The evolution of the operatic art in the DPRK dates back to the revolutionary operas created during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle such as The Flower Girl , an immortal classic that premiered in 1930.

Chairman Kim Jong Il (February 16, 1942-December 17, 2011) made sure that a revolution was launched in the operatic arts in the early 1970s through the successful operatic adaptation of The Sea of Blood , a revolutionary drama that occupies a unique position among the immortal classics of anti-Japanese war origin.

On July 17, 1971, The Sea of Blood raised its curtain, providing a classic model of the operatic art of the times.

The production of the revolutionary opera laid foundations for creating a series of revolutionary operas such as The Flower Girl , Tell O Forest , The Story of a Nurse and Song of Mt Kumgang .

While guiding the production of the five operas, Kim Jong Il set forth the orientation of song-writing so that composers could write songs on the understanding they would be sung even centuries later. He sorted out one fine song after another from thousands of pieces for the operas, and made sure they were reworked to become famous songs.

Major songs in The Sea of Blood, namely Song of the Sea of Blood , Song of “Punitive” Operation , Don’t Cry , My Dear Ul Nam and O You , Owl , get across the situation of contemporary society and give a vivid portrayal of characters’ inner world and dramatic experience.

Unlike the previous ones, there was no recitative in the five operas with their songs all stanzaic to be simple in structure, profound in ideological content, music to ears and easy to sing.

During the period pangchang or off-stage singing came into being as a new genre, which led to the Juche-oriented orchestral music based on verse-song melodies.

With pangchang and dance as important means of operatic portrayal, the fresh introduction of a three-dimensional revolving stage brought about a turn in the stage arts.

The Sea of Blood turned dance into one of major portrayal means of operas and made the most of all visual means of description on the stage, enhancing their function and role.

With the help of dance, Tell O Forest depicts a dreaming scene of Pok Sun, who lost her mother in her childhood and misunderstands her father’s ardent but principled affection, and the village women who turn out to assist the revolutionary army, giving an impetus to the dramatic development. Visual descriptions on the moving stage, complete with dreaming scenes unfolding in the background of moving settings, contribute to a vivid portrayal of the hero’s spiritual world and inner mind.

The Flower Girl clarifies a profound idea that the working people, well aware of the truth that they are the only ones who can save themselves, should dash forward along the road of the revolution. The panoramic stage setting in the prelude and scenes showing the heroine’s mother’s six-year slavery, Kkotpun’s arduous 280-km journey and dream, and the illusion of the wife of the landlord break new ground for the development of stage arts.

This pushed back the frontiers of the world’s centuries-long operatic practices.

These five operas of national treasure value, which held a special place in the brilliant efflorescence of the Korean literature and the arts in the 1970s, retain their attractions and vitality to this day.

Jo Song Chol