(opera introduction) The Opera KALEA BUTALSORO world premiere, seoul. korea / March. 1st. 2025 ARKO selection winner
THE OPERA KALEA BUTALSORO
Yo Canto, tu Bailas!
The beginning of the new and eternal Opera Kalea trilogy
I sing, ye dance. O! Butalsoro! the city on the sea that will last forever!
COMPOSER JIEUN LEE
LIBRETTIST JAECHUNG KIM 2024 ARKO OPERA SELECTION winner
https://youtu.be/IshQ45DHJ_E?si=EdzfnuFlmWJw-46J
GRAND Festival OPERA set in the futuristic floating city of BUTALSORO, where everyone must come together to overcome the threat of a massive ocean storm- KALEA and create a new world through the power of love.
Spanish as the language of the future floating city
why Spanish?: Historically, the Spanish language has influenced many countries through the sea. In OPERA KALEA, BUTALSORO is important for its unique location as a city on the sea of the future. So, what kind of language will be spoken in the city in the future? Artistic curiosity and exploration continued for a long time. In the end, it was Spanish that was chosen as the language of the ocean in the genre of opera. Above all, it had to be a language that could be beautifully conveyed through operatic music. In the world of the future created by the artist himself, the Spanish language is set as a unique language that adds to the mysteriousness and makes the great themes of the sea and man, god and man, death and life a series of magical rituals.
https://youtu.be/mff86zIbrd8?si=HEf8l90gtc0mBBfM
Story Line Background:
In the futuristic city of Butalsoro, a maritime city in the year 2187, the Telos, the last migrants from the South, arrive in Butalsoro on a festive night of a blue moon. This is after a kalea (sea storm) from 2096 causes global sea level rise, and a third of the planet has already been destroyed. The subsequent Dark Ages of global destruction, with the successive demise of the Polynesian peoples, accelerated the Great Migration to Butalsoro, the last bastion of humanity.
UN HABITAT has been building floating cities for 100 years to save humanity by creating an international maritime city called Butalsoro, which is already a massive multi-ethnic maritime city. Butalsoro is a representative capital for humanity, AI, and the ecosystem as a whole, and it's also a place where we can all come together to prevent another humanity's last forward base in preparation for Kalea, which could happen again and wipe us out. It is the most thriving of UN HABITAT's floating cities, freedom and cosmopolitan city.
https://youtu.be/4x_sXu_wQ1Y?si=phyqfmQCyWag4bbZ
Plot: A festive night when the Telos, a legendary people near the Banda and Arafur seas, immigrate to the floating city of Butalsoro. It's the first night in 100 years with a blue moon. Anavis, the princess of the Telos, brings the future energy source Regiocrux to Butalsoro and gives it to Baik Eugene, the city's chairman and her lover, to use peacefully to protect humanity. Kane and Kanaloa, evil forces that straddle the line between human and divine, seek to kill Anavis and Baek Eugene, steal the Regiocrux, and conquer the world. The Kalea, which will destroy the Earth, is on its way...
The setting Story: the near future of 2187. In the subtropical rainforest, a mix of mangroves and futuristic technology. futuristic maritime city of Butalsoro. 100 years after the creation of the floating city, immigration from many countries has already begun to flow into Butalsoro.
Butalsoro has become the capital of a multi-ethnic nation. UN HABITAT will build a large-scale floating city on the sea and name the international center of UN HABITAT "Butalsoro". (Transcription: Beginning in 2096, explosive global environmental change causes sea levels to rise rapidly and The cataclysmic Kalea (a giant sea storm in the shape of a snake), which destroyed many countries near the equator and many countries near the equator, and many peoples in the Indian and Pacific oceans near the equator. The UN is preparing for unpredictable climate catastrophes starting in 2040, the floating city has been further developed to create an international city called 'Butalsoro'. Butalsoro becomes a refuge for those who have survived Kalea over the past 50 years. By 2180, more than 70 ethnic groups from more than 30 countries live in Butalsoro. Finally, in 2187, the Telos, a tribe of legendary islands near the Banda and Arafur Seas, arrive in Butalsoro.
The legendary Telos come to Butalsoro on the night of the Blue Moon Festival. They bring with them an absolute energy source called REGIOCRUX. As a cosmopolitan city on the front line between the inland and the sea, Butalsoro is the hub of all transportation and the departure point for tourist spacecraft to space. Continental trains terminate in Butalsoro. The earth is severely degraded, with rising sea levels and freezing up to 60 degrees latitude (near Mongolia).
https://youtu.be/FIc3gZ371aY?si=ulYn0pzIiPzitKAp
Introducing the characters :
https://youtu.be/UqrU0Pj9LSs?si=YbJ7yfT_DyoKdal5
Male Lead : Eugene BAIK (M) - Tenor The young and promising chairman of the floating city of Butalsoro, a multi-ethnic, futuristic maritime city. He is a lover of Anavis and They create a peaceful city and bring hope to all humanity.
The heroine : Anavis TELOS - Princess Anavis Telos (F)- Lyric or Dramatic Soprano A mysterious heroine, Anavis is the creator of the future energy source. REGIOCRUX - The guardian and carrier of the future energy source.
https://youtu.be/24zSwTE7QNY?si=os4n7N_vLwVsfjoW
Chief of the Telos: Chanapali TELOS (M) - Baritone or Bass Baritone Somewhere in the Banda Sea and Arafur Sea archipelago, in what is now Indonesia & Austrailia. A peaceful and mysterious people who lived on the island of Pipisala, far from civilization. They lived in secret in a world of wisdom, bravery, and mythology. A chieftain who guards the "REGIOCRUX" given to him by the god of the sea. A people of warriors whose bodies are covered in tattoos.
They immigrate to Butalsoro n hopes of harnessing the power of the REGIOCRUX in peace.
villain character - Kane & kanaloa - two-faced and one-body snake shape
Assassin Captains: Kane & kanaloa Kane (F) & Kanaloa (M) - Tenor & Mezzo Soprano
(1 role, 2 players, male and female)
https://youtu.be/cNvtDWA6Cak?si=44kMbbjvsgl6ZpEU
These devil-worshipping captains seek to kill Eugene BAIK and Anavis and capture Butalsoro and Regiocux. the embodiment of evil and is on the border between man and god. controls the Magnus Ku and possesses magical powers. Kane, Kanaloa, a desert dweller, is skilled with fire and possesses the magic of teleportation. Kane and Kanaloa are hermaphrodites, having two personalities and two faces in one body.
Kanaloa - The embodiment of evil, he curses humans and seeks to conquer mankind and the universe for himself. Appears as a shadow and uses Magnus Ku as a horse. He is like a god of death. thinks of himself as a god.
Kane - The embodiment of evil, but opposed to Kanaloa, She is conflicted by her unrelenting compassion for humans. She stands by the side of humans at every dangerous turn. A goddess of great beauty, she is also the embodiment of jealousy.
The Assassins: Magnus Ku - (A secret army of 12 - a cohesive team)
Perfect in dance and song, their movements are always awe-inspiring.
Their black cloaks cover their bodies, but they are as agile as horses and have red eyes. They are led by Kane and Kanaloa, all linked together like horses pulling a 12-horse carriage. They are subject to Kane and Kanaloa. They wield a secret weapon called the Saackal.
Telos Robot A.I : MAGNA Z4 -(Countertenor, Female, Mezzo Soprano)
An objectified god on the border between good and evil, taking no sides.
Helps the Telosians make their choices, but has a hidden mission.
An AI robot who is a shaman and assistant to the Telosians.
Butalsoro Robot AI: PALOTUS 924 - (Male) - Baritone
Robot AI for the city of Butalsoro and all who live there (the Butali), PALOTUS is loved by everyone. He is always by Eugene BAIK’s side. He possesses amazing abilities and is an important key to the trilogy of operas. His exact mission, abilities, etc. are hidden in the opera Butalsoro. He continues to leave question marks in the story. He curses humans and wants to take over the entire universe. In Opera Butalsoro the full extent of his demonic nature is not yet revealed, and he remains mysterious throughout.
It is a name with a terrifying meaning: the lotus flower that hunts humans, No. 924.
https://youtu.be/pWNmGCzLsYc?si=wBh9Lm4bOjp3H40z
https://youtu.be/PL0jRj8Zas8?si=uYLg3AO_PghVqEaH
CHORUS PART
1. Larantuka: (in charge of chorus) / Chief: Sementara – (female)
They have been a group of fishermen since ancient times. They can communicate with sea creatures. We are a nation of peace and a nation of our own. By communicating with sea creatures, to some people - It is a strange and fearful race.
2. BALBONGAN (in charge of dance) / Chief: Odine (female)
The Balbongan people, an elegant and mysterious female race, are a legendary dancing shaman. Their own flying costumes (PANAS) are birds' feathers, fish's scales, It is made with the blessing of God, so levitation is possible for a certain period of time.
3. BEDUGUL (in charge of dance and choir) / Chief: Pankasari (male)
The unspoken samurai clan is responsible for the security and patrol of Butalsoro, gatekeeper to Butalsoro. It has been a clan of gatekeepers of temples since ancient times. With a tremendous body and awe. By weight, it is a race with a variety of blue and gray odd-eye on black skin. The silver-glazed traditional armor (Sileka) protects the Bedugul people from any weapon. Their own weapon is a lightning-shaped spear called DENPASA You can see the lights of Denpasa from a distance in the opera.
4. BUTALI - A collective term for the people who live in the future multiethnic
floating city of Butalsoro. They are immigrants and settlers on a multiethnic sea.
Various cultures blossom on the floating city. The word means 'people who have escaped and started a new journey'.
5. ESSENE people (in charge of the chorus) / Chief: Zen. J
Hailing from the frozen north, the Essene are a people of wise men. They are dedicated to peace. They look like fairies. They wear a mysteriously shaped trumpet called the Zenpera. The sound of their trumpets has mystical powers.
6. Hakila (in charge of choral singing) / Chief: Kairos
A fire-bird-like people who were the first to settle in Butalsoro. They have a great talent for laughter and dance. They are quick on their feet and are the messengers of Butalsoro. carries a musical instrument called a hartz,
which is made up of pieces of wood strung together.
KALEA
A massive ocean storm caused by extreme weather that nearly destroyed humanity. Most feared by humans. Hundreds of thousands of serpents, scattered or congregated, lash out like gods of destruction in the form of giant snakes. Tongues of fire to devour all, arrow-like movements accompanied by thunder and lightning, waves that swell to swallow, a great sea storm itself. It seems to answer the call of Kane, Kanaloa, but in reality it does not. It is an evil of man's own making, created by the greed, vanity, and destruction of nature in the past.
BUTALSORO
If "Opera Kalea" is the title of the entire trilogy, "Butalsoro" is the subtitle. It means "a new territory founded by people who have escaped and made a new journey. At the same time, it's a new place, a sanctuary, where we all start over.
A! Hil lui Hillua
Mira!
Por favor, camine tranquilamente
Mira hacia atrás modestamente y sé agradecido!
mar, vida, naturaleza
Porque ustedes tomaron prestado todo esto por un tiempo
A! Hil lui Hillua
보아라!
부디 얌전히 걷고
겸손함으로 뒤돌아보며 감사하라
바다, 생명, 자연
너희는 이 모든 것을 잠시 빌린 것 뿐이니!
- THE OPERA KALEA BUTALSORO Librettist Jaechung KIM, 오페라 칼레아 부탈소로 작가 김재청 -