Theater
Shanghai Kun Opera Troupe (上海崑劇團) will feature a mixed program of opera highlights, a full performance of a modern adaptation of The Dragon and Phoenix Vest (龍鳳衫) and the traditional opera Tale of the Embroidered Jacket (繡襦記). The highly regarded Chinese troupe will be bringing over a couple of kun superstars and feature a cast of up-and-coming performers. Kun opera has a long history and is notable for its refined and sophisticated
expressiveness. Details can be found at www.tmseh.gov.tw. At the Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25 Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市八德路三段25號). Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,800 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
Blind Dates (情•約), another installment in the 12th Crown Arts Festival (第12皇冠藝術節), is a post-modern exploration of love in the modern world based on the idea of speed dating. At the Crown Art Center Theater (皇冠小劇場), B1, 50, Ln 120, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei (台北市敦化北路120巷50號B1). Tickets are NT$350 and are available from the venue.
● Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Secret Life of Suzy Wong Asian Comedy Sessions by gonzo ex-pat comedian Dan Machanik takes audiences on a hilarious, wild ride through the glimmering underbelly of his Asian mis-adventures. The show is in English, runs 60 minutes and contains adult themes. Admission is NT$100. At Citizen Cain, 67 Dongfeng St, Taipei. Tel: (02) 2708-4557 or visit www.citizencain.com.
● Tonight at 10:30pm
Classical Music
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Shostakovich Cycle X: Peace Prospect (國家交響樂團 -- 蕭斯塔可維奇系列十--和平的憧憬) will perform Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, op.60 and Tchaikovsky's Francesca de Rimini, op.32 at Tainan Municipal Cultural Center (台南市立文化中心), 332 Chunghua E Rd Sec 3, Tainan City (台南市中華東路三段332號) tonight and at the National Concert Hall this coming Sunday. Rudolf Barshai, who studied composition from Shostakovich himself, will be the conductor. Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,500 in Taipei and NT$100 to NT$200 in Tainan through NTCH ticketing.
● Tonight at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
Pianist Olga Kern & Taipei Symphony Orchestra (范克萊本金牌 -- 歐嘉肯恩與台北市立交響樂團) will present a program including Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 and Symphony No. 6 conducted by Andras Liegeti at the National Concert Hall. Kern was awarded the Gold Medal at the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the first woman to have achieved this distinction in more than 30 years. Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at the age of five. She was winner of the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at age 17 and recipient of an honorary scholarship from the President of Russia in 1996. She is now a member of Russian International Academy of Arts. Tickets are NT$200 to NT$800 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Saturday at 7:30pm
San Francisco Guitar Quartet (SFGQ, 舊金山吉他四重奏) will present a wide array of musical genres and styles at the National Recital Hall. Since its inception in 1997, the SFGQ has distinguished itself as a cutting-edge chamber ensemble committed to precision and excellence in the performance of contemporary and classical works. As of press time, NT$300 tickets are sold out, but seats are available from NT$450 to NT$600 through ERA ticketing.
● Saturday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
John Williams and Richard Harvey World Tour (吉他巨匠約翰威廉士全球巡演) at the National Concert Hall. Williams, one of the world's outstanding guitarists, will grace Taiwan with a one-off performance. Williams has performed in many genres but is mainly dedicated to classical music. His classical work ranges from Bach to Romanticism, but he has also arranged several different types of music from different cultures for guitars. Williams will be accompanied by his longtime friend and associate Richard Harvey, who played all the woodwind parts for the Disney movie The Lion King. NT$400 tickets are sold out, but seats are available from NT$600 to NT$2,000 through NTCH ticketing.
● Tuesday at 7:30pm
Player Tribe Opening Day (玩家部落創團音樂會) is set to make its debut concert at the National Recital Hall featuring violinist Li Shuan (李瑄), cellist Lu Chao-lun (呂超倫), and pianist Tan Wan-chun (湯婉君). The trio will present a program of two "outstanding" works: Brahms's Piano Trio No.3 in C Minor, Op.101 and Dvorak's Piano Trio No.3 in F Minor, Op. 65. The former was composed during Brahms's optimal creative period and reflects Brahms' energetic force as well as expresses his nostalgic feelings.The latter was considered as one of the climaxes of the more serious and classically "Brahmsian" side of Dvorak's output. Tickets are NT$250 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Thursday at 7:30pm
Contemporary Music
Originally scheduled for this weekend, organizers of the Peace Festival 2006 have postponed the event until June 23rd because of inclement weather.
The festival, a Hoping for Hoping production, is a charity fundraiser now in its third year. It is set apart from other music festivals by its decidedly un-commercial nature, organized by volunteers and with all proceeds from the gate, drinks and merchandise going directly to charity, including the Taiwan Association of Human Rights, Oxfam International, Garden of Hope, Taiwan International Workers' Association and St. Ann's Orphanage. Attendees can vote for the charity of their choice and the proceeds will be divided up accordingly. Bands include Milk, Muddy Basin Ramblers, Boogie Chillin', Neon and many, many more. Check the festival Web site at www.hopingforhoping.com for detailed information. There will be kid's activities on Saturday, an art camp, hand healers from the Way of Grace foundation, body painting and drumming. Weekend pass is NT$500, with free admission for children. There is plenty of space for camping. Shuttle buses will be available from Longtan interchange to the site. Check the Web site for details. At the Kun Lun Herb Gardens, Longtan, Taoyuan County (桃園龍潭崑崙藥用植物園) from sundown on Friday to sundown on Sunday.
● June 23 through June 25
The Living Room (小客廳) British composer/pianist Hervie Syan melds Indian, classical and jazz music into a unique style. After playing in England, Germany and Canada, planting his musical roots in Taiwan has given Syan the opportunity to add another dimension to his musical inspiration. "I am interested in the Taoist principle of wu wei found in martial arts here in Asia whereby intuitive spontaneous action (correct action) unfolds naturally by emptying the mind of thought and conflict -- a principle that I am applying to my music making," he says on The Living Room's Web site. Located at 3F, 8, Nanjing E Rd, Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com.
● Entrance is NT$400
● Tonight from 10pm until 12am.
Room 18 Paul Walkins from Hed Kandi, the thinking ravers record label, radio show and international club organizer which produces compilations albums from across the dance music spectrum, is touching down at Room 18 to man the decks tonight. The record company was started in 1996 by Mark Doyle, a self-confessed "obsessive compulsive that needs to work seven days a week," and quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the global dance music scene. After leaving Hed Kandi last year Doyle set up Toyko Project, but the record company has held onto its sterling reputation. More information at www.hedkandi.com. Located at B1, 22 Songshou Rd, Taipei (台北市松壽路22號 B1). Call (02) 2345-2778 or visit www.room18.com.tw
● Tickets are NT$700 on the door
● Tonight at 10pm
Exhibition
Cloaca: Project By Belgian Artist Wim Delvoye (比利時藝術家 Wim Delvoye Cloaca下水道作品個展), started touring museums in Europe and US in 2000. This is the premier exhibition in its Asian tour, presenting the fifth generation of the world renowned Cloaca robot that mimics human digestion by taking food to making feces. The project aims to explore the interaction between human beings and the technological environment and point to the different definitions of art in different cultures through the direct encounter of the most universal but rarely discussed human behavior. At the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (高雄市立美術館), 20 Meishuguan Rd, Kushan District, Kaohsiung. (高雄市鼓山區美術館路20號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (07) 555-0331.
● Until June 30
Macro Vision, Micro Analysis, Multiple Reflection
Contemporary Art in Taiwan since 1987 (台灣當代藝術特展巨視.微觀.多重鏡反), selected from the museum's collections, the special exhibition features installation, sinteractive digital and dimensional art works reflecting the momentum of Taiwan's contemporary art in the 20th century. The art pieces are divided into five themes to address social and political issues, make comments on cultural phenomenon and consumerism. At the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung (國立台灣美術館), 2, Wuchuan W Rd, Sec 1, Taichung (台中市五權西路一段2號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2372-3552
● Until Nov. 19
Shapes Liu Wenter Solo Exhibition (Shapes 劉文德當代水墨個展), an unique collection of paintings that combine special techniques of ink rubbing, dying, tearing and pasting instead of conventional brushing. Through placing pieces of dyed Chinese paper in multiple layers, the artist calls attentions to the transparent characteristic of the raw material itself and displays an interesting interaction between ink and texture. At the AKI Gallery (也趣), 4, Ln 140, Sec 7, Zhongshan N Rd, Taipei (台北市中山北路七段140巷4號). Open Tuesday to Thursday from 1pm to 9pm; Friday to Sunday from 11am to 10:30pm. Call 2872-5296.
● Until June 25
Jiang Cheng-yao Metal Sculpture Solo Exhibition (江承堯金屬雕塑創作個展) and Wu Chi-ying and Cheng Rui-che Life Structure Joint Exhibition (吳姿瑩與鄭睿哲Life Structure聯展). Former graduates from the Department of Fine Arts at the Huafan University (華梵大學) team up to present creations of various media 10 years after graduation. Growing up in his father's iron factory, Jiang uses scrap iron as the raw material to mediate on life through both the realistic and abstract modeling on nature, while Wu and Cheng comment on the structures of life and time through installation and digital image works. At the Grass Mountain Chateau (草山行館), 89 Hudi Rd, Yangmingshan, Taipei (台北市陽明山湖底路89號). Open Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (02) 2862-1911.
● Until July 3
Brush Painting Joint Exhibition by the Four Gentlemen (墨彩四君子水墨聯展), featuring 40 works by the four masters Lee Qi-mao (李奇茂), Huang Guang-nan (黃光男), Yuan Jin-ta (袁金塔) and Lin Zhang-hu (林章湖) to showcase the diversity and richness of contemporary brush paintings in Taiwan. Two free lectures on the development of Taiwan's contemporary ink painting will also be held tomorrow and on June 24 from 3pm to 5pm. At the Cathay United Art Center (國泰世華藝術中心), 7F, 236 Dunhua N Rd, Taipei (台北市敦化北路236號7樓). Open Monday to Saturday form 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2717-0988.
● Until July 1
May 11 to May 18 The original Taichung Railway Station was long thought to have been completely razed. Opening on May 15, 1905, the one-story wooden structure soon outgrew its purpose and was replaced in 1917 by a grandiose, Western-style station. During construction on the third-generation station in 2017, workers discovered the service pit for the original station’s locomotive depot. A year later, a small wooden building on site was determined by historians to be the first stationmaster’s office, built around 1908. With these findings, the Taichung Railway Station Cultural Park now boasts that it has
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