The writers, actors, and directors of North Korean revolutionary opera, under the guiding hands of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, were instructed to produce an opera that was distinctly North Korean and distinctly different than previous forms of opera. According to Kim Jong Il, "The operatic style of feudalism or capitalism cannot serve the creation of operas for the working class who are now building socialism and communism, nor can the imitation of foreign things help in producing operas that cater to the aesthetic tastes and feelings of our people". North Korean revolutionary opera, being a form of
socialist realism, deals near-exclusively in political subject matter, extolling the virtues of the working
proletariat, the glory of the socialist struggle, and the greatness of the
Kim dynasty. Most are set in the formative period of the DPRK – either the
Japanese occupation of Korea or the
Korean War. The songs of North Korean revolutionary opera, unlike those of Western opera, are stanzaic in form, with main melodies often being repeated. This is in keeping with the aims of North Korean opera to be "a true art for the people", as Kim Jong Il states in
On the Art of Opera. In order for opera to be able to reach the maximum number of people, throughout all of North Korea and beyond, the songs must be memorable and easily repeated, "composed in such a way that anybody can understand and sing", according to Kim. Also central to North Korean revolutionary opera is the
panchang, or off-stage song, describing the situation of the characters and their innermost thoughts and feelings. For example, in
Sea of Blood, the panchang "The Mother Learns to Read and Write" is sung from offstage as the actor playing the mother is onstage performing the actions described. The song comments on the action and sings the praises of the mother as an ideal socialist and North Korean heroine. Kim Jong Il describes the
panchang as "a powerful means of portrayal not present in the operas of the past", but the originality of the panchang is disputed, as scholars such as Alzo David-West have found similar innovations in
Maoist revolutionary opera, as well as an obvious precedent in the chorus in classical Greek tragedy. According to Jeffrey Arlo Brown: North Korean revolutionary opera makes heavy use of
dance as well as singing, with performances often incorporating elaborate dances in the most important scenes to show both the action onstage and the characters' feelings. These dances are typically based on a long tradition of
Korean folk dance, one of the few examples of a folk tradition that has remained relatively intact since the formation of the DPRK.
Sets and backdrops must be realistic and three-dimensional, and are typically lavish and elaborate, eschewing abstraction for reproduction of real life elements. However, sets must not only be a realistic approximation of the location, but also "describe the personality of the character living and working in that society", according to
On the Art of Opera. The same principles are applied to
makeup,
props, and
costuming. North Korean revolutionary opera is typically performed with a mix of Western classical instruments and
traditional Korean instruments, a style named "combined orchestra" (
paehap kwanhydnak). In this, it is important that Korean instruments take precedence over Western ones, in order to ensure a distinctly Korean opera and to stay aligned with the values of the
Juche ideology. ==The Five Great Revolutionary Operas==