Theater
Dance “A Kiss of a Thousand Years — Seal on the Sky” (千年之吻 — 蒼穹封印) by Hot Dance, a modern jazz dance group composed of students from Fu Jen Catholic University.
* At National Taiwan Arts Education Center (國立臺灣藝術教育官), 47 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路47號)
* Tickets are free but must be obtained in advance, call (02) 3366-3305
* Saturday at 7:30pm
Dialogue Between Tradition and World — English Works for the Beijing Opera! 傳統與世界的對話 — 京劇說英文也會通! Combining elements from The Jade Bracelet and Wu's Hill, the NTU Chinese Opera Company's last show of the year is a perfect opportunity to glimpse Chinese Opera. With English subtitles.
* At National Taiwan Arts Education Center (國立臺灣藝術教育官), 47 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路47號)
* Tickets are free but must be obtained in advance, call (02) 3366-3305 * Sunday at 7:30pm Classical National Symphony Orchestra 20th Anniversary Concerts: Opera Legend — the Complete Work of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (國家交響樂團20週年巨獻: 歌劇神話 — 尼貝龍指環) will be performed at the National Concert Hall over four nights: Das Rheingold (萊茵黃金) tonight, Die Walkure (女武神) tomorrow, Siegfried (齊格飛) on Sept. 22, and Gotterdammerung (諸神黃昏) on Sept. 24. Der Ring des Nibelungen. In this masterwork, Wagner describes his views on the relationship between gods and people, good and evil, and legend and reality. For this debut in Taiwan, staging director Li Huan-hsiung (黎煥雄), staging visual director Wang Jun-jieh (王俊傑), vocal coach and musical consultant Reinhard Linden, and chorus director Du Hei (杜黑) will team up with music director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) and more than 200 musicians to bring Wagner's masterpiece to the stage. Principal cast includes bass James Morris, soprano Linda Watson, bass Hans-Peter Konig, and Endrik Wottrich from the Bayreuth Festival as well as sixteen local singers. * At the National Concert Hall, Taipei * For the concerts tonight, Sept. 22, and Sept. 24, all NT$400 tickets are sold out, but seats are available from NT$600 to NT$2,000. For the concert tomorrow, NT$400, NT$900, and NT$2,000 tickets are sold out, but NT$600, NT$1,200, and NT$1,600 seats are still available through NTCH ticketing. * Tonight at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 5pm, Sept. 22 at 6pm, and Sept. 24 at 3pm Fan Chiang-yi Piano Recital (漢諾威鋼琴旅人范姜毅鋼琴獨奏會) will be held at the Performing Arts Hall of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County Government (桃園縣政府文化局演藝廳) tonight and the the Ilan Performing Arts Center of the Ilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau (宜蘭縣文化局演藝廳) on Sunday. The recital includes Mozart's Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, K282, Busoni's Sonatina Seconda, Rachmaninov's Prelude No.2, Op.23, Scriabin's Prelude and Nocturne for the left hand, Op.9, Tchaikovsky's Nocturne in F Major No.1, Op.10 and Meditation in D Major, No.5, Op.72, and Feinberg's Scherzo from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 Pathetique. * At the Performing Arts Hall of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taoyuan County Government, 21 Hsianfu Rd, Taoyuan County (桃園市縣府路21號) tonight and at the Ilan Performing Arts Center of the Ilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau, 482 Chungshan Rd, Sec 2, Ilan City (宜蘭市中山路二段482號) on Sunday * Tickets from NT$200 to NT$300 and are available through ERA ticketing. * Tonight and Sunday at 7:30pm Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (莫札特雙鋼琴協奏曲) will feature German pianist Rolf-Peter Wille and his wife, as well as Taiwanese pianist Linda Yeh (葉綠娜) at the National Concert Hall for the Sunday matinee. This concert is the second in a series of 10 concerts by Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO) of Mozart's instrumental and opera works to mark Taiwan's celebration of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. The program includes Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E-flat Major, K.365, Symphony No.35 in D Major, K.385 Haffner and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op.36. Note: Janos Furst, scheduled to conduct this concert, suddenly fell ill and Neal Stulberg has been called upon to substitute for him. * At the National Concert Hall, Taipei * Tickets from NT$200 to NT$1,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing. * Sunday at 2:30pm Hotshot Cello Choir (名加大提琴合奏團創團音樂會) is set to make its debut concert at the Kaohsiung City Music Hall (高雄市音樂館) on Wednesday. Founded by cellist and National Sun Yat-sen University professor Lin Min-yuan (林敏媛), this 12-cellist ensemble is composed of teachers and graduate students in music, and was established for the purpose of improving Taiwan's music education environment. This concert will feature cellists including Lin, Hsieh I-shuan (謝宜璇), Lin Tsae-pey (林采霈), and Tsai Chia-wen (蔡佳紋). The theme of this concert will be Dance with Cellos and the program will include a diverse range of works arranged for cello in the forms of quartet and quintet. * At the Kaohsiung City Music Hall (高雄市音樂館), 99 Hexi Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市河西路99 號) * Tickets are NT$200 and are available through ERA ticketing. * Wednesday at 7:30pm Contemporary The Wall (這牆) presents Trip Per Round, an evening of house, breaks and electro with Zephec, Elvis, Kolette, Kay and Kaoru tonight. Tomorrow it's Out An' Bad featuring dancehall, reggae, zouk, soca and calypso. * Entrance for tonight is NT$600 and NT$350 for tomorrow * Tonight's show begins at 12am and tomorrow's at 11pm * B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路4段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw Campo, an art carnival that takes place on every second Saturday of each month was last week postponed until tomorrow because of inclement weather. The event features alternative music, films and a flea market, from 2pm to 8:30pm at Taipei Cinema Park (台北市電影主題公園). It's free and the beer is cheap, so join up to party at one of the freshest vanguard venues in the city. The lineup includes bands Cherry, Emily, The Originals and 88 Guava Seeds (八十八顆芭樂籽) as well as techno DJ sets. Visit campolive.blogspot.com for more information. * Entrance is free * Campo starts proceedings at 2pm * Taipei Cinema Park (台北市電影主題公園), 19 Kangding Rd, Taipei (台北市康定路19號) Grooveyard presents Faye and the Slacks tonight, The Dolittles tomorrow, ‘Round Midnight on Wednesday and on Thursday open mic and jam featuring new music, drama, poetry and more. * Tonight and tomorrow's shows begin at 10pm, Wednesday and Thursday's at 8pm * Entrance for tonight and tomorrow is NT$200. Admission is free on Wednesday and Thursday. * 2F, 105 Hwamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號二樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com The Living Room (小客廳) presents The Originals tonight. The band is celebrating frontman Johny Angst's birthday. Tomorrow features David Foster, Tuesday Red Flower (紅花樂團) and Lucky Q (辣激卷樂團), Wednesday Lag Jam (聲響表演), Thursday Get Lit. a celebration of the spoken word, film and music. * Tonight and tomorrow's shows begin 10pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's at 8:30pm * Entrance for tonight and Tuesday is NT$400 tomorrow is NT$500, Wednesday is NT$300 * 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路5段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com (Please note: Some of the listed bands do not have English names, in which case the ‘Taipei Times’ has included a translation or transliteration.) Exhibitions Tsai Ken Solo Exhibition 2006 — Still Life (靜物 — 蔡根2006個展) Seeing his works as a record of fleeting moments of his life, Tsai encourages viewers to perceive the still art works as catalysts that bring them back to their own feelings as the artist believes images fade away with time, but they can help us to see our inner selves and turn the ephemeral beauty of life into something eternal. * Main Trend Gallery (大趨勢畫廊), 209-1 Chengde Rd, Sec 3, Taipei (台北市承德路三段209-1號). Open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2587-3412. * Until Oct. 7 Abstract Print: Three from the Left Bank (左岸三結藝), featuring abstract prints by three renowned expatriates in Paris. Zao Wou-ki (趙無極) is famed for his idiosyncratic style playing with the forms and techniques of modern Western art. Chu The-chun's (朱德群) works are the manifestation of light and nature while the abstract prints of Liu Tsz-ming (劉自明) move from the concrete to the abstract, leaving the viewer with a vast space for imagining. * Capital Arts Center (首都藝術中心), 2F, 343 Renai Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市仁愛路四段343號2樓). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm. Call (02) 2775-5268. * Until Sept. 30 2006 Jazz Photo Gallery's Joint Exhibition of Photography (2006年攝影創作聯展) Divided into two series, the large-scale photo exhibition features 200 works by 200 photographers to give a comprehensive look at Taiwan's photographic art. The works on display depict various aspect of the island ranging from cultural activities to natural landscapes and present different styles of photography from commercial to news reporting. * Jazz Photography Gallery(爵士攝影藝廊), 2F, 433 Bade Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市八德路二段433號2樓). Open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2741-2256. * Until Oct. 1 Kuo Kuan-hsin Solo Exhibition 2006: The Dream Maker (郭冠忻2006個展 — 刺繡的夢裳), a series of oil paintings that take the viewer into a personal fantasy with enchanting fairytales of the kingdom of Mr. and Mrs. Cat and an angel of love living in a closed chamber. * Galerie Elegance Taipei (愛力根畫廊), 48 Yixian Rd, Taipei (台北市逸仙路48號). Open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. Call (02) 2758-1038. * Until Sept. 23 Goodbye Summer Time (再見夏天) Centering on the theme of summer time, the exhibition features nearly 100 paintings by over ten artists from abroad to let viewers appreciate the beauty of the season in all its manifestations. * BeFineArt Gallery (比劃比畫畫廊), 122-2 Renai Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市仁愛路三段122-2號). Open daily from 12pm to 7pm. Call (02) 2702-7756. * Until Sept. 30
Publication Notes
Upcoming
Circuses with their high-risk stunts and animal tamers have rather gone out of fashion these days, but the days of old will be revived with the arrival of the The Great Moscow Circus, which is scheduled to give a 24-week, six-city tour around Taiwan next month. With the lions being flown in from the US, an elephant from Spain and the dogs from Denmark, this is a big-top circus on an international scale. Also set to wow the crowds will be Hungarian daredevil Laszlow Simet, one of the world’s great high-wire artists.
This is set to be a great show for the whole family. In Taipei, the show will run from Oct. 6 through Nov. 19 at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium (中山足球場), 1 Yumen St. Taipei (臺北市玉門街1號); Tainan from Nov. 24 through Dec. 3 at RT-Mart (Anping Branch) 42 Jyunping Rd, Tainan (台南市郡¥路42號); Hsinchu from Dec. 7 through Dec. 17 at RT-Mart (Jhonghsiao Branch) 300 Jhonghsiao Rd, Hsinchu (新竹市忠孝路300號). The Great Moscow Circus will continue its tour with performances in Kaohsiung (Dec. 21, 2006 through Jan. 21, 2007), Taoyuan (Jan. 25, 2007 through Feb. 16, 2007) and Taichung (Feb. 16, 2007 through March 18, 2007)
* Tickets: From NT$600 to NT$3,500 and are available through www.artsticket.com.tw. Discounts are available for groups of 10 more. Calling (02) 2702-8838.
Publication Notes
Upcoming
A Moving Sound will hold a concert at Harris Conference Hall (寶環國際會議廳) to promote the release of their second CD Songs Beyond Words (心的航行). This transcendental musical journey through time is sure to leave the audience breathless. With compositions by Scott Prairie and the extraordinary vocals of Mia Xie (謝韻雅), A Moving Sound has created a meditative sound on this CD that reinterprets the ancient Chinese Nanguan (南管) and Kuchin (古琴) musical styles, both of which have been richly preserved in Taiwan. Recorded predominately with Chinese instruments, the concert features Wu Zheng-jun (吳政君 ) on percussion, Lo Tang-hsuan (羅堂軒) on erhu and Hsieh Hua-zhou (謝華洲) on the Chinese guitar. A highlight of the concert will be the fire dance.
* Saturday Sept. 23 at 7:30pm at Harris Conference Hall, in Chungho Park library B1 (寶環國際會議廳 — 中和四號公園圖書館B1) 85 Chungan St, Chungho City (中和市中安街85 號). Tickets are NT$400 for the concert. Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved through www.amovingsound.com
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