At the rehearsal for musical "Mozart!"

Kim Junsu rehearses a scene from musical "Mozart!" at the Seongnam Arts Center in the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea on May 11, 2011. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

"'Mozart!' is more than just a musical." This proposition stands true for Kim Junsu. His first performance for the show on January 20 of last year was a monumental moment musicals saw for the first time after the growth Cho Seung-woo brought for the industry in 2004 with "Jekyll & Hyde." And it was not because of his well-known great talent in singing or 45,000 tickets for the show which sold out in five minutes of going on sale. The reason he became the new strong player in the market was because he proved his presence by knocking down the barrier between himself and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At the time, the way in which he left his dear home was reminiscent of the free-willed Wolfgang who constantly tried to break away from his father, and his powerful songs of the Amadeus which represents his genius talent. Kim stayed weak in singing the lower range of notes for his songs but "Why Do You Not Love Me," which sings of Mozart wanting to continue doing what he does, quieted all controversy and deemed him worthy of being a Mozart. After a stormy year, Kim Junsu, much more at ease than just three months ago, stepped into the rehearsing studio.

And change had occurred to everyone. Most of the cast from the show's first run the press met with at Namsan Arts Center on May 11 looked quite different as well. Kim Junsu's Mozart, who wailed while asking to be loved for who he is, flopped on the floor after completing his singing. And very briefly, the eyes of Park Eun-tae's Mozart, who had been composing "Requiem" with his own blood, became bloodshot with insanity and fear. Those moments of absorption was what truly shook the air of the huge rehearsal studio. But these men did not forget to return to their actual selves and show heartwarming virtue to their audience upon shedding their red jackets -- from Kim Junsu who embarrassedly walked away after all the wailing, to Im Tae-kyung who pretended to act broken-hearted when told, "it seems you are ripping your flesh out when you're singing," to Park Eun-tae who quickly raised his hand when called on, to Jeon Dong-suk whose face turned bright red when described as a "a bundle of charm" by the show's producer. From May 24 to July 3, the original members of "Mozart!" with their deeper gaze and the new members with their refreshing voices, will bring the genius of the 17th century back to life. This will surely make the three-hour round trip from Seoul to Seongnam Arts Center much easier.

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Reporter : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@