On Stage with Park Bong-sul’s ‘Jeokbyeokga’, ‘[I Daily Reporter Jang Byung-ho] Lee So-yeon, a renowned vocalist of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, is taking on her first complete pansori performance in her career.’,
The National Changgeuk Company, a resident company of the National Theater of Korea, will perform ‘Complete Pansori – Lee So-yeon’s Jeokbyeokga’ at the Haneul Theater in the National Theater, located in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 17. Lee So-yeon, the deputy chief of the Changgeuk department and a leading performer in numerous changgeuk productions, will take to the stage with Park Bong-sul’s version of ‘Jeokbyeokga.’
Lee So-yeon began her journey into pansori naturally at the age of 11 through the encouragement of her father, who loved the music. She started her training under Song Soon-seop, a master of pansori ‘Jeokbyeokga.’ She learned ‘Heungboga’, ‘Sugungga’, and ‘Jeokbyeokga’ from Song Soon-seop, and studied ‘Chunhyangga’ and ‘Simcheongga’ under Ahn Sook-sun and Jung Hoe-seok, respectively.
In 2004, she was recognized for her skills by winning the Grand Prize in the general division at the Imbangul Korean Traditional Music Festival, the largest traditional music competition in Korea. In 2007, she was designated as a successor of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Pansori ‘Jeokbyeokga’ and was selected as a next-generation master singer by the National Changgeuk Company, establishing her as a representative vocalist for the younger generation.
Since joining the National Changgeuk Company in 2013, she has been outstanding in the main roles of the company’s major repertoire, including the roles of Ong-nyeo in ‘Byeon Gang-soe Jeomjigo Ong-nyeo’, Empress Simcheong in ‘Simcheongga’, and Chunhyang in ‘Chunhyang’. She also appeared as Ok-bi in the musical ‘Arirang’ and as Songhwa in ‘Seopyeonje’, winning the Best New Actress award at the Korean Musical Awards in 2018.
The pansori ‘Jeokbyeokga’ that Lee So-yeon will perform deals primarily with the ‘Battle of Red Cliffs’ from the Chinese novel ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. It is renowned for its high difficulty among the five pansori repertoires due to its archaic language, idiomatic expressions, and the demand for a powerful vocal range. Park Bong-sul’s ‘Jeokbyeokga’ is characterized by a clear yet harsh voice, using large phrases and rhythm to deliver the story, following the lineage from Song Heung-rok to Song Kwang-rok, Song Man-gap, Park Bong-rae, and Park Bong-sul.
Accompanying her will be Park Geun-young, a drummer designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Daejeon, from start to finish. Yoo Eun-sun, the artistic director and head of the National Changgeuk Company, will serve as the commentator and host.
Ticket prices are 20,000 KRW for all seats. Reservations and inquiries can be made through the National Theater’s website or by phone.