2011.9.15 TICKET
American R&B singer Eric Benet is scheduled to perform on Sept. 22 at AX-Korea in northeastern Seoul. See MUSIC, below. Provided by Private Curve
MUSIC
GAP BORN TO ROCK CONCERT
AX-Korea
Saturday: This concert is packed with a veritable who’s who of indie bands: YB Band, Jang Ki-ha and The Faces, Crying Nut, Kingston Rudieska, Galaxy Express and Mongoose. Aspiring musicians may apply to participate through the Next Indie Star program, which has a top award of 3 million won and a spot at this year’s concert.
The concert is from 3 to 10 p.m.
Tickets are 30,000 won or 25,000 won on site.
Gwangnaru Station, line No. 5, exit 2
(02) 6911-0821, ticket.interpark.com
YUHKI KURAMOTO
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
Saturday-Sunday: New Age pianist and composer Yuhki Kuramoto brings his romanticism to Korea. Kuramoto’s music is influenced by Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Ravel as well as folk and pop. The program is drawn from his “Romancing Strings: Anthology” album released in May.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 30,000 won to 100,000 won.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
1577-5266, www.clubbalcony.com
LEE SEUNG-HWAN AND THE REGRETS
88 Lake Waterside Stage, Olympic Park
Sunday: The combination of the autumn breeze, the lake and the music will make for an unforgettable night with this group, whose outdoor concerts in 2009 were well received.
The concert starts at 6 p.m.
Tickets are 99,000 won.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3
1544-1555, ticket.interpark.com
ERIC BENET
AX-Korea
Sept. 22: R&B singer Eric Benet returns to Korea for a third concert.
Benet had his first hit with “Spend My Life with You” (featuring Tamia), which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart and was nominated for a Grammy in 2000. Since then, he has had a string of hits, including “Sometimes I Cry,” the first single from his latest album, “Lost in Time,” which peaked at No. 16 on the R&B chart.
Benet was originally slated to perform here in the spring, but the concert was postponed after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets are 99,000 won.
Gwangnaru Station, line No. 5, exit 2
1544-1555, ticket.interpark.com
SUMI JO
88 Garden Outdoor Stage, Olympic Park
Sept. 24: Soprano Sumi Jo is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut with a concert that takes her outside of her usual spotlight in a grand theater. She will be joined by Steven Mercucio, an internationally renowned conductor; Joseph Calleja, a tenor often compared to Pavarotti; and Richard Yong-jae O’Neill, violist and the leader of Ensemble Ditto.
The concert starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets range from 10,000 won to 50,000 won and Hyundai Card holders receive a 20 percent discount.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3
1577-5266, ticket.interpark.com
RUSSELL SHERMAN PIANO RECITAL
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
Sept. 27: Russell Sherman is a pianist, educator and author known for his imaginative and poetic sensitivity. He has performed at some of the best concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall, and played with leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic.
A respected teacher, he has taught a number of notable pianists, including Christopher O’Riley, Soojin Ahn, Ning An and Craig Smith.
His book, “Piano Pieces” (1996), offers his insights into the world of piano as well as its influences on other areas.
The program includes Schumann’s Arabeske in C, Op. 18, and Fantasy in C, Op. 17 and Liszt’s Sonetto 104 del petrarca.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 40,000 won to 90,000 won.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No.3, exit 5
(02) 580-1300, www.mastmedia.co.kr
THE MASTERS SERIES - KBS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Seoul Arts Center, Concert Hall
Sept. 29: The KBS Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating its 660th Subscription Concert. The orchestra will be playing Pierre Mercure’s “Kaleidoscope,” Dvorak’s “A Hero’s Song” and Brahm’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, Op. 83.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 20,000 won to 60,000 won
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
(02) 781-2243, www.sac.or.kr
IL GARDELLINO
LG Arts Center
Oct. 2: Belgian baroque ensemble Il Gardellino makes its first visit to Korea.
Praised as the world’s finest baroque oboist, Marcel Ponseele founded Il Gardellino in 1988 with his musical colleague Jan De Winne, who plays the traverso, and the group has enjoyed recognition as one of the finest baroque ensembles in Europe.
The concert starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets range from 30,000 to 70,000 won.
Yeoksam Station, line No. 2, exit 8
(02) 2005-0114, www.lgart.com
YANNI
Olympic Park Gymnastics Gymnasium
Oct. 14: Contemporary instrumental musician and composer Yanni is holding his second concert in Korea after his first in 1995. Yanni’s music became popular through events such as the Olympics and the World Figure Skating Championships, and he received a Grammy nomination for his song “Aria.” The program is drawn primarily from his latest album “Truth of Touch.”
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets range from 99,000 won to 270,000 won.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3
(02) 3141-3488, ticket.interpark.com
THEATER
RENT
Chungmu Art Hall
To Oct. 9: “Rent” is a musical based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La Boheme.” It concerns a group of impoverished young artists and musicians as they struggle to make it in New York’s Lower East Side, in bohemian Manhattan, as they deal with issues such as HIV. The production won a Tony Award for best musical and much critical acclaim upon its premiere.
Performances are at 8 p.m. on weekdays; at 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays; and at 2 and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. There are no performances on Mondays or from Sept. 12 to 13.
Tickets range from 30,000 won to 90,000 won.
Sindang Station, line No. 6, exit 9
1544-1555, ticket.interpark.com
WOYZECK
Hanguk Performing Arts Center
To Saturday: Polish director Tadeusz Bradecki and a Korean cast present “Woyzeck,” Georg Buchner’s play about a poor man who, in order to survive, subjects himself to a series of experiments by a doctor who sees him as a lab rat.
The play will be presented in Korean with English and Japanese supertitles.
Tickets are 20,000 to 50,000 won.
Performances start at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, at 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Hyehwa Station, line No. 4, exit 2
(02) 3279-2233, hanpac.or.kr, ntck.or.kr
FALLING FOR EVE
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, M Theater
To Sunday: This show by U.S. playwright Joe DiPietro is a quirky take on the Genesis story. It explores the romance between Adam and Eve and attempts to show how paradise can exist only with the presence of love.
DiPietro has been involved in several acclaimed musicals, including Tony Award-winner “Memphis,” “All Shook Up” and “The Toxic Avenger.”
Performances are at 8 p.m. on weekdays; at 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturdays; and at 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets range from 30,000 won to 70,000 won.
Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 1
(02) 501-7888, www.sejongpac.or.kr
LOVE IN NEW YORK
SH Art Hall
To Sept. 30: This Korean musical revolves around Seo Yoo-ra, who works at a cable broadcasting station and is dispatched to New York by her boss. Once there, Seo meets up with an old flame, Yoo Tae-min, who has established himself as a world-famous choreographer. As the plot thickens, Yoo’s friend David jumps into the fray and the musical explores the developing relationships among the three.
Performances are at 8 p.m. on weekdays; at 3 and 7 p.m. on Saturdays; and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. The theater is dark on Mondays.
Tickets range from 27,000 won to 38,500 won.
Hyehwa Station, line No. 4, exit 2
(02) 3141-3025, www.sejongpac.or.kr
AKRAM KHAN COMPANY
LG Arts Center
Sept. 30 to Oct. 1: British choreographer Akram Khan returns to Korea with a cast of dancers from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Drawing inspiration from myths about angels and the idea of “ascension,” Khan takes us through an exploration of the “Vertical Road” that exists between heaven and earth while criticizing the high-velocity nature of life in the digital age.
The performance starts at 8 p.m. on Friday and at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets range from 30,000 won to 70,000 won.
Yeoksam Station, line No.2, exit 7
1544-1555, ticket.interpark.com
TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE
LEE JA-RAM PANSORI GALA
88 Lake Waterside Stage, Olympic Park
Friday: This concert features pansori (narrative song) soloist Lee Jaram. Lee will perform excerpts of the five remaining works in the pansori canon - Heungbuga, Simcheongga, Chunhyangga, Jeokbyeokga and Sugungga - and “Sacheon-ga,” a modern pansori song.
The concert starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets are 55,000 won.
Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3
1544-1555, ticket.interpark.com
FESTIVALS
SEOUL INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL
Seoul Arts Center, Jayu Theater
Sept. 29 to Oct. 16: SI Dance offers up an extravaganza of traditional and contemporary dance from East and West by local and foreign troupes. Featured this year are Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg Nr. 8, Shin Eun-ju & Masayuki Sumi and Glims & Gloms Dance Company. Also included are the Korean Identity through Dance series for emerging choreographers and the China·Ghana·Korea·Sri Lanka/Asia-Africa Dance Exchange project. Dancing City continues the festival’s tradition of increasing access to the arts through free site-specific performances.
Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5
(02) 3216-1185, www.sidance.org
WORLD FESTIVAL OF NATIONAL THEATERS
National Theater of Korea
To Oct. 30: This festival returns for its fifth year with 30 productions by theaters from nine countries, including France, the Czech Republic and China. Not be missed is the National Theater of Prague’s “The Makropulos Case.” Written by Czech playwright Karel Capek, the play is directed by Robert Wilson, an avant-garde director, playwright and designer renowned for pushing the theatrical envelope. Another highlight is Comedie Francaise’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” Moliere’s satirical comedy. The festival also features many local productions, including “Mr. Rabbit and the Dragon King” (“Sugungga”), a pansori hybrid. Closing the festival is “Kim Hong-do,” a musical about the legendary Joseon Dynasty painter.
All productions will be presented with supertitles in Korean and English.
Dongguk University Station, line No. 3, exit 2, then take the shuttle in front of Taegeukdang
(02) 2280-4114~6, www.ntok.go.kr
*Event information is culled from the Korea Tourism Organization and other online sources.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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