Ten traditional Hakka opera troupes will take part in an opera competition organized by the Council for Hakka Affairs this weekend where they will perform 10 new works.
“We’ve been holding the contest since 2004,” Yang Tzu-ying (楊子瑩), a council official in charge of the contest, told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.
“Any Hakka opera troupe may sign up for the competition and we will pick 10 in a pre-selection process,” she said.
Those groups that pass the pre-selection may participate in the formal competition, with each troupe performing a 50-minute piece, Yang said.
The troupes will be evaluated by a panel of seven judges based on their singing and acting skills, the integrity of the piece, the lighting, the stage and the script — including the language and vocabulary used.
“There is not a limit on the number of troupes that can be selected from the competition,” Yang said. “And those who succeeded in the selection may perform in the nationwide end-of-winter festival arranged by the council.”
The festival is a traditional Hakka celebration during which people express their gratitude to the immortals for the blessings of the past year, she said.
The competition will be held at the Taipei County Hakka Museum in Sansia Township (三峽) from 9:30am to 5:00pm tomorrow and Sunday. The competition is free and open to the public.
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