American mom, Park made her debut as music director for the Korean authentic musical “The Final Empress” within the Nineties and has since led main productions together with “Aida” and “She Stars!” over the previous three many years. Her expertise extends to large-scale occasions and live shows, equivalent to serving as director for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian Para Video games and, extra just lately, directing the opening and shutting ceremonies of the 106th Nationwide Sports activities Pageant in Busan in October.
A relentless challenger in her personal proper, Park can also be lively on stage as an actor, finest identified for her portrayal of Diana within the musical “Subsequent to Regular.” This summer season, she broke new floor by taking over the historically male position of director Julian Marsh within the musical “forty second Road,” providing a recent perspective to the character identified for locating hidden expertise.
For Park, each artistic challenge begins by asking, “What’s the story?” With this gala at Lotte Live performance Corridor in southern Seoul, set for Monday night, her imaginative and prescient was to permit the music to shine in its most genuine type, making the most of considered one of Korea’s most acoustically refined venues.
“We needed to deal with acoustic excellence — no microphones, no in-ear displays, no video projections,” Park instructed The Korea Instances in a written interview. “This live performance is about letting the voices and orchestra resonate naturally and honoring the music itself by absolutely embracing the corridor’s distinctive acoustics.”
Park’s philosophy for this live performance is evident: strip away the surplus and let the music converse. In an period the place synthetic intelligence, video and know-how more and more dominate performances, she selected to deal with the necessities — voice, orchestra and story.
“This live performance is one the place you possibly can shut your eyes and simply hear,” Park stated.
Music director and actor Kolleen Park will lead “The Musical,” a musical gala commemorating the seventy fifth anniversary of The Korea Instances at Lotte Live performance Corridor in southern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of 4kyyks Leisure
Emotional journey of music
Greater than a set of well-known numbers, the gala’s set listing was curated to take the viewers on an emotional journey. Park and the musicians selected songs that evoke love, loss, triumph, longing and hope, echoing the highs and lows of The Korea Instances’ 75-year historical past.
Central to the live performance is the creative chemistry between Park and her performers, accompanied by the 40-member Excessive Tone Symphony Orchestra. Park first encountered soprano Kang Hye-jung throughout the Korean premiere of “Anna Karenina,” the place she was instantly captivated by Kang’s voice as Patty.
“Even in a short look, her singing left a long-lasting impression,” Park stated. Their collaboration grew from there, with Kang eagerly embracing new musical challenges.
For this gala, Kang joins Choi for a rearranged model of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe’s “Barcelona,” an uncommon instance that mixes pop and opera. Kang and Choi may also carry out a duet of “Earlier than and After You” and “One Second and a Million Miles” from “The Bridges of Madison County.”
Park’s collaboration with Lee dates again even additional, to the Korean premiere of “Miss Saigon” in 2006, the place she was music director.
“Michael is an artist who actually appreciates nice performances and doesn’t depend on know-how or enhancing. He’s a genuinely expert actor,” Park stated. “He’s by no means afraid to attempt one thing new and he may also current a brand new duet with Choi Jae-rim.”
Lee’s repertoire for the night consists of “Out There” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “The place within the World” from Maury Yeston’s “Phantom.”
Park admires Choi for his versatility and adventurous spirit. He gained wider recognition after a video of his ventriloquist efficiency of “We Each Reached for the Gun” from “Chicago” went viral, including to his fame constructed on various roles equivalent to Lola in “Kinky Boots” and the Phantom in “The Phantom of the Opera.”
“He’s not afraid to take dangers and he’s ready many new interpretations for this efficiency. I’m very a lot wanting ahead to it,” Park stated.
Lee and Choi will sing “Lily’s Eyes” from “The Secret Backyard” — a musical not but staged in Korea — for the primary time.
“‘The Secret Backyard’ is a private favourite of mine and ‘Lily’s Eyes’ brings out the perfect in each Michael’s and my voice. It was his suggestion to incorporate it,” Choi stated.
Choi can also be getting ready to reprise his position because the duty-bound Humayun within the play “Guards on the Taj” at LG Arts Middle in western Seoul, beginning Nov. 12.
“I keep in mind accepting the position instantly after studying the script throughout the Korean premiere of ‘Guards on the Taj’ [in 2017]. The script was so stunning, I couldn’t resist. Now, after greater than seven years, I need to present how I’ve grown as an actor, working with new solid members and director Shin U-chung, who encourages us to encourage the viewers’s creativeness and interpretation,” he stated.
Identified for his capacity to seamlessly cross genres, Choi finds vitality and success in tackling new challenges.
“I discover the best pleasure in increasing my storytelling skills as an actor by means of a wide range of performances. That’s what offers me the drive to maintain shifting ahead at any time when new alternatives come up,” Choi stated.
Actor Choi Jae-rim will carry out in “The Musical,” a musical gala commemorating the seventy fifth anniversary of The Korea Instances at Lotte Live performance Corridor in southern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of 4kyyks Leisure
