FULL THE LAST SNOWMAN (Choe U Zong) Seoul 2022 The National Choir
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: The Last Snowman
- Composer: Choe U Zong
- Libretto: Choi Seung Ho
- Venue & Opera Company: Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, South Korea
- Recorded: August 30, 2022
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers:
- Conductor: Yoon Eui Joong
- Orchestra: Seoul Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
- Chorus: The National Chorus of Korea
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, othersubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Korea’s first choral play, Composer Choi Woo-jung,
National Choir ‘The Last Snowman’ premiered on the 30th
Based on the works of poet Choi Seung-ho, Kim Hee-won narrating
actor, emphasizing outstanding ‘play’
Expression, voice, and acting, not simple narration, are important
“Music lovers before writing works and composers every day ”
“I wanted to create a ‘choral play’ that emphasizes the ‘play’ in which the actor’s dialogue performance stands out, and brings out the characteristics of a drama or play. In a way, it can be said that it is a new creation of the tradition found in pansori or exorcism in the 21st century.”
The National Choir premieres its first choral play in Korea, ‘The Last Snowman’, at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on the 30th. Composer Choi Woo-jeong (54), an expert in theater music who has produced various works such as the musical “Gwangju,” the opera “1945,” and the musical play “The Jeok-ro,” took charge of the composition. Music is attached to the text ‘The Last Snowman’, which is a compilation of various works such as ‘The Snowman Suicide Case’ by poet Choi Seung-ho, and actor Kim Hee-won (51) narrates and collaborates with the National Choir. This is the first of its kind in Korea.
Choi Woo-jung, a professor at the College of Music at Seoul National University, recently met with the Seoul Shinmun and said, “There are many choirs that narrate, but this performance has a story structure rather than simply reading poetry, so the acting, such as the expression, voice, and posture of the performers, must be supported.” As a fan who was impressed by the poetry of poet Choi Seung-ho, whom I am close to, I wanted to express it through music.”
‘The Last Snowman’ deals with the despair, solitude, and futility of a being standing on the ruins of civilization through the monologue of a snowman left alone on the ice age earth. All the other snowmen have melted and disappeared, but because it is an ice age, they cannot melt even if they want to. It is performed for 70 minutes, including the overture, 12 acts, and the postlude. Choi Woo-jung said, “There is no individual story in the obsession that the group’s story should be my story,” and “I thought that the snowman itself, as a lonely being, resembled my individual story.”