Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

Based on a folk story, Remembering An-Ping is a unique play that exhibits the emotional transfer across generations. The lyrics and music explore diverse new grounds in Taiwanese opera creation. The orchestration and the lyrics are a perfect match, showcasing the concept of composing music to fit the lyrics. Whether it is an old melody or a new composition, everything works in harmony. Main actors display great acting and singing skills, captivating the audience with their magnificent voices and body languages. The play also exhibits high levels of script-directing integration and completeness in set design. The play inside the play is presented through projection, which is a magical touch. This play does not only show that the ShiuKim Taiwanese Opera Troupe has broken new ground, but it also proves to be a representative work of experimental Taiwanese opera in the new age.   Committee member:Chang,  Chi-Feng

Artwork Introduction

The popular song “Remembering Anping” was written by Xu Shi with lyrics by Chenda Ru. It debuted in 1951, and it remains popular to this day. While the story told through its lyrics is fictional, the process of Taiwan's societal development and internationalization, foreign romance and wanderlust all remain compelling artistic motifs.

Given the context of contemporary subject matter, New Taiwanese Opera－Remembering An-Ping can be reinterpreted in performance form in order to create a new style of New Taiwanese Opera. Accordingly, the play’s musical director, Professor Chou, Yi-Chien adopts the approaches of New Taiwanese Opera. On one hand, the work retains the three-fold structure of a play-within-a-play—which includes Lady White Snake, The Legend of Xue Ping-gui and The Spring Dream of the Butterflies, with their conventional arias and musical qualities. On the other hand, it creates a new musical form based on traditional Taiwanese Opera. By receiving tradition, Remembering An-ping transforms the past into the new. New Taiwanese Opera－Remembering An-Ping recounts the tale of the gap between the rich and the poor and of a desperate love, utilizing the imagery of the ocean, the seaport and a drifting life—which together represent “the eternalness of chaos and the chaos of eternity” as reoccurring motifs in Taiwanese culture.

About the Artist

ShiuKim Taiwanese Opera Troupe was first founded in 1986 by Professor Chiang, Hsiu-Chin, and gradually made its way into national theatres by 2000. Since 2001, the troupe has been recognized for through government support for its distinctly pure essence, haunting vocal work, and seriousness of approach, which together comprise its unique character. In 2004, Professor Chiang was awarded the Chung Hsing Literature and Art Award.