After presenting ravishing performances to European audiences at the beginning of the year, the Contemporary Legend Theater recently released “The Kangxi Emperor and Louis-Dieudonne” in Taiwan a new fusion opera that combines music from the east and west.
This opera tells the story of the interaction between the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and King Louis XIV of France, who sent Joachim Bouvet to Beijing for an audience with the emperor. Bouvet was a member of a delegation of six Jesuit missionaries and mathematicians sent to the Kangxi Emperor, led by Jean de Fontaney, who became famous because he gave quinine to the emperor and cured his malaria.
The opera will be performed this Saturday and Sunday evening in the plaza outside the National Palace Museum. The libretto was written in Chinese by Chang Ta-chun, a well known Taiwanese author and literary critic. The French part of the libretto was translated from the Chinese version and adapted into operatic form for the French performers.
Photo: Courtesy of Contemporary Legend Theater
照片：當代傳奇劇場提供
The music was composed by Xu Shuya for an orchestra of 45 musicians. The orchestra includes both eastern and western instruments. The music is not strictly Chinese or Baroque, it is a mixture of both styles and both types of instruments.
In this opera, the Kangxi Emperor will be played by Wu Hsing-kuo, the lead dancer and director of Contemporary Legend Theater, and well known French tenor Jean-Francois Novelli will play the role of King Louis XIV “Le roi soleil.” The roles of Madame de Maintenon and Anne of Austria will be played by Camille Poul, soprano, while Joachim Bouvet and Moliere will be played by Pierrick Boisseau, baritone.
(By Taijing Wu, Taipei Times）
當代傳奇劇場今年初呈現給歐洲觀眾令人陶醉的演出後，要在台灣以新的歌劇形式融合東西文化，表演「康熙大帝與太陽王路易十四」。
Photo: Courtesy of Contemporary Legend Theater
照片：當代傳奇劇場提供
這齣歌劇描述的是中國清朝康熙皇帝與法國國王路易十四間的互動。路易十四當年派遣白晉前往北京晉見康熙皇帝，白晉是六位耶穌會傳教士兼數學家代表團當中一位。代表團由洪若翰帶領，他因為給了皇帝奎寧，並治好皇上的瘧疾而成名。
本週六週日晚上於故宮博物院外廣場上演的歌劇的歌詞，由台灣著名作家與文藝評論家張大春以中文撰寫。法文歌詞由中文版本翻譯而成，隨後改編成歌劇形式給法國表演者唱。
音樂由許舒亞作曲，是寫給四十五位樂手的作品。樂團包含東方與西方樂器，音樂本身也並非絕對的中國音樂或巴洛克音樂，而是兩種樂風相互交替，且同時由兩種樂器演奏。
這齣歌劇的康熙皇帝將由當代傳奇主要舞者兼團長吳興國飾演。路易十四「太陽王」則由在法國受歡迎的男高音Jean-Francois Novelli飾演。曼特儂夫人與安皇后(路易十四母親)由女高音Camille Poul一人飾兩角，而男中音Pierrick Boisseau將表演白晉與莫里哀兩角。
（台北時報記者吳岱璟）
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