Opera <Green Bean>: Donghak Peasant Revolution Met through Concert Opera!

Opera <Green Bean> is a revisit of the Donghak Peasant Revolution that opened the dawn of Korea's modern history. The story is about how the revolutionaries, including Generals Jeon Bongjoon, Son Hwajung, Kim Gaenam, and Choi Kyungsun as well as the peasant troop, uprose for the cause of human equality, social justice, and the elimination of invasional foreign powers.

The festival performance is a newly-attempted stage by Honam Opera Company with a new direction of creating a Korean-style opera with traditional melodies. Particularly, several elements of traditional music – including Pansori dochang (interpretational singing and narrating), folk instruments such as taepyeongso, piri, ggwaenggwari, and funeral songs of Naju province, Gyeongpungnyeon (court-based instrumental music), etc. - are embraced by the Western form of opera. The audience will be able to feel what “K-opera” can be through watching the performance.

Honam Opera Company, founded in 1986 with the purpose of globalizing Korean music and local culture, has been performing at least three times every year. The company, as one of the best non-governmental-based opera troops in Korea, has been producing ten new pieces of new opera, and has been designated as a “outstanding opera-creation” producing troop by the Arts Council Korea.