I just got back from an action-packed week in Seoul, culminating in a huge concert at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Young Min Park. The concert was semi-staged and lit, the audience was enthusiastic and the cast was, well, incredible.
Opposite me as Tannhäuser was Bum Joo Lee, and Deirdre Angenent mastered the role of Venus. The orchestra was terrific and the choir was a force to be reckoned with.
The performance review was particularly favourable:
.. Australian soprano Kathleen Parker sang the role of Elisabeth, delighting the audience with her bell-like high notes and expressive voice in the aria “Dich, teure Halle” at the beginning of the second act. As she cried “Halt!”, appealing for Tannhäuser’s life, her voice pierced through the orchestra. And she moved the audience with her earnest tone as she defended Tannhäuser with a plaintive prayer to the Virgin Mary shortly before her death…
It was a thrill to get the chance to try out the role of Elisabeth in a concert setting. It fit like a glove and I can’t wait to do it again!