Nine years after its previous visit, hit musical Mamma Mia! came to Taiwan again for five shows between Friday and Sunday. The three-day event took place at the Linkou Stadium of Taoyuan’s National Taiwan Sport University, where tens of thousands of fans were entertained by the amusing tale of family and friendship.
The term “mamma mia,” which literally means “oh my mother,” is an Italian expression for various emotions such as surprise, joy and fear. Inspired by Swedish pop group ABBA’s timeless hit songs, British playwright Catherine Johnson’s story unfolds on a small Greek island, and revolves around a bride-to-be’s relationship with her mother and her attempts to find her father.
With more productions playing simultaneously around the world than any other musical, Mamma Mia! is the world’s best-selling show. Since its stage premiere in 1999, the musical has grossed over US$200 million (about NT$6 billion). More than 60 million people in over 440 cities have seen the show.
Photo courtesy of KHAM Inc.
照片︰寬宏藝術提供
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
睽違九年後,熱門音樂劇《媽媽咪呀!》再度登台,於上週五至週日一連演出五場。三天的表演在桃園市國立體育大學的林口體育館登場,這齣關於家庭與友情的喜劇,把台下數萬名觀眾全都逗樂了。
「媽媽咪呀」一詞,照字面上的意思就是「我的媽呀」,這個義大利說法可用來表達多種情緒,例如驚訝、開心和害怕。受到瑞典流行樂團ABBA的暢銷曲所啟發,英國劇作家凱薩琳強生筆下的這齣劇,在一座希臘小島展開,劇情圍繞著一位準新娘和她母親的關係,以及尋找生父的過程。
《媽媽咪呀!》由不同製作團隊、在世界各地同時演出的次數,比其它任何音樂劇都還要頻繁,可說是全球最賣座名劇。自一九九九年首演以來,已熱賣超過兩億多美元(六十億台幣),並於四百四十個城市上演,觀賞人次超過六千萬。
(台北時報張聖恩)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110