National Changgeuk Company Presents Year-End Gala Concert Featuring Signature Repertoire

The National Changgeuk Company of Korea will present "Year-End Concert: Eojildeojil," a gala concert showcasing selections from its signature repertoire including "Byeon Gangsoae Jeom Jjikgo Ongnyeo" and "Lear," at the National Theater of Korea's Haeoreum Grand Theater on December 31.

The approximately 120-minute performance is organized around keywords representing the diverse range of human emotions encountered in life — love, fate, humor, evil, and tragedy — featuring songs from various changgeuk (Korean traditional opera) productions.

The opening segment, themed around love, will feature "Dobangsari," a song performed by the protagonists Ongnyeo and Byeon Gangsoae as they begin their wandering life together in "Byeon Gangsoae Jeom Jjikgo Ongnyeo." The fate-themed segment will showcase "Beompijungryu" from Simcheongga, sung by Simcheong just before she throws herself into the Indangsu Sea.

The concert will also feature solo performances from the company's star performers Kim Jun-su and Yoo Tae-pyeong in selections from "Lear," alongside a chorus number from "The Trojan Women" performed by eight singers including Kim Geum-mi. To seamlessly connect songs of different styles, the production will incorporate symbolic stage elements and video imagery from each work to maximize the appeal of changgeuk music.

Direction is by Jeong Jong-im, CEO and artistic director of "Creative Taru," with broadcast writer Nam Hwa-jung collaborating to weave together the flow of the performance. The accompaniment will feature traditional Korean instruments including gayageum, geomungo, daegeum, and haegeum in suseong-garak style, enriched by Western instruments such as violin, viola, and cello to create a three-dimensional and expansive sound.

The concert title "Eojildeojil" derives from the traditional greeting that pansori singers deliver after completing a full performance. "I hope this will be a meaningful time for audiences to close out the year while enjoying the diverse sounds of our traditional music," director Jeong said.