SeAH holds 9th opera concert in tribute to late chairman
The SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation will hold its ninth annual opera concert on Friday as it serves patronage of SeAH Group’s former late chairman Lee Woonhyung for the arts, according to the foundation, Thursday.
“I Puritani,” created by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35), will come to the stage again at Seoul Arts Center. Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor David Yi leads the troupe and Noi Opera Chorus, while tenor Son Ji-hoon, soprano Kathleen Kim, base Park Jong-min and baritone Lee Dong-hwan will lift the three-act opera’s vocal ensemble.
The opera centering on a couple’s romance amidst a tumultuous political upturn during the English Civil War (1642-51), features Italian bel canto style with advanced singing techniques that, according to the foundation, have not been performed often worldwide.
“We’ve continued this annual opera tradition for the past 10 years out of the foundation’s uncompromising passion for the arts,” a foundation official said. “We hope the opera’s beautiful melodic lines will soothe the audience and the public who are nowadays, particularly in dire need of something to lift their spirits.”
The late Lee, who died of cardiac arrest while traveling overseas on business in 2013, served as the Korea National Opera’s first chairman in 2000 when the troupe broke away from the National Theater of Korea under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. He continued his tenure there until 2007.
All through his life, the former chairman of the country’s major steelmaker backed the arts making efforts to draw interest and financial support from local companies. He made contributions to help hold the Korea exhibit at the University of Michigan and provided scholarships to music departments at Seoul National University and Korea National University of Arts.
Five months after his death, the group, to commemorate his patronage to opera, launched the foundation. It has been supporting aspiring talented performers and has arranged performance opportunities for professional artists. The foundation launched the annual opera concert in 2015.