The best classical DVDs dating from this year to come my way were Kenneth Branagh’s World War I version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Lien Yin), Massenet’s opera Manon with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, with Daniel Barenboim conducting (Deutsche Grammophon), Karajan’s versions of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci dating from 1968 and 1970 (also Deutsche Grammophon), and a privately-issued recording of Bach’s B Minor Mass from Taipei.
Branagh’s Magic Flute film combines high-spirited elation with serious thoughts, exactly as Mozart’s original opera does. It succeeds against all the odds, using mostly young singers and combining them with spectacular visual effects. Branagh says on a bonus track that he hopes what he’s created will make people feel that love is still possible, and it certainly does that, setting sex against war — the adoration of bodies and the people who inhabit them against mankind’s worst habit, tearing them ritually apart.
Manon isn’t many people’s favorite opera, but why it was once so popular is revealed in Vincent Paterson’s exciting and colorful staging. Everything is unpredictable — Paterson a director from Hollywood, Barenboim a conductor who’d probably never been near Massenet before, and two charismatic and alluring singers as the doomed lovers. This product is full of brio, glamour and zest.
Karajan’s Cav and Pag are classic renditions that it’s wonderful to have at last on DVD. The first starring Fiorenza Cossotto, the second Jon Vickers, they’re characterized by their lucidity and inner strength. The images are intensely clear and memorable, and the music — well, this is Karajan, even if the scores are remote from his usual areas of expertise.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Chorus gave what was claimed to be the first ever Taiwan performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass on March 29 this year — astonishing, if true, as this is one of the summits of world music. It was a stupendous event, and was recorded by the Philharmonia technicians. It’s never been released, but a privately-made DVD is in circulation in Taipei, and if you can find one there could be no legal restriction on making a copy. Orchestra and chorus members are both probably worth a try, or even the Philharmonia administration. Believe me, it’s worth the effort.
One of the biggest sore spots in Taiwan’s historical friendship with the US came in 1979 when US president Jimmy Carter broke off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan’s Republic of China (ROC) government so that the US could establish relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan’s derecognition came purely at China’s insistence, and the US took the deal. Retired American diplomat John Tkacik, who for almost decade surrounding that schism, from 1974 to 1982, worked in embassies in Taipei and Beijing and at the Taiwan Desk in Washington DC, recently argued in the Taipei Times that “President Carter’s derecognition
This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
JUNE 30 to JULY 6 After being routed by the Japanese in the bloody battle of Baguashan (八卦山), Hsu Hsiang (徐驤) and a handful of surviving Hakka fighters sped toward Tainan. There, he would meet with Liu Yung-fu (劉永福), leader of the Black Flag Army who had assumed control of the resisting Republic of Formosa after its president and vice-president fled to China. Hsu, who had been fighting non-stop for over two months from Taoyuan to Changhua, was reportedly injured and exhausted. As the story goes, Liu advised that Hsu take shelter in China to recover and regroup, but Hsu steadfastly
You can tell a lot about a generation from the contents of their cool box: nowadays the barbecue ice bucket is likely to be filled with hard seltzers, non-alcoholic beers and fluorescent BuzzBallz — a particular favorite among Gen Z. Two decades ago, it was WKD, Bacardi Breezers and the odd Smirnoff Ice bobbing in a puddle of melted ice. And while nostalgia may have brought back some alcopops, the new wave of ready-to-drink (RTD) options look and taste noticeably different. It is not just the drinks that have changed, but drinking habits too, driven in part by more health-conscious consumers and
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