Siheung's First Dedicated Performance Venue to Open Nov. 13, with 710-Seat Classical Hall

Lim Yunchan Recital to Headline Siheung Arts Center's Opening Program
710-Seat Grand Hall and 304-Seat Small Hall
Opera and Year-End Concert to Follow
Media Art Exhibition Featuring Works by Van Gogh, Monet and Matisse
More Than 100 Speakers Deliver Immersive Sound; Reverberation Time Exceeds 1.6 Seconds

Siheung Arts Center, the first dedicated performance venue in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, will open on November 13. It will welcome visitors with a recital by Siheung-born pianist Lim Yunchan, a performance by the National Opera Company of Korea, a year-end concert and a media art exhibition.

A view of Siheung Art Center. Courtesy of Siheung City.

Siheung City, led by Mayor Lim Byeongtaek, announced on November 5 that the opening ceremony for Siheung Arts Center, built at 255 Seoul Daehak-ro, will be held at 6 p.m. on November 13. A commemorative performance featuring local artists and residents, along with a facility tour program, has also been planned.

Construction of Siheung Arts Center began in 2018. The facility has a total floor area of 14,298 square meters and spans one basement level and four above-ground floors. It includes a 710-seat grand performance hall, a 304-seat small performance hall, exhibition rooms, rehearsal rooms, lecture rooms and a cafe. The parking area has space for 202 vehicles.

The grand performance hall has acoustic reflectors designed for classical performances and a reverberation time of more than 1.6 seconds. An immersive sound system using more than 100 speakers has been installed to deliver three-dimensional sound. The hall also has 52 overhead rigging units that move stage equipment and scenery.

The small performance hall is a black box venue whose stage and seating layout can be changed depending on the type of performance. It can accommodate a variety of small-scale performances, including solo recitals, plays and puppet shows. With the stage and seats arranged close together, audiences can see performers' expressions and movements more vividly.

Main Performance Hall. Courtesy of Siheung City.

One of the opening performances drawing attention is a piano recital by Lim Yunchan, scheduled for 5 p.m. on November 28 in the grand performance hall. In 2022, at the age of 18, Lim became the youngest-ever winner of the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

He will perform five works: Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 4 (K. 282), No. 13 (K. 333), No. 9 (K. 311), No. 7 (K. 309) and No. 11 (K. 331). The recital will give audiences in his hometown a chance to hear him before he performs all of Mozart's piano sonatas at Wigmore Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Opera and a year-end concert will follow in December. The National Opera Company of Korea will present Verdi's opera "La Traviata" in the grand performance hall at 7:30 p.m. on December 11 and 3 p.m. on December 12. The work explores love, sacrifice and social prejudice, and is known for its lyrical arias and dramatic plot.

La Traviata by the National Opera Company. Provided by Siheung City.

The performance is open to elementary school students and older, with tickets priced from 20,000 to 80,000 won depending on the seat grade. Presales for Siheung residents began on November 3, and general sales will begin on November 6.

A year-end concert featuring singer Sohyang and musical actors Kim Seongsik and Noh Yoon will take place at 7:30 p.m. on December 29. It is open to elementary school students and older, with tickets priced from 60,000 to 100,000 won. Presales for Siheung residents will begin on November 17, followed by general sales on November 20.

The city has also arranged discounts to mark the opening. Half-price tickets will be offered to Siheung residents for 50% of all seats, along with a special opening discount. Details about ticket reservations and discounts for each performance are available on the Siheung Arts Center website.

Yunchan Lim Piano Recital. Courtesy of Siheung City.

The exhibition hall will host "Media Art Exhibition: The Masters' Palettes Meet the Light" from the opening day, November 13, through December 29. The exhibition reinterprets works by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and other artists using large screens, light and video technology.

On opening day, an open-stage tour of the performance hall and main facilities will be held from 5 p.m. The opening ceremony at 6 p.m. will be followed by the commemorative performance "The Arts of Siheung, One United Resonance," featuring local artists and organizations, including the Siheung City Traditional Arts Troupe, the Siheung City Choir, the Siheung City Children's Choir and the Siheung Arts Association.

Other attractions include a performance by an artificial intelligence (AI) humanoid robot, a performance by the b-boy team Jinjo Crew and a lighting show. An archive exhibition introducing the center's construction process and vision will also be presented.

Siheung Art Center opening ceremony poster (left) and opening celebration performance poster, “The Arts of Siheung, A United Resonance.” Photo provided by Siheung City.

Siheung Mayor Lim Byeongtaek said, "We plan to broaden Siheung's cultural and artistic ecosystem by providing an open space where people can enjoy performing arts in their daily lives and serving as a hub that connects the region's artistic assets with residents' cultural needs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.