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태풍
The Tempest (태풍) is a large-scale Korean original musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s final play, blending Eastern and Western musical traditions to depict reconciliation, love, and renewal through a fantastical narrative.
SOURCE
novel
SETTING
Foreign
BOOK
adaptation
국내 프로덕션
1999.11 🔴 Seoul Arts Center Opera House (Seoul)
2000.02 🔴 Seoul Arts Center Opera House (Seoul)
2001.03 🔴 Seoul Arts Center Opera House (Seoul)
2002.12 🔴 National Theater of Korea, Haeoreum Theater (Seoul)
SYNOPSIS
(Full Synopsis)
Set on a remote island surrounded by the sea, the musical unfolds after a violent storm shipwrecks a royal party, orchestrated by the exiled magician Prospero, who seeks justice and reconciliation.
Twelve years earlier, Prospero, the rightful ruler, was betrayed by his brother Antonio with the support of King Alonso and cast away with his daughter Miranda. Now living on a magical island, Prospero commands the spirit Ariel to conjure a tempest, scattering the shipwrecked survivors across the island.
Miranda meets Ferdinand, Alonso’s son, and the two fall in love at first sight. Prospero tests Ferdinand’s character before consenting to their union, seeing in them the possibility of reconciliation between past enemies.
Meanwhile, other survivors wander the island. Antonio and Sebastian plot to seize power by murdering Alonso, but their conspiracy is thwarted by Ariel. Elsewhere, the drunken Stephano and jester Trinculo conspire with Caliban, the island’s original inhabitant, to overthrow Prospero.
As the story unfolds, Prospero confronts his enemies not with vengeance but with forgiveness. The lovers are united, old conflicts are resolved, and Prospero renounces his magical powers, restoring harmony and order. The narrative concludes with themes of forgiveness, renewal, and the hope of a new era.
제작 노트
Premiered in November 1999 at the Seoul Arts Center Opera House by the Seoul Performing Arts Company, The Tempest (태풍) was conceived as a large-scale “millennium musical,” reflecting both global cultural exchange and national artistic ambition at the turn of the 21st century.
Based on William Shakespeare’s final play, the production reinterpreted the original text through a hybrid musical language combining Western symphonic traditions with Korean compositional elements. The score, composed collaboratively by Czech composer Sylvie Bodorová (Barták reference contextually) and Korean composer Kim Dae-sung, was performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, emphasizing its international scope.
The production was notable for its fully pre-recorded orchestral score rather than live pit performance, a choice that allowed for sonic scale but drew mixed responses regarding theatrical immediacy. Despite this, the work was recognized for successfully integrating diverse musical idioms across cultural boundaries.
As a recurring repertory production, it returned multiple times between 1999 and 2002 at major venues, including the Seoul Arts Center and the National Theater of Korea, establishing itself as one of the representative large-scale Korean adaptations of Western canonical drama.
REFERENCES
Synopsis Sources
The Musical Synopsis
https://www.themusical.co.kr/Musical/Detail?num=510
KBS Synopsis Article
https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/pc/view/view.do?ncd=391269
Articles & Reviews
JoongAng Review
https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/505040
Korea Government Speech
https://www.korea.kr/briefing/speechView.do?newsId=132009874
Seoul Newspaper Article
https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/seoulPrintNew.php?id=19991111014003
Munhwa Ilbo Article
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