Vocal artist Lee Jaram performs 'Stranger's Song,' a lyrical adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story 'Bon Voyage, Mr. President!'
A Latin American short story is being retold through traditional Korean pansori narrative singing.
Vocal artist Lee Jaram is returning to the stage this season with "Stranger's Song," a lyrical performance of the short story "Bon Voyage, Mr. President!" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Lee wrote the libretto for the piece, adapting the plot of the story to fit with the styles and techniques of pansori, a traditional form of narrative musical storytelling.
The story takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, where we meet a 73-year-old Latin American former president who is waiting to receive an operation to cure a serious illness. Here, the ex-president meets Homero, an ambulance driver, and his wife, Lazara, an immigrant couple from his native country. The couple, though they struggle to make ends meet, invite the old man into their home and into their lives. So the story unfolds.
Traditional vocal artist Lee Jaram takes on a monodramatic role in 'Stranger's Song,' playing three different characters and acting as the narrator throughout the performance.
In the show, Lee Jaram plays all three characters in her melodramatic role as narrator, singer and actor. Throughout the 85-minute run, she switches back and forth between the distinct personalities of Homero, Lazara and the former head of state, animating them and breathing life into their story.
Lee made the decision to adapt Marquez's short story for the pansori stage two years ago, shortly after the author's death in 2014. She said, "I traveled to Barcelona to ask for the rights to the piece, to explain what pansori was and to place it in the Korean context for those unfamiliar with the genre."
Asked about her working process and the way in which she prepared for the show, Lee said, "I wrote the piece with the hope of taking the audience on a stroll along the banks of a placid lake, allowing them to observe each scene with openness and sensitivity. The characters are essentially reflections of us as humans, and I think audiences will be able to see bits of themselves in the hardworking individuals whose lives we enter through the story."
The show is currently playing in the Jayu Theater at the Seoul Arts Center, and runs until May 1. Thereafter, it will be staged at the Busan Cinema Center on May 6 and 7, and at the Cheonan Arts Center from May 12 to May 14.
After completing its national tour, the show will begin its international tour, starting with Romania in November. Tour schedules for the U.S., Oceania and elsewhere in Asia are also in the works.
By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Pansoriza
hlee10@korea.kr
Vocal artist Lee Jaram performs 'Stranger's Song' at the Seoul Arts Center until May 1.