Composer Frank Wildhorn, who has compiled a long list of hits in South Korea, becoming one of the most beloved composers here in the process, will make another connection with the country, with his first-ever small stage work.

The 65-year-old composer is participating in “Van Gogh in Love,” produced by renowned stage designer Oh Pil-young. The show will premiere in Korea before being introduced in Spain, Germany and more.

Wildhorn, who was in Korea preparing for the staging of “Cyrano,” “Mata Hari” and “The Man Who Laughs,” as well as to close two new deals, said he is very excited about his new adventure -- especially the opportunity to compose a French impressionistic score for the first time and to work in a smaller theater setting also for the first time.

“It takes just as much time and heart and soul to do a small piece as it does a big piece. I usually want to do a big piece because that's what I do. But, I have over 40 shows out there in the world now, so I feel like more free to do other things,” the composer told The Korea Herald in an exclusive interview on Oct. 27.

The new production, set to be introduced in 2026, will feature only three characters on stage.

“I love Frank's music. His music inspires my stage design greatly,” Oh, the producer of “Van Gogh in Love” told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. The composer's passion for a unique interpretation of "Van Gogh in Love" has led to the creation of over 40 musical pieces, Oh added.

"Frank is the best at expressing the emotions of characters. The work also emphasizes emotional expression and music is more important than dialogues,” Oh said.

Two decades of breaking records

“Jekyll & Hyde,” celebrating its 20th year on stage in Korea, will open in the same week as “Cyrano” and “Mata Hari,” but that is nothing unusual here. In June 2022, four of the productions featuring Wildhorn's music -- “The Man Who Laughs,” “Death Note,” “Mata Hari” and “Jekyll & Hyde” -- were being performed simultaneously, establishing a new career milestone for him.

In June this year, "The Lie in April," a musical based on the Japanese animation of the same title, momentously opened in Seoul and London simultaneously.

While Korea’s musical industry keeps providing new milestones for Wildhorn, the New York-born composer has recently ventured more into classical music -- a venture that initially made his mother both laugh and cry, given his lack of a formal background in the genre.

He composed "Danube Symphony" after receiving a request to write a classical music piece about the Danube River, which flows through 10 countries in Europe. The Vienna Symphony premiered the piece at the Wiener Musikverein in November 2022.

After the successful premiere of his first symphony, he is currently working on his second symphony, titled “Odessa Symphony,” in memory of his mother, who passed away recently. The city of Odesa in Ukraine is his mother's birthplace. His second symphony is set to premiere July 13, 2025, in Ulm, Germany, where Albert Einstein was born, also performed by the Vienna Symphony.

Taking on new adventures is part of his nature and also a lesson from Leslie Bricusse, whom Wildhorn considers a father figure and mentor. Bricusse and Wildhorn collaborated for "Jekyll & Hyde," “Cyrano” and more.

“He passed away at 90 two years ago, but he was so young in his mind. When he died, he was working on a new show. He never stopped working, and he was young of heart and young of mind. I tried to copy him. Honestly, he's my hero,” he said.

Originally a pop composer without any formal degrees, Wildhorn made a name for himself in 1987 with Whitney Houston's hit, "Where Do Broken Hearts Go." He transitioned to musical theater with "Jekyll & Hyde" in 1990.

In 2004, “Jekyll & Hyde” premiered in Korea. It was among the first large-scale Broadway-style musicals to be widely embraced by a Korean audience, playing a critical role in elevating the status of musicals here to mainstream entertainment.

The production also served as a launch pad for Korean actors and singers, establishing them as musical stars. In particular, Cho Seung-woo’s performance in “Jekyll & Hyde” solidified his reputation as a leading figure in musical theater, which brought attention to the genre.

Since then, almost 20 musicals with Wildhorn’s music have been introduced in the country, some licensed musicals and some created in Korea -- including "Monte Cristo," "Death Note," "The Man Who Laughs," and "Mata Hari" -- that have become recurring favorites, performed by top musical theater actors such as Kim Jun-su, Park Hyo-shin, Hong Kwang-ho and Ock Joo-hyun.

When asked about his 20th anniversary, he appeared to be grasping for “inyeon,” a Korean word meaning "fateful link or connection."

“Twenty years ago, my father, who fought in the Korean War, was the only -- what's the word? -- yes, (link), I had with Korea. Now I have such good friends here and producers and I have great partnerships that have done so well. It's very much like a fairy tale in a way, and I'm still very romantic about it all,” he said.