The soldier's Christmas song

Among the many events at Christmas eve, The Soldier's Tale (大兵的故事) is a production that recruits top-line actors and soloists, along with a top theater director, to re-illustrate Igor Stravinsky's modernist piece.

Stravinsky created the musical at the turn of the 20th century and premiered it in 1918, when World War I had ended in Europe and most of the people lived in destitution.

The performance, therefore, takes a simplified approach, using only seven musicians, two actors, one dancer and a narrator.

The story is a morality tale, about a soldier returning home from the battle field, who is tempted by the devil.

Stravinsky adopts the avant-garde musical elements that were prevalent at that time, mixing waltz, tango, march and jazz elements, with an abundance of percussion, to echo with the pulse of the narrative.

"We want to present the original flavor of this drama to a young audience and classical music beginners. This is one rare show in which you can enjoy both chamber music and theater performances at the same time," said Hsu Chia-chu (徐家駒), oboist, and the initiator of this production.

Apart from Hsu, performers on the "dream team" include Su Hsien-ta (蘇顯達), from the Taipei Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra; Chen Wei-ling (陳威稜) clarinetist from the Taipei City Symphony Orchestra; and Chu Tsung-ching (朱宗慶), leader of the National Symphony Orchestra and renowned percussionist.