LG Art Center Planned Performances 'Geomchal-gwan' and 'Onegin' Available for Paid Online Screening

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] LG Arts Center will present online two highly anticipated productions, "The Government Inspector" and "Onegin," which were canceled this year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Each will be streamed twice on LG Arts Center's Naver TV paid platform, "Support Live." "The Government Inspector" will be broadcast on November 27?28, and "Onegin" on December 11?12.

Naver TV's "Support Live" is a service that allows viewers to watch performances online by making a support payment and receiving a "reward." The "reward" refers to a "live streaming viewing ticket." Ticket sales for support payments will open at 2 p.m. on the 10th, and support payments are only possible until the start of each performance. The viewing ticket costs 12,000 KRW per session, and one ID can be used to watch on two devices. An LG Arts Center official stated, "Starting with these two productions, we plan to gradually expand the online paid viewing service for overseas performances."

"The Government Inspector" is a dance drama created by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite based on the satirical play of the same name by Russian author Nikolai Gogol. It depicts the commotion that arises when a low-ranking official visiting a small Russian town in the early 19th century is mistaken for an inspector sent to investigate the town. Pite uses her unique and sophisticated choreography to humorously and cleverly portray the greed and corruption of the bureaucracy depicted in the original work.

Pite is currently regarded as one of the hottest choreographers in the world of dance. She has won the prestigious Benois de la Danse award as well as the Olivier Award three times. She leads her own dance company, Kidd Pivot, and continuously receives invitations from the world’s top dance companies such as the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet in the UK, and the Netherlands Dance Theatre.

"The Government Inspector" is a collaboration between Pite and Jonathan Young, the playwright of "Betroffenheit," which was highly praised. "Betroffenheit" was introduced to domestic audiences through LG Arts Center’s digital stage "Come On," which offered high-quality domestic and international performances online for free last June.

"The Government Inspector" will be performed in English with Korean subtitles provided.

"Onegin," directed by Timofey Kulyabin, is based on the novel "Eugene Onegin" by the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. Kulyabin is a director recognized as a next-generation master in Russia, and "Onegin" is his representative work, which received the Special Jury Prize at the 2014 Russian Golden Mask Awards. This is the first time Kulyabin’s play is introduced in Korea.

The work uniquely portrays the tragic love story between the young nobleman Eugene Onegin, who is trapped in the ennui of life, and the pure and beautiful woman Tatiana, expressed through poetic rhythm.

Pushkin’s original work, written over nine years (1823?1831), vividly depicts life in early 19th-century Russia and is called the "Encyclopedia of Russian Life." It is considered one of the masterpieces that introduced Russian literature to world literature and has been adapted into various genres such as opera, ballet, and film. Kulyabin boldly breaks away from the textbook interpretation of the familiar original and adds his own unique touch to create a story that resonates with contemporary audiences. On a monochrome stage filled with black, white, and gray, the characters from the 19th-century classic are reborn as real people who dream, desire, suffer, and despair just like us.

"Onegin" will be performed in Russian with Korean subtitles provided.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.