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Rachmaninoff
라흐마니노프
Official English Title
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SOURCE
biography
SETTING
Foreign
BOOK
original
Rachmaninoff's lost three years
Korean Premiere
2016
Korean Premiere Theatre
Dongsoong Art Center, Seoul
Further Korean run reference:
https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%9D%BC%ED%9D%90%EB%A7%88%EB%8B%88%EB%85%B8%ED%94%84(%EB%AE%A4%EC%A7%80%EC%BB%AC)
The Musical search cue — “라흐마니노프 뮤지컬”
Summary
A Korean original chamber musical that dramatizes the “lost three years” of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s life, blending classical compositions with theatrical storytelling.
Origin & Development
Premiered in 2016 at Dongsoong Art Center, the musical was created by lyricist-bookwriter Kim Yuhyeon, composers Lee Jin-wook and Kim Boram, and director Oh Seyoung. It was developed as a two-hander psychological drama built around live piano and string ensemble arrangements of Rachmaninoff’s own works.
The musical earned early critical recognition, winning the Composition and Music Director Awards at the 1st Korea Musical Awards and the Script Award at the Yegreen Musical Awards, establishing HJ Culture’s continuing series of biography-based musicals. 2016 – premiere, HJ Culture, Dongsoong Art Center. Followed by multiple restagings including Sejong Center M Theater (2017), National Museum Theater Yong (2018, 2023), and Yes24 Stage (2020–2025). Winner of Composition/Music Director Award at the 1st Korea Musical Awards; Winner of Script Award at the 5th Yegreen Awards.
Partial Synopsis
The narrative focuses on the aftermath of the disastrous premiere of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 in 1897, which drives the young composer into depression and artistic paralysis. He meets Dr. Nicolai Dahl, a progressive psychiatrist who attempts to treat him through suggestion therapy and emotional reconstruction. As the sessions unfold, music resurfaces as both trauma and cure, leading toward the creation of the Piano Concerto No. 2. The musical frames artistic recovery as an inner battle between self-doubt and creative rebirth, scored with re-orchestrated excerpts from the composer’s works.
拉赫玛尼诺夫
2018
2018-11-16
to
2018-11-25
Country:
China
City:
Shanghai
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre Drama Salon
Produced and presented by Shanghai Culture Square as its third Chinese-language production, after Spring Awakening and My Bucket List, with direction by Gao Ruijia, Chinese lyrics by Gan Shijia, and music direction by Jiang Qinghua. The score, drawn from Rachmaninoff’s own works, was played live by piano and a string sextet, and the opening cast included Jiang Qiming, Wang Peijie, and Shi Zheming.
The premiere run gave 13 performances at the Drama Salon of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre.
拉赫玛尼诺夫
2019–2021
2019-05-14
to
Unknown
Country:
China
City:
Multiple Cities
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Multiple Venues
Return runs and national tours of the Chinese-language production, which by 2021 had played 76 performances in 17 cities.
Confirmed dates include a second Shanghai run at the Drama Salon of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (May 14–19, 2019, eight performances), Meixihu International Culture and Arts Centre Grand Theatre in Changsha (November 29–30, 2019), Guangdong Arts Theatre in Guangzhou (December 21–22, 2019), and the Tianjin Grand Theatre (November 6, 2020). In July and August 2021 the production returned to the Drama Salon before a new national tour; that season included its 80th performance and was the final run for original cast members Shi Zheming and Kevin.
拉赫曼尼諾夫
2023
2023-10-13
to
2023-10-22
Country:
Taiwan
City:
Taipei
Production Type:
Full Production
Language:
Korean
Venue:
Taipei Performing Arts Center
A limited engagement by the full Korean cast and creative team as part of a cultural exchange initiative, in the 1,500-seat house, with audience talkbacks, masterclasses, and piano mini-concerts. Local press described it as an introduction of Korean biographical musicals to Taiwan.
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