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A pop-opera festival in Seoul
South Korean tenor Lim Hyung-joo is seeking to bring the global momentum behind Korean culture to pop opera with a new two-day festival in Seoul.
The Yongsan Cultural Foundation will present “K-Popera Festival in Yongsan With Lim Hyung-joo” on Nov. 13 and 14 to mark the reopening of Yongsan Art Hall. The foundation says it is the first two-day festival in South Korea dedicated to popera, a crossover style that combines classical singing with popular music.
The venue reopened on Nov. 6 after its first major renovation since opening 16 years ago. Lim, 40, serves as chair of the district-run cultural foundation and will oversee the festival as its executive artistic director. Kim Hyun-soo of Forte di Quattro, the winning act from the first season of JTBC’s crossover competition “Phantom Singer,” developed the repertoire and program as artistic director.
The opening day will include a master class in which Lim coaches emerging tenor Lee Jung-hyun, a Hanyang University graduate. John Noh, a member of the crossover group RabidAnce and a professor at Kangnam University, will also give an evening lecture on the history of popera.
A gala spanning opera, rock and trot
The festival’s centerpiece, the K-Popera Gala Concert, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in Yongsan Art Hall’s Grand Theater Mir. The eight featured crossover and popera performers are Kim Hyun-soo and Lee Byeo-ri of Forte di Quattro, Paek In-tae of Duetto, Kwak Dong-hyun of Popular Phenomenon, Ahn Se-kwon of Edel Reinklang, Seo Young-taek of Forténa, Koo Bon-su and Choi Yong-ho.
The program extends beyond pop opera to rock, musical theater and trot, a Korean genre known for its emotional delivery and highly recognizable vocal style. Planned selections include “You Raise Me Up,” the opera aria “Nessun Dorma” and “Nella Fantasia,” along with Cho Hang-jo’s “Thank You” and Yoon Bok-hee’s “Everyone.” It also includes the Korean art song “Those Words,” based on a poem by Na Tae-joo, and soprano Sumi Jo’s “Champions.”
Lim will perform without a fee, singing “A Thousand Winds” and “Ave Maria.” He and the full cast are expected to close the concert with “Champions,” a song associated in South Korea with the country’s run during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The foundation said nearly all tickets have been sold.
Lim said he wanted to show that popera encompasses more than familiar standards such as “Nella Fantasia” and “You Raise Me Up.” He said the program was built around music audiences could enjoy together, including “Those Words” and the World Cup-linked “Champions.”
Lim looks toward the Grammys and Billboard
Lim debuted with a solo album in 1998, when he says popera and crossover music were still commonly described in South Korea as “semi-classical.” He has since been called a pioneer of the genre, with signature songs including “A Thousand Winds,” “I Hope You’ll Be Happy” and “Hawolga.”
His career has included a performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall, an appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics and a performance at the invitation of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito. In 2003, he became the youngest soloist to sing South Korea’s national anthem at a presidential inauguration, performing at the ceremony for the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Lim is also a voting member of the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards.
Lim said younger Korean popera performers are increasingly recognized internationally as part of the broader Korean cultural wave. His goal, he said, is to usher in an era in which Korean crossover singers can win Grammys and reach the top of Billboard’s crossover charts.
“I want to open the era of K-popera,” Lim said, describing the Yongsan festival as a potential turning point.
Building a lasting cultural institution
Lim also argues that South Korea has a deeper claim to popera than many audiences realize. Although singers such as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman helped popularize the form, Lim said the British newspaper Daily Express used the term “popera” in a 1985 review of Chimera, the stage name of Korean singer Kim Hong-hee. He said that history supports describing South Korea as the genre’s birthplace.
Lim said he added the “K” to the festival’s name because Korean cultural branding now carries international prestige. The event is also intended to help turn Yongsan Art Hall from a venue that merely hosts performances into a theater that develops its own productions.
Yongsan Cultural Foundation CEO Lim Sang-woo said a theater needs content rather than functioning only as a physical space. Building a catalog of foundation-produced work could eventually support a seasonal repertory system, he said. The foundation is considering expanding the festival next year, potentially by adding a competition.
Lim said he wants the festival to become an annual signature event for Yongsan regardless of who leads the foundation. He described local cultural development as essential to sustaining the wider Korean Wave and said he hopes the festival can bring people together across South Korea’s political divisions.
As he approaches three decades since his debut, Lim said the festival represents the start of a second act focused less on his own singing career and more on creating opportunities for younger artists. “I feel a sense of mission to open a path for the popera singers who come after me,” he said.
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