Taiwan is currently seeing a spate of productions aimed at widening audiences for Chinese opera by amalgamating its styles with those of other traditions. Last weekend saw The Firmiana Rain (梧桐雨), a work musically reminiscent of Debussy and marked by a refinement which, though it may win plaudits from critics, is unlikely to significantly expand ticket sales.
Sunshine after Snowfall (快雪時晴), which opens at Taipei's National Theater tonight, is something very different. It, too, places Chinese instruments alongside Western ones, and tells a tale of ancient China, though with developments in 20th-century Taiwan. But in place of a cold-blooded elegance, there is instead quite a bit of boisterous fun.
Puccini-like melody takes the place of Firmiana Rain's fastidiousness, but at the same time the traditional Chinese elements are now heard banging, clacking and piping away in all their original vigor. Western-style opera soloists, such as Yu-his Wu-bei (巫白玉璽) - the Don in the 2004 Don Giovanni - are also taking part, and whereas Firmiana Rain strove for a seamless fabric of integrated cross-cultural sound, Sunshine after Snowfall offers a lively contest between Western and Chinese elements.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE NSO
The main composer is Chung Yiu-kwong (鍾耀光), General Director of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, and the work is being presented by Taiwan's National Guoguang Opera Company (國立國光劇團), heir to the four opera groups formerly supported (in a fashion that helped make Taiwan such an exotic and colorful place) by different branches of the military.
But the acrobatic talents are still there, and at a rehearsal last week elaborate battles enacted by double-jointed actors tearing the air with gaudy flags were accompanied by the traditional deafening clamor of the Chinese drummers and cymbal-clashers. Nothing as unrestrained would have been allowed within a thousand miles of Firmiana Rain where delicacy and restraint were the names of the game.
On the orchestral side, approximately half the National Symphony Orchestra is involved, and the combined forces are under the baton of Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬), back in Taipei for a couple of months, in part to take charge of this important world premiere.
PHOTO:COURTESY OF THE NSO
This exciting production is something that could just possibly take off and become an international success. The plot, originating in a document held by the National Palace Museum, is complex, but help is at hand. There will for once be surtitles in English as well as in Chinese.
Sunshine after Snowfall plays at Taipei's National Theater tonight at 7.30pm, tomorrow at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, and on Sunday at 2.30pm. Tickets are from NT$300 to NT$1,500 and can be obtained from NTCH ticketing. For more information call (02) 3393-9888.
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