BLOUIN ARTINFO- Composer Lee Young-jo’s Wagnerian Sounds Infusing Korean Spirit

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Q&A: Composer Lee Young-jo’s Wagnerian Sounds Infusing Korean Spirit

Q&A: 바그너 음악에 한국정신 담은 작곡가 이영조의 “처용

View Slideshow                                                                                       Courtesy Korea National Opera

Courtesy Korea National Opera

Composer Lee Young-jo

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by Lee Hyo-won

Published: June 13, 2013

SEOUL — It is difficult to believe that Lee Young-jo’s opera “Tcheo Yong” (libretto by Kim Eui-kung, lyrics by Ko Yeon-ok, mise-en-scene by Yang Jung Ung) a “Prometheus” style legend set in 10th-century Korea, was composed back in 1987.

One cannot help but wonder why this monolith of a piece — praised by the late U.S. academic Enrique Albert Arias — has remained oblivious to the general public all this time, until the Korea National Opera, which originally premiered it 26 years ago, decided to revive it at Seoul Arts Center over the weekend.

The 70-year-old inherits his musicality from his father, the prominent art song composer Lee Heung-Yeol (1909-1980), and trained under the German maestro composer Carl Orff. With such iconic works as the opera “Hwang Jin Yi” and violin piece “Honza Nori” under his belt, he creates a musical language that is international and thoroughly modern, but at once grounded in the traditional and quintessentially Korean. Not just an icon in Korea, Lee’s work was featured in a weeklong retrospective in Maastricht, Netherlands, in 2005.

His signature style culminates in the “Monks’ Chorus,” a piece that descends on a serial, whole-tone scale crowned by meditative “moktak” (wooden percussion instrument used for chanting by Buddhist clergy), and exuding a male stage presence en masse that has been rarely seen except for likes of the ballet “Spartacus.”

Arias, a founding member of the Chicago Lyric Opera, makes no exaggeration in comparing “Tcheo Yong’s” masterful use of leitmotif to the likes of Wagner and its atmospheric quality to Mozart/Richard Strauss: “…the opera ‘Tcheo Yong’ extends far beyond the European compositional framework in its creation of a new musical structure that is infused with the breadth of Korean sounds. I believe that this masterful synergy will ensure Korean opera ‘Tcheo Yong’ a formidable and reputable place in the grand cadre of World Music.”

“Tcheo Yong’s” namesake hero, the son of god, descends to earth in order to save the corrupt ruling class of the Silla (57 BC-935 AD) on the eve of the kingdom’s collapse. Tcheo Yong is not only ridiculed by the decadent king and his entourage, but himself submits to the depths of depravity as he falls for the courtesan Ka Shil.

Boldly breaking away from the conventional period costumes and backdrop, the 21st-century “Tcheo Yong,” unlike the original 1987 version, becomes ultimately modern as it depicts the depravity à la “Gangnam Style,” as director Yang Jung Ung (who has helmed such signature local operas as “Wozzeck”) sets shocking orgy scenes in Cheongdam-dong wine bars.

Click on slideshow to see scenes from the opera “Tcheo Yong” staged at Seoul Arts Center on June 8 and 9.

BLOUIN ARTINFO Korea sat down with Lee, who spoke about restaging the piece and his musical visions, including the role of the composer and the state of Korean music education.

The Korea National Opera asked you to compose the piece back in the 1980s. What drew you to the work?

I was living in Chicago at the time, and it took me about two-and-a-half years to compose it. I’m an artist so I won’t do it unless I feel up to it, but I liked the story. Tcheo Yong, the son of the Emperor of Heaven, comes to save humanity but gives into depravity himself. This is still relevant today; you see politicians vowing to serve the people but becoming corrupt.

Many elements have been altered for the latest rendition of the opera. What are some of the biggest changes?

This is the fifth time “Tcheo Yong” is being staged, and of these two were gala performances. I wanted the opera to be relevant to contemporary society, and wanted to move away from the traditional “hanok” houses and “hanbok” (Korean costumes). Ka Shil kills herself with a revolver instead of a knife.

In terms of music, the original version had only one soprano and four Wagner style bass singers. I wanted more female vocals so I added a trio of witches, which adds more fun to the story as well.

“Tcheo Yong” has been praised for fusing very Korean elements, such as when opera singers deliver lyrical melodies like “pansori” (Korean opera). The “Monks’ Chorus” also features the moktak, which is very Korean.

Yes. The chorus has a renaissance-style structure but it’s also very Korean. When I was training under my teacher [Carl Orff] in Munich, he said I had what is a most European, yet at the same time anti-European, musical color. He actually thanked me for allowing him to learn about a different musical tradition.

I was lucky because I learned “gugak” (Korean traditional music) instruments, which really allowed me to express myself. It’s a shame that many Korean musicians do not know how to utilize such local elements, but at the same time one shouldn’t force oneself to be “Korean” — you just need to express your culture in a natural, honest way. Of course in order to do this you need to know the technique.

Korean musicians and the general public are more familiar with Western classical music than gugak.

Yes. But I’m happy that Koreans seem to be taking more pride in our traditional culture. At the same time Koreans are very stubborn; gugak musicians hate fusion music, and insist on reviving music that played centuries ago. This is important too but I believe it’s also important to create gugak that is relevant to Korea here and now.

Korea is essentially a multicultural society that has accepted many foreign customs. Music needs to reflect this. The orchestral instrument is no long a Western tradition but an internationalized tool. Likewise, the composer is not limited to a specific region. Musical compositions should be played beyond border, or else it would be just ethnic music. I wish to transcend all this.

Lee Young-jo will take part in the Great Mountains Music Festival & School in August as its resident composer and will premiere a new piece for the cello, “daegeum” (Korean flute), and percussion on Aug. 3. The popular summer classical music event will take place from July 22 to Aug. 6 in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, which was chosen among top getaways around the world by BLOUIN ARTINFO.

Click on slideshow to see scenes from the opera “Tcheo Yong” staged at Seoul Arts Center on June 8 and 9.

Chorus Culture Korea

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