An annual opera concert hosted by the SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation is held at the Seoul Arts Center, Friday. Courtesy of the SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation.
The SeAH Woon Hyung Lee Foundation held its annual opera concert at the Seoul Arts Center Friday.
The concert is an annual performance organized by the foundation to honor the late SeAH Group Chairman Lee Woon-hyung, who was known for his deep appreciation and support of opera during his lifetime.
Since 2015, the foundation has presented carefully selected operatic works to help more people enjoy and appreciate opera, contributing to the promotion of cultural and artistic values through its annual performances.
This year's concert staged Gaetano Donizetti’s opera "Roberto Devereux," the final installment of the composer’s “Three Queens” trilogy. The opera, which premiered in 1837 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, portrays the final years of Queen Elizabeth I, exploring themes of power, love and human conflict. The work is widely regarded as one of Donizetti’s representative Tudor operas and a masterpiece of the bel canto repertoire.
The production was directed by Pyo Hyun-jin, known for his refined and visually striking staging. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Noi Opera Chorus delivered a polished performance under the baton of David Yi, the artistic director of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra.
The concert was particularly meaningful as many of the leading performers were artists discovered and supported through the foundation’s opera talent sponsorship program, highlighting the long-term impact of SeAH’s commitment to arts patronage.
Among them were Yi, soprano Choi Ji-eun, tenor Kim Beom-jin and baritone Choi In-sik, who have built international careers, winning major competitions and performing leading roles at prominent opera houses in Europe with the support of the foundation.
Bringing together internationally recognized artists in a single production, the performance served not only as a concert but also as a testament to the foundation’s sustained patronage of the arts.
“This performance provided a meaningful stage where artists supported by the foundation could fully showcase their talents while delivering the beauty and dramatic narrative of Donizetti’s opera to audiences,” a foundation official said.
Source: Korea Times News
