{"id":53725,"date":"2026-06-15T17:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T17:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/53725\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T17:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T17:02:11","slug":"thriller-like-opera-will-break-the-bias-that-its-boring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/53725\/","title":{"rendered":"Thriller-Like Opera Will Break the Bias That It’s Boring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JulienJulien Chavaz (left), director of the Korea National Opera’s “Peter Grimes,” and conductor Alexander Joel pose at N Studio in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 8th.\"ConductorConductor Alexander Joel (left) and director Julien Chavaz of the Korea National Opera’s “Peter Grimes” pose at N Studio in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Reporter Jo Tae-hyung<\/p>\n

Peter Grimes, a fisherman in an English seaside village, is an outsider in his community because of his eccentric temperament. One day, his apprentice boy dies mysteriously, and when a second apprentice also loses his life, the villagers conclude that he is the culprit. Suspicion turns to certainty, and collective rage ultimately races toward a tragic ending.<\/p>\n

“Peter Grimes,” an opera that recalls the synopsis of a thriller film, will make its Korean premiere in a Korea National Opera production at the Seoul Arts Center Opera Theater from the 18th to the 21st. The English opera was composed in 1945 by British composer Benjamin Britten, based on the narrative poem “The Borough” by English poet George Crabbe, and is regarded as a masterpiece representing 20th-century opera. Julien Chavaz, who directed this production, and conductor Alexander Joel met with Seoul Economic Daily and introduced it as “a work that will break the bias that modern opera is difficult and boring.”<\/p>\n

The work is characterized by the tension of watching a suspense thriller, dramatic music reminiscent of a film score, and a thematic awareness that addresses collective violence against an individual. It differs in nature from traditional operas that focus on beautiful arias and the love stories of couples.<\/p>\n

At the core is the protagonist, Peter Grimes. He is a complex figure who is not easy to like. He shows violent behavior toward the boy and is psychologically unstable, yet he genuinely loves the heroine, Ellen. Joel explained, “Peter is a character who cannot be simply divided into good and evil,” adding, “Existing in a gray zone, he moves between extreme emotions, and that is precisely what strongly draws the audience in.”<\/p>\n

“Peter Grimes” is also an opera with a strong social message. Peter is an “other” who is constantly rejected within the community. The reason the villagers are hostile toward him is not merely that they believe he committed a crime. It is because he is a being who deviates from the community’s norms.<\/p>\n

“This work shows how violent a community can become toward an outsider or a minority,” Chavaz said. “Ultimately, it is a story about the confrontation between Peter Grimes and the community.” In particular, the way the crowd is swept along by the group’s mood rather than judging for itself is also a self-portrait of the social media era.<\/p>\n

The stage is also worth noting. Although it is set against the sea, it actively makes use of the characteristics of theater art, which cannot show actual waves and storms like a film. The 54-member chorus functions not as a mere backdrop but as another stage device that gives form to the waves, the storm, and the crowd’s anger and fear.<\/p>\n

Lighting also plays an important role. In the work, the weather changes in an instant. Scenes follow in which lightning strikes over a calm sea and a storm rages. The stage, composed of three giant ship structures, moves and rotates throughout the performance, continuously creating new spaces. “We will express the storm, the waves, and the rough weather through the chorus, lighting, and stage devices,” Chavaz emphasized. “Stimulating the imagination without showing everything directly is precisely the power of theater art.”<\/p>\n

Music is also indispensable in expressing the ever-changing sea. In particular, the “Sea Interludes” are cited as the music that represents the work. Among the six interludes in total, “Dawn,” “Sunday Morning,” “Moonlight,” and “Storm” are so captivating that they are often performed as an orchestral suite. The music depicts not only the rugged landscape of nature but also the inner world of Peter Grimes. Joel explained, “The interludes set the mood for the next scene while also revealing the character of the village and the figures,” adding, “It is music that evokes vivid images and emotions, like a film score.”<\/p>\n

The two also did not spare praise for Korean vocalists. In this performance, Christopher Ventris and Kim Jae-seok appear in the role of Peter Grimes, Moon Su-jin and Oh Ye-eun as Ellen, and Yang Jun-mo and Lee Dong-hwan as Balstrode. “In Europe, Korean vocalists are already renowned for their outstanding skill,” Joel said. “In this production as well, I was deeply impressed not only by the soloists but also by the passion and ability of the chorus.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Julien Chavaz (left), director of the Korea National Opera’s “Peter Grimes,” and conductor Alexander Joel pose at N…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[30644,30642,30645,30643,30641,30640,30646,112,3143],"class_list":["post-53725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seoul","tag-alexander-joel","tag-benjamin-britten","tag-english-opera","tag-julien-chavaz","tag-korea-national-opera","tag-peter-grimes","tag-sea-interludes","tag-seoul","tag-seoul-arts-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}