Published : Feb. 14, 2016 - 16:51
Conductor Kim Bong-mee leads the Herald Philharmonic Orchestra during its concert performance at the Seoul Arts Center last year. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)
Following its win at last year’s 8th Korea Opera Awards, the Herald Philharmonic Orchestra will be taking the stage at the upcoming “Golden Opera Gala Concert” on Feb. 22.
The gala concert is being held as part of the Korea Opera Awards and will stage performances by all of last year’s winners.
The Herald Phil was honored with an arts award for an orchestra at last year’s awards ceremony on Dec. 7, and is led under the baton of conductor Kim Bong-mee, who was also honored at the 6th Korea Opera Awards for conductorship.
Along with the Herald Phil, other awardees included the Chosun Opera Company’s production of “Seonbi,” which took home the ceremony’s grand prize. Soprano Oh Mi-sun won the Best Leading Female prize, while Baritone Woo Ju-ho won the prize for Best Leading Male.
This year’s concert program will feature an opening performance of M. Glinka’s “Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture” by the Herald Phil, followed by performances of 15 popular solo arias, including Verdi’s “Parigio Cara,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” which will be sung by winning soprano Lee. The gala show will also highlight seven pieces from last year’s award-winning “Seonbi.”
The concert is slated to be held at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall at 8 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from 30,000 won ($25) to 200,000 won. For more information, call (02) 586-0116.
Still in its infancy having debuted less than two years ago, the Herald Phil -- founded by Herald Corp. -- comprises about 70 musicians who were educated at some of the finest music institutions both in Korea and abroad.
Following its performance at this year’s opera gala concert, the orchestra will be holding a solo recital on March 3. The performance will feature a handful of local guest artists, including trombonist Lee Chul-woong and tenors Shin Dong-won, Kim Dong-won and Lee Dong-myung, along with percussionist Shim Sun-min.
The program is slated to include a wide range of classical and operatic works, such as Verdi’s “La Donna e Mobile,” Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” and J. Schwantner’s “Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra.”
The Herald Phil’s upcoming solo recital will also be held at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall, with tickets ranging from 30,000 won to 150,000 won. For more information, call (02) 586-0945.
By Julie Jackson (
juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)