Opera lovers will be treated to 3 productions around Taiwan in October

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Three locally produced opera productions will be presented in Taiwan at the end of October, including two written by Giuseppe Verdi and one by Richard Wagner, according to organizers.

After a five-year hiatus, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra is returning to its tradition of staging an annual opera, with Verdi’s “Otello” announced as this year’s production in late September.

The orchestra said it first staged a performance of the opera in 1992.

This year’s production of the opera, adapted from the Shakespearean tragedy of the same name, will bring together local and foreign talent, according to the orchestra.

The title role will be performed by American tenor Bryan Register, while Taiwanese soprano Hanying Tso-Petanaj (左涵瀛) will take on the role of Desdemona, the orchestra said.

Wang Chia-ming (王嘉明) of Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group leads the production team as director, with Italian Marco Boemi conducting the orchestra for the two performances on October 21 and 23 in Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Also on October 21 and 23, the Taichung National Theater will present the Parisian version of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” which it premiered as a one-off concert last year, the venue in the center of Taichung recently announced. Taiwan.

The 2022 opera production of “Tannhäuser” brings back poet and director Hung Hung (鴻鴻) and conductor Chang Yin-fang (張尹芳), who will lead an ensemble of musicians, according to the theater.

The full Taiwanese cast includes tenor Lin Yi-wei (林義偉), who will reprise the title role he first played last year, while sopranos Grace Lin (林慈音) and Fan Ting-yu (范婷玉) will play the two female leads — Elisabeth and Venus, Goddess of Love, respectively.

The Kaohsiung National Arts Center, meanwhile, will host the Taiwan premiere of Verdi’s “Don Carlo” which he co-produced with the Royal Opera of Wallonia-Liège in Belgium, from October 27 to 30, the report said. arts center in a statement. in August.

Belgian opera first staged the co-production to mark its 200th anniversary in 2020 with a five-part version in French, the arts center also known locally as “Weiwuying” said.

In Taiwan, the opera directed by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera will be staged in Italian in four parts, with costumes and sets shipped from Belgium, Weiwuying said. Gianni Santucci will direct the revival production in Kaohsiung.

Weiwuying general and artistic director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) will lead the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra for performances in Kaohsiung, with Georgian tenor Irakli Kakhidze and Italian tenor Matteo Falcier each playing the title role for two performances, according to the arts center.

Weiwuying will also stage Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” by Tainan-based BenFeng Music Productions from November 18-20.

Meanwhile, the National Taichung Theater will stage a version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” premiered by South African artist William Kentridge from December 15-18.