<Anchor> Italian composer Puccini's masterpiece, the opera Turandot, will be performed on stage in Korea. They say it will be performed just as it is at world-renowned opera festivals, with the cast, stage, and costumes. Today (the 3rd) on Nightline Invitation, we will be with Sole Opera Company Director Lee So-young, who is the artistic director of the opera Turandot. Q. What was the reason for presenting it on the same stage as in Italy? [Lee So-young/Director of Sole Opera Company: This year marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy. It is also the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death. So this performance was made possible as part of cultural exchange between Korea and Italy.] Q. 'Arena di Verona Festival'... What kind of festival is it? [Lee So-young/Director of Sole Opera Company: First of all, it is a city in northeastern Italy called Verona, which is very famous for Romeo and Juliet. In 1913, it was built in this city at the Arena, an amphitheater. There is a theater like the Colosseum in Rome. We performed there to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Verdi's death. As we were preparing for the performance there, we realized that the song resonated so well. So we performed the opera Aida to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Verdi's death, and since then it has become a regular opera festival. It is the most famous, oldest, and prestigious festival in the world.] Q. An overseas performance of an original stage... Is this your first time? [Lee So-young/Director of Sol Opera Company: Yes. Turandot, Arena di Verona's Turandot, will be performed overseas for the first time in any city around the world. It's the first time in 100 years.] Q. The opera 'Turandot'... What kind of work is it? [Lee So-young/Director of Sol Opera Company: It's Puccini's last work. Puccini had such confidence in this work that he said he could throw away all the works he had written before. And if you look at the content, it's like a cruel fairy tale in some ways. It’s actually a bit of a cruel fairy tale, but in the end, love wins and it’s a story that delivers a message of hope. So, since reality is so difficult and tough these days, I hope that the audience will watch this opera and feel a lot of hope and love.] Q. It’s famous for its magnificent stage… What did you pay the most attention to? [Lee So-young/Director of Sol Opera Company: The Arena di Verona is a circular stadium made entirely of marble, so the sound reverberates really well. The acoustics are so good that even the breathing sounds of the actors are conveyed, but it’s not easy to recreate that in Korea. So we paid special attention to the sound, lighting, and other things, and in addition to that, we created the Olympic Gymnastics Stadium stage in 3D and placed the stage equipment of the Arena di Verona on top of it, and we simulated it through video conferences several times before we were able to go on stage. And our team went to Italy in May to prepare for the opening and participated in the practice from the stage to the stage setting, and the Korean staff is preparing now. The stage arrived last week and the stage setting is currently in progress.] ​​​​​​​ Q. It feels different depending on the director… What is this stage like? ​​​​​​​ [Lee So-young/Director of Sol Opera Company: Everyone, I think the viewers know him well. Franco Zeffirelli, I think you all remember Romeo and Juliet, which Olivia Hussey starred in when I was a student. After that, he directed many famous movies such as Endless Love, The Taming of the Shrew, and Champ, but the field in which he really shined was opera. He is a world-class director who is unrivaled to the extent that there is a fandom that only searches for his works. His specialty is that he creates stage settings through research, historical research, and factual research down to every little light. The same goes for costumes. So it doesn't stop there, he multiplies the splendor and details, and expands the scale to show a stage of enormous scale and the pinnacle of splendor. Franco Zeffirelli's direction and costumes, that's why we have even greater expectations. [#232] Q. What kind of work do you want the audience to remember? [Lee So-young/Director of Sol Opera Company: As I said earlier, most operas are about the fate of the female protagonist. But this is a story about winning love through persistent challenges. So I think it is an opera that gives our viewers the confidence and inspiration that they can win if they do not lose hope and keep challenging until the end, and I hope it will be remembered that way.]​​​​​​​ ☞ More information https://news.sbs.co.kr/y/?id=N1007821303 ☞ [Invitation] Collection of articles https://news.sbs.co.kr/y/t/?id=100000... #SBSNews #Opera #Italy ▶ Subscribe to SBS News Channel: https://n.sbs.co.kr/youtube ♨ Discuss hot issues together (Subscribe to SP): https://premium.sbs.co.kr