Trojan Women

A tragic fate awaits the women of Troy after their city is conquered by the Greeks. The victors plan to take the women back to Greece as slaves. Queens and princesses are subjected to profound

humiliation, stripped of their power and glory. These are the themes of the classical Greek tragedy, Trojan Women, written by Euripides, which takes place in the hours between the sacking of Troy and the Greek’s embarkation with their spoils. Four women prepare themselves for a subservient existence, in which they will do everything they can to survive. 

Director from Singapore Ong Keng Sen has adapted this tale to create a changgeuk (traditional Korean opera) suffused with the stylised character and stature of Korean music theatre. The subject has a unique resonance in Korea because of the history of the 'comfort women' who were forced into prostitution by the occupying Japanese during the Second World War. For this staging, Ong has drawn on the changgeuk, a genre of Korean theatre that evolved from the pansori, a secular epic tradition rich in contrasts. Pansori, the genre, can be likened, in its use of sign language and facial expressions, to silent films. Every movement and posture has a specific connotation. The performances of pansori, which in their unabridged form can last for hours, are always presented by a woman, who sings, acts and recites the texts, a fan her only prop. The recitations often erupt into violent outbursts. A drum is the only accompaniment: it accentuates the tale, underlining the rhythm of the words. Changgeuk, which emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, is a style less strict than pansori. Its vocal style may be similar, but several different singers portray the characters. An ensemble made up of percussion, string instruments and winds provides the accompaniment.

Trojan Women employs a combination of the changgeuk and pansori styles. With this work, Ong Keng Sen wanted to strip changgeuk back to its original essence. 'Over the years’, he said, ‘elements from musicals and western opera have been added. I've peeled away those layers once again to arrive at the melodies of the pansori, which form the musical basis of the changgeuk.' The vocal parts of the four main Trojan Women characters have been composed orally by Ahn Sook-sun, the most celebrated pansori singer of our era. She nuanced the parts so that the bent notes, ornamentation and accents could be readily reproduced. Ong Keng Sen, influenced by pansori, requested that each character is accompanied by his or her own unique instrument. In the story, Helen is an outsider, not only because she comes from Greece, but because she was the direct cause of the war. Ong Keng Sen emphasises this by having the role played by a man, accompanied by a piano.

The music of the chorus, which usually provides commentary on events in Greek tragedies, was written by Jung Jae-Il, a K-pop and film composer. 'I wanted to bring K-pop into Trojan Women, as well', says Ong Keng Sen,  ‘when it comes to theatre and music, the performance includes a continuum of elements spanning centuries, from the Trojan War to the present day.'

synopsis

Trojan Women takes place in the kingdom of Troy after its defeat at the hands of the combined armies of Greece and Sparta. The play revolves around the fate of the Trojan women in the hours before they are transported as slaves to Greece. Among them is Hecuba, the former queen. Hecuba lost her husband and all her sons during the ten years of the Trojan War. She receives the devastating news that her daughter Cassandra will be given to Agamemnon, the most important Greek king, to become his slave and concubine. Hecuba’s daughter-in-law Andromache will become the property of a Greek general.

The tragedy begins when Helen, the Queen of Sparta, falls in love with Paris, a Trojan prince. She accompanies him to Troy. Her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, starts a war to get revenge on his runaway wife and her lover. The combined forces of Greece and Sparta invade Trojan territory. The Trojan citizens fall prey to a Greek trick: the Greeks place a wooden horse containing hidden soldiers outside the city walls and then withdraw as if retreat had been sounded. The Trojans see the horse as a gift from the gods, a confirmation of their victory. They bring it inside the city walls, and a lavish celebration ensues. In the middle of the night, Greek soldiers climb out of the horse. They let their fellow warriors into the city and together, they slaughter the Trojans. Troy is defeated, and King Menelaus appears before the Trojan women, who are destined to be deported as slaves.