Soprano plans U.K. tour for North Korean State Orchestra

Last Updated: Thursday, October 25, 2007 | 12:49 PM ET

CBC News

The North Korean State Orchestra has been approved for its first ever tour abroad, according to British soprano Suzannah Clarke, one of the few Western artists who has performed in the internationally isolated nation.

The 38-year-old singer said in interviews that she hopes to bring the orchestra's 120 musicians and 15 support staff to the U.K. for about 10 days in September 2008.

She said the idea came to her as she took in the orchestra's performance at the annual Friendship Festival in Pyongyang this year.

"They played a cheeky medley of tunes — Shostakovich, Mozart, as well as some of their own repertoire. It was powerful, passionate, but funny as well, and I thought, 'Gosh, British audiences would love this,' " the singer told London's The Times.

Though Clarke said she has garnered official backing for the tour from North Korean officials, she acknowledged that a number of hurdles remain, most prominently funding for the visit, which she estimates will cost approximately £350,000 (about $696,000 Cdn).

Also, she will have to organize coaching for the North Koreans about Western culture prior to the tour and deal with the "political sensitivities" of the visit, she told Reuters.

"I feel there's an opening for us to engage with North Korea. It might only be a small part of a much bigger process, but this is a very important part."

Thawing relations

In late August, North Korean officials extended an invitation to the New York Philharmonic to perform, with the visit expected to come following the orchestra's planned tour of China in February.

International relations with the Asian nation have somewhat thawed this year after Pyongyang agreed to disable its main nuclear reactor and share details of its nuclear program.

Cultural, educational and other types of exchanges between North Korea and various countries have also been on the rise in recent years.

Clarke became the first British singer to perform in North Korea, in 2003, and has returned about once a year since.

Having sung for leader Kim Jong-il and with her recitals being broadcast on the country's state-controlled radio and television network, Clarke has become somewhat of a celebrity in North Korea.

Ties to the past

She said the warmth with which she is received there is based on the country's connection with her home town of Middlesbrough, which hosted a 1966 World Cup soccer match between the Asian nation and Italy.

Despite political tensions, the mayor at the time urged the townspeople to offer the North Koreans a warm welcome, which they did — to the shock of the players. Thousands of townspeople also travelled to Liverpool to support the team, which ultimately lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals.

After the release of a 2002 BBC documentary about the incident called The Game of their Lives, the filmmakers invited the team's surviving members back to Middlesbrough, where Clarke performed. She was subsequently invited to make her first visit to North Korea.