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| A scene from the musical, "Geumak (Forbidden Music)" by the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra / Courtesy of Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra |
By Park Ji-won
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| Poster for the musical, "Geumak (Forbidden Music)," by the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra / Courtesy of the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra |
The Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra is presenting its first original musical, "Geumak (Forbidden Music)" from Aug. 18 to 29 at the Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
The fantasy musical is inspired by the Jangakwon, the royal court institute of music and dance of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), which was in charge of the music and dance for palace ceremonies, as well as served as an elite educational and research institution. It centers on musical genius Seongyul (Yoo Ju-hye and Ko Geun-young); Crown Prince Hyomyeong (Jo Pooong-rae and Hwang Gun-ha); Yi Yeong, the eldest son of the 23rd ruler; King Sunjo; and politician Kim Jo-sun, grandfather of Crown Prince Hyomyeong. The musical's plot tells the story of the discovery of a forbidden music score from the Silla Kingdom.
Crown Prince Hyomyeong, who had been ruling the country on behalf of his father, King Sunjo, tries to establish "yeak," a cultural, ethical and political philosophy that tries to enlighten and morally educate the common people through music, via the music played by Seongyul, while Kim tries to build a strong political powerbase through the philosophy. Amid the conflict between the two, Seongyul, who has perfect pitch, ends up playing a forbidden score, which arouses her desire inside. The desire transforms her into the creature, Gal (Chu Da-hye and Yoon Jin-woong).
Won Il, the artistic director the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra, as well as the director and composer of the musical, said that "Geumak" was made to meet diversified audiences' tastes through gugak, or Korean traditional music, and to take pride in the royal court institute of music and dance of Korea. He was also the co-music director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
"Korean (traditional) music is capable of expressing all of the types of musical styles of the current era. And nowadays we can listen to specific music from a certain country through music platforms anytime. So, I thought that it was time for the orchestra to come up with a musical to satisfy the diversified tastes of audiences. Therefore, four composers joined hands to compose various pieces, and I did my best make them consistent and harmonious in the show so that listeners can enjoy our traditional music and its narrative together naturally," Won Il said during an online press conference held Thursday.
"Also, I came to think that we didn't take pride in Korea's royal court institute of music and dance as people in European countries take pride in the Royal Academy of Music or the Conservatoire de Paris, for example. As you can see in the character of Hulk in the Marvel movie series, a certain feeling inside a human being can change him or her profoundly. In our musical, such a desire can be transformed into something by being triggered by music. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have lost something important. As Seogyul, who feels a loss herself, found meaning in life through music, I hope audiences can get some energy from our show."
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| A scene from the musical, "Geumak (Forbidden Music)," by the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra / Courtesy of the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra |
The four composers ― Won Il, Seong Chan-kyeong, composer of the musical "Nijinsky," Son Da-hye, composer of the changgeuk, "Farewell My Concubine," and Han Woong-won ― wrote the original works based on traditional music.
"We spent a lot of time sharing ideas about the pieces. We tried our best to show come consistency between the pieces, as well as give each song unique characteristics using various traditional musical elements, such as rhythm, royal court music and traditional instruments," Son said.
In addition to the 13 main and supporting roles in the musical, up to 30 dancers and singers, as well as a traditional music orchestra with 32 members, will also appear in the show.
