FULL WHEN THE BUCKWHEAT FLOWERS BLOOM (Wu Cheon Yok) Daegu 2022 Gumi Opera Company
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom
- Composer: Wu Cheon Yok
- Libretto: Tak Gye-seok Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Daegu Opera House, South Korea, Gumi Opera Company
- Recorded: November 27, 2022
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Kim Seung-cheol, Yu So-young, Kim Eun-guk, Kim Man-soo, Kim Min-ji, Lee Chang-hoon, Lee Sang-gyu
- Conductor: Lim Byung-wook
- Orchestra: Centro Philharmonic & Daegu Women's Orchestra
- Chorus: Daegu Chorale
- Ballet: Youkyung Jang Dance Troupe
- Stage Director: Park Young-guk
- Stage Designer: Jeong Cheol-won
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: FS MEdia
- Date Published: 2022
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, othersubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Review by Cho Joo-tae:
As soon as the overture started playing, I was immersed in the opera itself, completely forgetting the old novels.
The faint foreshadowing of the opera, which is well blended with our own rhythms and melodies, held me firmly on the stage until the last moment, and Nongak, which was inserted in a different way in the Bongpyeong Marketplace, evoked the lively chorus of market people and the Chungju House. In harmony with the fresh love aria of Hyang-dongi, it showed more than our own simple joy or excitement culture.
Above all, this opera has many beautiful and heartfelt arias, adding to its beauty. In particular, the duet sung by Heo Saeng-won with an Ariana woman recalling a fleeting love in the past was enough to remind anyone of the faint but painful memories of love. The aria sung by the moon also revealed the regrets of our lives, like trying to grab onto something but never getting caught, as if sketching.
In a word, all the arias, which gave the feeling that the lines and the music fit so well, contained artistry comparable to, or better than, any famous Western opera aria. In that respect, I wonder if opera should gradually pursue the Korean Wave.
In addition, the stage setting depicting buckwheat flowers “as if sprinkled with salt” in a hot spring and the moonlight shining alternately on them and the excellent artistic sense of the dancers supported this opera, and the musical skills and acting of the vocalists and orchestra Needless to say, it was great.
There is a conventional wisdom that an opera must literally have a strong dramatic element, but wasn’t this ‘When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom’ that self-evidently stated that even an opera without a shocking storyline or twist can be successful and impress people? want.