Daily Busan
Year-end ‘Carmen vs. Carmen’ gala set for Busan Concert Hall on Dec. 12
source: Busan Concert Hall
“Carmen vs. Carmen,” a year-end opera gala, comes to Busan Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on Dec. 12. The program brings together highlights from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” carrying audiences into the passion and drama of 19th-century Seville, far from the winter chill outside.
Presented by the Grand Opera Company, the gala also marks the company’s 30th anniversary. Founded in 1996 and based in Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do Province, the company has helped shape the region’s opera scene over the past three decades.
Carlo Palleschi, a renowned maestro of Italian opera, will conduct. Over his career, he has worked with singers including Luciano Pavarotti, Piero Cappuccilli and Renato Bruson, and has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Berlin Philharmonie. He will lead the DIO Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Daegu Opera House, in bringing out the color and intensity of Bizet’s score.
Mezzo-soprano Seung Hyun Choi, praised for her performance of Carmen at the National Theatre in Prague, will sing the title role. Tenor Sung Kyu Park, a prizewinner at major European competitions, will sing Don Jose. Baritone Jung-Hyun Moon will sing Escamillo, and soprano Hyun Jung Park will sing Micaela.
Violinist Ji-Hae Park will also appear, and the Daegu Opera Choir and Junior MK Musical Troupe will round out the lineup. In all, about 150 performers are expected to take the stage.
Tickets are 120,000 won for VIP seats, 80,000 won for R seats, 50,000 won for S seats, 30,000 won for A seats and 10,000 won for students. Bookings made by Nov. 12 get a 30% early-bird discount, and other discounts are available for eligible groups. The performance runs about two hours, including a 20-minute intermission, and is open to elementary school students and older. Tickets are available through Classic Busan and YES24, linked below.
※ Year-End Opera Gala: “Carmen vs. Carmen,” Dec. 12
◎ Busan Concert Hall: 250 Dongpyeong-ro, Busanjin-gu
◎ Google Maps: Click
◎ Schedule: Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.
◎ Price: 30,000 won to 120,000 won
◎ Ticketing
- via Busan Concert Hall: Click
- via YES24: Click
<Today's Vocabulary - 오늘의 단어>
passion: 열정 renowned: 유명한 intensity: 강도 appear: 출연하다
Editor: Song Soomi
Copy Editors: Ryu Hyoseung, Anton J. Mapoy