The Yu Chi-jin /Chang Il-nam's The Tale of Chunhyang premiered in Seoul from October 26-30, 1966, at the National Theatre. The opera was well received by audiences and music critics alike, who lauded the traditional Korean atmosphere created by the composer's attempt to adapt traditional Korean musical materials to a Western format. However, one critic argued that it was unsuccessful because it was a crude hybrid creation made from mixing musical elements of East and West and lacked its own identity. Nevertheless, the opera has been acknowledged as a representative Korean changjak opera by musical society. It was performed again in Seoul in 1981 and in 1994 for the six-hundred-year commemoration of Seoul's becoming the capital of Korea. The opera was also performed overseas, in New York(1977, 1987) and in Tokyo (1995). Chang's The Tale of Chunhyang is divided into four Acts, with Act II consisting of two scenes and Act IV three scenes. The opera employs various musical components: introduction, recitative, arias, ensembles, choruses and, melodrama. Chief among these components are the arias. Through the character of Bangja, Chang uses arias to develop the story. Bangja provides humor and instruction for the audience about the social customs and morals of the time in addition to giving character descriptions. Chang employs several formal designs, e.g., three-part, two-part, and through-composed and generally prefers homophonic texture. The texts are set syllabically, but most of the Korean textual accents are discordant with the musical accents. Chang succeeded in adapting Korean rhythms, which are usually placed in the instrumental accompaniment.The principal unifying element of this rhythmic construction is ostinatos. Also, hemiola rhythm often appears in the chorus parts. Chang frequently changes time signature and meter in the songs. Chang does not compose particularly demanding vocal lines. For the orchestration, Chang specifies piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trombones, trumpets, tuba, bass tuba, timpani, harp, percussion, piano, and strings. While omitting traditional Korean instruments from his score, Chang sometimes approximates the sounds of the traditional Korean Kayagûm and Kômungo by adapting the orchestral strings. In the melodrama, he employs wind instruments only to provide the background music for the conversation between Pyôn and an officer . Almost all of the opera's songs are in minor keys. Modulation chiefly involves movement to the relative or closely related keys. Harmony usually progresses through the primary major triads (tonic, subdominant, dominant). Sometimes, secondary dominants, diminished sevenths, and augmented sixth chords add spice to the harmonic progression. The above analysis reveals that Chang incorporates traditional Korean musical materials, specifically melodies and rhythms, within the a Western stylistic framework. This is an example of a general trend in changjak opera which first appeared in the 1960's, as Korean composers recognized the importance of Korea's musical heritage.