Promoted by LAKMA(Los Angeles Korean-American Musicians Association) 

-Date: Friday, October 20, 2017 at 7:30pm

-Place: Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles 3rd Fl. Ari Hall

5505 Wilshire Blvd., LA, CA 90036

-For more Info: tammy@kccla.org or 323-936-3015

The Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles (KCCLA) and Los Angeles Korean-American Musicians Association(LAKMA) will present a special performance, “Opera Yun Dong Ju", on Friday, October 20th, 2017 at 7:30P.M. on the 3rd floor of the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles in the Ari Hall.

Opera Yun Dong Ju is an original Korean opera that is based on the life story of Korean poet Yun Dong Ju. His life is vividly depicted through his poems, which are set to music by Korean composer Gon Hwang. After its premier in Japan in 2014, LAKMA introduced this music to the American audience by performing highlights of the opera at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2015. The profound messages and artistic presentations of the opera were highly praised by the audience. In order to celebrate and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yun Dong Ju, the full production of this opera is going to be presented on stage at the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles as the U.S. premier.

Under Japanese rule of Korea in 1943, Yun Dong Ju was arrested as a thought criminal by the Japanese police and had been imprisoned in Japan until he died six months before Korea gained independence from Japan in 1945. His poetry was finally published in 1948, when three collections of handwritten manuscripts were published posthumously as "The Sky and the Wind and the Stars and Poetry" (Haneulgwa Baramgwa Byeolgwa Si). With the appearance of this volume, Yun Dong Ju came into the spotlight as a Resistance poet of the late occupation period.

English subtitles and program notes in English will be provided for the non-Korean-speaking audience, so it will be a great opportunity to learn about the modern history, literature, and arts of Korea. Tenor Kenny Hojin Hwang will perform the role of Yun Dong Ju along with soloists and members of LAKMA and Pianist Kyungmi Kim. The production team includes Artistic Director Im Sang Yoon, Stage Director Clara Kim Shin, Music Coach Ryan Changhan Jeon, and Performance Coordinator Grace Eunhye Kim. 

*This performance is presented as a part of the Korean Cultural Center’s 2017 ARI PROJECT Season 4: Performing arts series, which features a rich program of various performing arts programs including Korean traditional music and dance, modern fusion world music, Jazz, royal court tea ceremonies, puppet shows as well as theater. 

-PROGRAM-

1. Interrogation Room 

2. A Poem I’ve Easily Written (In Tokyo)

3. Interrogation Room

4. Forward 

5. Interrogation Room 

6. Self-Portrait

7. Love(Spring) 

8. Solitary Cell

9. The Road (Mother)

10. Counting the Stars at Night

11. Solitary Cell 

12. Finale

※ The program is subject to change without notice.