UArts Faculty Works With International Opera Theater to Create "Opera Shim Chung"

UArts Craft & Material Studies Program Director and international fibers artist Mi-Kyoung Lee has collaborated and worked with the International Opera Theater and director Karen Saillant to create Opera Shim Chung, the first Korean story translated into Italian opera. The project has inspired support from Philadelphia, Korea, and Italy.

Mi-Kyoung states, “We have many collaborators and supporters, including Art Tolerance, Emmanuel Korean School, Korean Children Music Choir in Philadelphia, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Hanbok Advancement Center in Korea to support to the event program.”

An Opera Shim Chung preview event will take place in conjunction with the 100-year celebration and anniversary of the Korean Liberty movement. The International Student program at UArts will also have a citywide student group exhibition called “Independence,” which will celebrate this historic movement and will be part of the Opera Shim Chung preview.

The opera will premiere in Citta della Pieve in Italy this August, alongside a Korean Cultural Festival sponsored by the Citta della Pieve Business Association. Additionally, a Korean cultural festival is being organized to take place in Philadelphia next year, and the opera is planned to be performed at The Kimmel Center, Seoul Opera House, and Seoul Art Center in Korea in June 2020.

As part of this massive project, the Crafts Department recently welcomed Korean Hanbok masters to the UArts campus for a master workshop (pictured above). Students worked with the two Hanbok professionals to create their own versions of this traditional garb.

The Opera Shim Chung preview event will be held on March 1st from 5pm to 7pm in the Gershman Y.