On June 3rd, Geum-Ho Shin, a world renowned opera singer and opera director, visited DGHS in order to provide worn out students with pleasant diversions ̶. operatic arias. The theme of the entire concert was cinema concert. Opera seemed like an unwise choice considering that students were fonder of pop songs and relatively unfamiliar with classics. Nevertheless, by combining well known movies and songs that rings a bell, Shin truly turned everything around and simply brought the house down in a classy style.

The concert consisted of movies such as Pretty Woman, The Mission, La Traviata and Amadeus, and precious songs inserted in them such as Der Höolle Rache (The Queen of the Night’s Aria), the Toreador Song, Libiamo ne' lieti calici (Brindisi), and Nessun Dorma (None shall sleep). There were also songs like You Raise Me Up, This is the Moment, Nella Fantasia, and All I ask of You, which once again proved out to be a guaranteed attention grabber for the teenagers, especially girls. Every piece was sung by professional, vocalists; Soprano Seon-A Yang, Min-Jin Kim, Mezzo Soprano So-Yeong Jeong, Tenor Jae-Hwan Jeong, Baritone Chan-Il Park and Shin, being both master of the ceremony and a singer himself, gave a brief introduction about the song and the movie before every performance was held. This not only helped the students gain a little savvy about operas but also enabled them to enjoy the show to the full.

Students and teachers who attended became a great audience for the outsiders and gave a huge applause at the end of each gig. The Pioneer Hall was filled with ardent acclamations and shouts of joy through out the one hour long concert, and the students looked as if they forgot all the concerns and apprehensions that have been distressing them during the school days. A stirring performance of O Sole Mio marked the grand finale of the concert but it was not over for the students. They screamed for encore and with such passionate support, the troupe couln’t help but stage another performance. The very last song sung was A Wonderful Day in October and this, pulled the heartstrings of the audience.

The event dropped its curtain, leaving a lingering resonance in the air of the Pioneer Hall. Students had to return to their mundane affairs, but with a much greater deal of vigor. Surely, one thing was clear in their minds. Opera wasn’t so bad after all.

Eui-Jun Song (DG editor)