Sun Ok Lee

The Bride of Korea:

​

"On the occasion of the anniversary of 130 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Austria, I had the honor of performing the nearly forgotten piece 'Liebesgöttinwalzer' from the ballet 'The Bride of Korea. The ballet 'The Bride of Korea' is considered one of the first and most important stage works that brought Korea to the Austrian cultural scene more than 120 years ago. I find it fascinating that Josef Bayer (music), Joseph Haßreiter (choreography), and Heinrich Regel (story) engaged with Korean culture and the situation of Korea at that time, even though Korea was an unknown country to most Europeans back then, and managed to bring such a ballet to the stage in Vienna. This ballet received significant media attention at the time for its music, storyline, and choreography.

A few years earlier, the Austrian diplomat Ernst von Hesse-Wartegg published a book about his experiences on a journey to Korea ('Korea, A Summer Journey to the Land of Morning Calm' 1894). His wife was an opera singer and had close ties to the Vienna Court Opera. One of the librettists of the ballet, Heinrich Regel, wrote the first storyline for 'The Bride of Korea' just one year after the publication of Hesse-Wartegg's book. This text was then completed two years later. The corresponding music was subsequently composed by Josef Bayer. The production was extremely elaborate and costly. To bring the exoticism of the Far East to the stage, unusually elaborate and colorful Eastern impressions were produced. The reviews were highly praised—the audience loved the piece.

The fusion of the Viennese waltz with exotic sounds, pronounced intervals, and exotic rhythms and harmonies makes the piece fascinating. This is all the more remarkable considering that Josef Bayer never visited Korea. Nevertheless, he created passages in the music where I, too, can recognize Korea.

 

The core of the story revolves around a love affair between a Korean prince and the servant girl Daisha. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894/95, the prince decided to defend his country. However, for this, he had to be a married man, so he quickly marries a woman he meets at the harbor, Daisha. She saves the prince's life when he is to be executed as a prisoner of war. They flee to Korea and then have their wedding ceremony there.

 

So it’s a love story where the hero is actually a woman. This is quite ahead of its time and more fitting for today.

Despite its great initial success, the ballet disappeared from the stages. The cause was a political concern. Since there was a Japanese victory celebration during the ballet and at that time the relations between Japan and Russia were severely strained, the Austrian Foreign Minister had the piece withdrawn for diplomatic caution and fear of protests.

​

-Dr.Sun Ok Lee-