The National Guoguang Opera Company’s (國立國光劇團) is premiering an R-rated show this weekend — well, for Peking Opera standards at least.
Phaedra/Phaedra — A Dream of Passion (極西之地有個費特兒) is the company’s second production drawing from the titular Greek tragedy, but company CEO Chang Yu-hua (張育華) says the upcoming performance is completely different from their 2019 collaboration with Singapore’s Siong Leng Musical Association (湘靈音樂社).
With an entirely Taiwanese creative force working with Dutch and Mexican drama consultants for over a year, the show fuses classic opera techniques and aesthetics with puppet theater, electronic sounds, visual installations and a Greek-styled chorus. The performance is in Mandarin with Chinese and English surtitles.
Photo courtesy of National Guoguang Opera Company
“We aim to use a Taiwanese perspective, Eastern aesthetics and the exquisite performance techniques of our actors … to present to the world a contemporary version of Phaedra that’s starkly different from what Western audiences are used to,” she says. “This production breaks national, stylistic, linguistic and cultural boundaries and is a fusion of East and West, tradition and modernity.”
There is no Phaedra in the opera; instead the story features a queen from another land who has similarly fallen deeply in love with her stepson. Sensually portrayed by Golden Melody-winning Chu An-li (朱安麗), the queen becomes entangled within her erotic fantasies and her kingdom’s power struggles, and is torn between acute desires in her dreams and the mounting pressures of reality.
Despite the emphasis on eroticism, none of it is overly explicit, although what’s shown is still considered R-rated for Peking Opera, which relies more on subtle motifs and imagery. Chu is seen biting her flowing sleeves in one scene, and in a bedroom scene with the king, she is seen lying face down on the stage and even takes off her shoe at one point. “That’s very daring for Peking Opera already,” Chang says.
Photo courtesy of National Guoguang Opera Company
The sensuality is further highlighted through modern dance, as the red-clad chorus pops up here and there, holding red sticks that “meld erotic love, punishment and violence all together,” the company’s press release states.
Many of the young production talent hail from non-opera backgrounds. There are three different clans (bird, bear and snake) in the opera, and designer Lee Yu-shen (李育昇) came up with distinct costumes that represent each animal, while balancing tradition and the flair of Haute Couture.
Composer Cheng I-liy (鄭伊里) is versed in Western and electronic music, and struggled with melding it with opera. Interestingly, since Peking Opera allows for much flexibility in terms of singing speed and diction, some of the electronic parts have to be played live to match the singing and traditional orchestra.
Photo courtesy of National Guoguang Opera Company
After the two showings in Taipei, the team will gather feedback and continue to refine the performance with Dutch production consultant Robert Van Den Bos and Mexican dramaturge Ximena Escalante for future international performances.
“Before when our company went abroad, it was completely from our point of view. This time, we really want to explore the new possibilities of traditional opera and to surpass our existing limits,” Chang says. “Is there only one way to represent tradition?”
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