'The Rising World' - a message-driven opera that wades through cloudy narrative

Korea Herald

28-05-2025

While not perfect, 'The Rising World' marks a bold and promising step for the Seoul Arts Center.
"Tick, tick, tick, tick ..."
A chorus encircles a giant ticking clock as they chant. Inside is a figure -- an artisan who sacrifices herself to restore order. Her act saves the princess and many others from a world submerged by water. What follows, the scene shows, is left to those who remain. One might read this as an allegory -- a warning about climate change, or a meditation on the power of unconditional sacrifice.
In its first-ever original opera production, the Seoul Arts Center on Sunday premiered 'The Rising World,' composed by Mary Finsterer with a libretto by Tom Wright.
While the music -- performed by the cast and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Steven Osgood -- was solidly executed, the narrative's arrival at that core message required the audience to wade through water -- slow and murky.
The new opera presents a female-driven drama performed by top singers, soprano Hwang Soo-mi and mezzo-soprano Kim Jung-mi, set in an imaginative world that suffers from rising water after the princess becomes possessed by a water spirit.
It offers no explanation of why the princess is possessed. That lack of exposition might have been forgivable -- even compelling -- had the narrative flowed with greater emotional momentum.
A dramatic scene in which court advisers argue over how to handle the princess' possession stretches on without a dramatic payoff. One wonders if, with tonal variation -- even humor -- this segment could have landed more effectively.
Musically, the score feels accessible and at times gently textured. Fluidity runs through the opera, echoing the motif of water throughout its orchestration, but it falls short of a powerful moment of catharsis.
Visually, the aesthetic of the set and costumes evokes Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" -- a world defined by slate grays and deep blues. The stage is minimal yet symbolic, evoking ancient ruins.
With this work, the Seoul Arts Center signals its ambition to reach global audiences through an English-language opera, backed by an international creative team -- including director Stephen Carr, who ensured that the production also incorporated culturally resonant elements for Korean audiences, such as traditional jars, the melancholic twang of the geomungo, and chants delivered in Korean.
"The Rising World" will be presented two more times on May 29 and 31.
[e-mail]