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| ▲ This photo, provided by S&Co, shows the production crew of the Korean production of the musical 'The Phantom of the Opera.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 7 (Yonhap) -- The Korean version of the legendary musical “The Phantom of the Opera” will be coming back to Korea for the third time at Busan’s Dream Theater from Mar. 30 to June 18 and also at Seoul’s Charlotte Theater from July 14 to Nov. 17.
Producer Shin Dong-won, who has been in charge of delivering the Korean production of this renowned piece since 2019, will be taking the helm once again. During the press conference held at the Westin Josun Seoul Hotel on Monday, the producer shared his resolve to replicate the very first performance of the original version in 1987.
This iconic piece of the musical guru Andrew Lloyd Webber has been widely recognized as one of the best and all-time celebrated musicals. As it is also well-known as a historical work that touts the longest performance record both in Broadway and West End, “The Phantom of the Opera” has been one of the musical pieces that rarely grants overseas licenses for performance and is also notorious for applying stringent standards.
The Korean production of this highly renowned piece was performed only twice until now, the very first performance in 2001 and the second in 2009. After 13-year-long hiatus, the masterpiece will be revisiting the Korean stage.
Producer Shin emphasized that major enhancements have been made from the beginning to the end of the performance, from the licensing to the translation of lyrics, implying that those revisions reflect the improved status of the Korean performance industry.
“Back in 2001 and 2009, there have been some awkward parts as the original creators applied some strict and rigorous rules to our translations of the lyrics. That was when the opinions of our actors and staff were rarely reflected,” the producer said while looking back. “However, for the upcoming performance, revisions have been made for the sake of our audiences so that they can readily comprehend and listen to the lyrics.”
The lyrics have undergone some retouching to fit into the Korean sentiment, while the original stage from 37 years ago will be brought back alive. Instead of the stage that has been used for world tours until now, a new stage that replicates the original one has been specially produced in the U.K.
Shin said, “The stage was newly produced after holding several performances at local concert halls in the U.K., and we will also be crafting new costumes and props from all over the world in Korea, the U.K., and Australia in order to resemble those from the original stage.”
The veteran production staff, who have been participating in producing this masterpiece for decades since its premiere, have also been named as directors for the upcoming performance and further enhanced the level of originality: Denny Berry, a choreographer who collaborated with the late musical choreographer Gillian Lynn and created choreography for “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats” will earn the recognition as a director, as well as Rainer Fried, who has been participating in the world tour of the musical since the Korean version’s premiere in 2001.
Choreographer Denny Berry said, “I wish to share the universality of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ which transcends across time and borders, with today’s Korean audiences,” adding, “At the same time, I also would like to add something special that can only be felt in the Korean version.”
This musical masterpiece has met its Korean audiences in five separate periods over the past 20 years, including those that were performed by the original cast of the international tours.
Director Fried said, “Korea is the country where ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ was staged most often,” adding jestingly, “It seems like the musical and the Korean audience have tied their knots.”
“Back when I visited Korea in 2019, I once said that the Phantom and the Korean audiences might have fallen in love with each other, but I now think that they have already tied their knots. I am very grateful to the Korean audience and producers who return to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ even after enjoying other musical pieces.”
As the director emphasized, this masterpiece does have some special bonding with the Korean musical market – the domestic premiere in 2001 marked the very first large-scale musical work as it was the time when overseas-licensed musicals were not very common. Since then, the premiere has been commonly acknowledged to have acted as the starting point of the explosive growth of the domestic musical market.
“The growth of the Korean performance market kicked off with the premiere of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ and it was an unprecedented growth that was never spotted anywhere else in the world,” Fried said. “We are proud that our work has contributed to such an impressive growth of the Korean musical market.”
The upcoming performance had Korean musical fans already buzzing for featuring headlining veteran actor Cho Seung-woo, who will be performing on the musical stage for the first time in 7 years, along with musical actors Jeong Dong-seok and Choi Jae-rim, and baritone Julian Kim.
Director Fried shared his affection for the cast and said, “I can say with confidence that our cast is perfect even from now. Being able to work with such great Korean actors is one of the biggest perks of working on this piece. They have the iconic passion that Koreans have as well as deep emotions that blend in well with this work. Working with them has always been exciting and enthralling.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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