Nothing comparable can be expected in Taipei - Tseng isn't known for innovative productions. His 2006 Don Giovanni with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, staged at Taipei's Metropolitan Hall on Bade Road, was traditional but effective. Some of the scenic tricks were run-of-the-mill, but the general effect was lively and colorful.
"I don't believe in distracting audiences from the music with eccentric interpretations," Tseng said in an interview with the Taipei Times last week. Mozart deserved better than that, he said. And the costume designs for Idomeneo show that this will be a production set in the ancient Greek time of the original story.
The orchestra for the Taipei performances, Tseng said, will be essentially a pick-up one, that is an orchestra composed of individuals from different backgrounds and with varying professional commitments. "I am calling it the Orchestra of Taipei Opera Theater. I will serve as both stage director and conductor. I wish to make music and drama together," he concluded.
The move from the Metropolitan Hall to the much larger National Theater represents a daring commercial venture. Even the very popular Don Giovanni didn't quite manage to fill the smaller venue, though attendance was generally good. How a largely unknown work like Idomeneo will fare in the 2,000-seat National Theater is anybody's guess.
Ticket prices range from NT$400 to a hefty NT$10,000. It seems unlikely that many seats will be sold in the upper price bracket. But Taiwan audiences are unpredictable, and the slightest novelty can trigger a big response. But you can never be sure. The performances by the Polish National Opera in the same theater in 2002, staging three operas, were only some 10 percent full.
Arguments about the relative merits and demerits of 18th-century opera seria will be irrelevant to connoisseurs, however, who will quickly snap up this opportunity to see the great composer's rarely-produced work staged for the first time ever here.
"I don't think it's a first for Asia - I think some Japanese opera companies have taken it on before," Tseng said. "But it will certainly be a first for Taiwan."
Idomeneo plays at Taipei's National Theater on Thursday and Jan. 18, beginning at 7pm, and on Jan. 19, beginning at 2pm. For information on ticket availability, call (02) 3393-9888, or visit www.artsticket.com.tw.
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