Korean revolutionary opera () is a tradition of revolutionary opera in North Korea based on that of China during the Cultural Revolution. It is characterized by a highly melodramatic style and reoccurring themes of patriotism and glorification of Juche, President Kim Il Sung, and the working people, as well as a focus on socialist realist themes. Composers of North Korean revolutionary opera are employed by the North Korean government and the fundamental principles of North Korean revolutionary opera were dictated by Kim Jong Il in his speech (later transcribed into a book) On the Art of Opera.
History
North Korean revolutionary opera was preceded by the spread of propaganda songs that praised Kim Il Sung and the nation, which itself replaced p'ansori – traditional Korean theatrical song. North Korean revolutionary opera was highly influenced by the original form of revolutionary opera developed as part of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, including such works as Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and The Legend of the Red Lantern. North Korean studies scholar Alzo David-West writes that "Three of the alleged North Korean innovations in its national socialist realist musical theater are dynamic three-dimensional stage settings, stanzaic songs based on peasant-folk music, and panchang (an off-stage singing chorus), which in anti–Brechtian fashion constructs emotional links between character and spectator and controls the audience's interpretation of events. These appear in Maoist revolutionary opera". However, North Korean revolutionary opera differed in several ways, most notably in its use of traditional Korean instruments alongside Western orchestral ones, and its permitting the display of romantic love and supernatural or magical elements, both of which were banned in Cultural Revolution-era China.
The first revolutionary opera in North Korea, Sea of Blood, was premiered at the Pyongyang Grand Theatre in July 1971, with Kim Il Sung credited as the author and Kim Jong Il credited as producer. The opera is seen as the primary example of North Korean revolutionary opera, with many North Korean texts referring to revolutionary opera as "Sea of Blood-style" opera. Sea of Blood was adapted from a 1969 film of the same name. Kim Il Sung claimed to have written it with his comrades in a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) guerilla unit while fighting against the Japanese in occupied Manchuria, and performed it on a makeshift stage in a recently liberated village as a form of anti-colonial propaganda. However, the veracity of this claim is disputed due to the difficulty of finding accurate information about Kim Il Sung's early life and guerilla career.
Sea of Blood was followed by the rest of the "Five Great Revolutionary Operas": The Flower Girl, Tell O' The Forest!, A True Daughter of the Party, and The Song of Mount Kumgang. The five plays have been performed consistently at the Pyongyang Grand Theatre since their respective debuts, with Sea of Blood and The Flower Girl both having been performed over 1,000 times each.
Revolutionary opera flourished in North Korea as Kim Jong Il began to take charge of many aspects of the country, particularly its arts and propaganda programs. In September 1974, Kim Jong Il gave a "Talk to Creative Workers in the Field of Art and Literature" entitled On the Art of Opera, in which he described the most important principles of North Korean opera according to the regime. According to Kim, because opera combines music, dance, poetry, and theatre, it "constitutes a criterion for evaluating the level of a country". A good revolutionary opera must reflect the time it was produced in, and be guided "strictly by revolutionary principles". Revolutionary opera must also be emotionally affecting to the audience and be composed of beautifully poetic words and music.
New operas modeled after the five great revolutionary operas are continuing to be produced in North Korea. The operas have been performed outside of North Korea, with Sea of Blood and The Flower Girl gaining widespread popularity in China. Sea of Blood was performed on a two-month tour of China in May to July 2010, with many of the performances selling out.