Theater
The Eight Immortals (八仙) are a group of legendary figures from Chinese history and are revered by Taoists for their transcendent power to give life or destroy evil. But of the eight, only one is a woman, named Immortal Woman He (He Xian-gu - 何仙姑). Chen Sheng-kuo (陳勝國), writer and director at Ming Hwa Yuan (明華園), Taiwan's preeminent Taiwanese opera (歌仔戲) group, contemplates why in The Immortal Woman He (八仙傳奇系列之何仙姑)
▲Kaohsiung Cultural Center's Chih Teh Hall (高雄市立文化中心至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號)
▲ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$200 to NT$1,600 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Wedding of the Mice (大稻埕的老鼠新娘) is a puppet production by Taiwan's Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company (台原偶戲團), and is adapted from a traditional Chinese fairy-tale. It tells the story of the daughter of the mouse lord who is in love with a poor mouse but is expected to marry the winner of a competition held by her father. The father deems the poor mouse unworthy of competing for his daughter's hand in marriage, but true love eventually wins the day.
▲Nadou Theater (納豆劇場), 79 Xining N Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧北路79號)
▲ Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$200 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com
The songs we share (如果音樂故事) is a family production that brings together the best songs from If Kids Theater Group's (如果兒童劇團) repertoire over the past eight years.
▲ Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段25號).
▲ Tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 10:30 and 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$350 to NT$1,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com
Classical music
Hsu Yiu-li Recital (許幼莉鋼琴獨奏會) sees the pianist, a protoge of maestro Robert Scholtz, performing as part of the Sense and Sensibility series of concerts. The program will include J.S. Bach's Fantasia Cromatica e Fuga, Beethoven's Sonata in D Minor Tempest Op. 31 No. 2, Brahms' Klavierstucke Op. 119, and Schumann's Fantasy in C Major Op. 17.
▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Today 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300 to NT$500 and are available through ERA ticketing
Little Giants Chinese Chamber Orchestra - The Rhapsody (小巨人絲竹樂團兩岸薪傳系列 - 狂想) brings together virtuoso performers of classical Chinese music from Taiwan and China, including erhu (二胡) specialist Chen Chun-yuan (陳春園) from China and Taiwan's very own suona (嗩吶) specialist Lin Tzi-yu (林子由), performing with the Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (小巨人絲竹樂團).
▲ National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲ Tomorrow 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,200 and are available through NTCH ticketing
The Sound of Zheng - Chen Hsin-hui and the Hanling Ensemble (瀚淩箏響 - 陳幸惠與瀚淩樂集) is a presentation of classical Chinese music with a lecture by Hanling Ensemble founder Chen Hsin-hui (陳幸惠).
▲National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tomorrow 7:30pm
▲ NT$300 are still available and can be purchased through NTCH ticketing
The Sound of Spring (春之聲) , a solo concert by double bassist Chou Chun-shiang (周春祥). The program will include Schumann's Fantasiestuck Op. 73, Granados' Spanish Dance Intermezzo, Bottesini's Grand Allegro di Concerto, Gajdos' Zingaresca and Misek's Concert Polonaise.
▲ National Recital Hall, Taipei City
▲Tuesday 7:30pm
▲ Tickets are NT$500 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Contemporary
On Tap's monthly pub quiz is tonight at 10:30pm. Four-person maximum per team. NT$500 per table. Winner takes all. RSVP by contacting Niall Clinton on Facebook.com, sending an e-mail to him at niallclinton@yahoo.co.uk or by calling the venue. On Monday morning, the pub will also be showing the Super Bowl and serving breakfast. Those interested are asked to call the venue or contact Clinton.
▲Address: 49, Ln 308, Guangfu S Rd, Taipei City (台北市光復南路308巷49號). Call (02)2741-5365
▲On Tap is open from 5pm to 4am Tuesdays through Thursdays and on Sundays, and 5pm to at 6am Friday and Saturday. Kitchen closes at 1am
Tonight is Fusion Night (融合爵士夜) at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言), with Fred Lu (呂聖斐) on keys, Dong Shun-wen (董舜文) on saxophone, guitarist Eric Chuang (莊賴櫻), bass player Ah-da (阿達) and drummer Chun-hong (俊宏). Four-piece band Back Quarter (四分衛), who over the years have toyed with everything from mainstream pop to hard rock, play a mini-concert tomorrow. Monday is Open-Jam Night, when anyone can take to the stage and play a short set.
▲B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1), next to Tai Power Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
▲ Shows start at 9:30pm
▲NT$400 tonight and tomorrow. Admission includes one free drink. There is a one-drink minimum on Mondays
Bliss features post-rock band To a God Unknown tonight, along with Black Summer Days (黑色夏日), whose music is based on hard rhythm rock 'n' roll mixed with blues and punk, and bluegrass act Pine Top Surgeons. Appearing tomorrow are DJ Giuliano, aka Funky Farmer, spinning reggae, hip-hop, breakbeat and pop, and Jamaican sound system Black Reign, formerly known as the O'Brothaz.
▲148, Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市信義路四段148號), one block east of Dunhua South Road (敦化南路). Call Bliss at (02) 2702-1855 or log on at www.bliss-taipei.com. For more information on live performances at Bliss, go to www.myspace.com/blisslivehouse
▲ Tonight's music starts at 10pm. Bar/kitchen open from 7pm daily. Ladies Night Fridays; women get one free cocktail of their choice
▲ Entrance to the bar is free. Cover for the live music upstairs is NT$200
Witch House (女巫店) hosts alt-rock band Peppermint (薄荷葉) tonight and indie-rockers Freckle (雀斑) tomorrow.
▲ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Road Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
▲ Performances start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games open 11am to midnight Sunday to Wednesday; 11am to 1am Thursday to Saturday
▲NT$300 entrance includes one drink
The Touch, a band that mixes folk, disco and funk with rock, plays tomorrow at the Living Room (小客廳).
▲ 3F, 8, Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
▲ 9pm to 10pm tomorrow
▲ NT$300 admission and NT$50 recommended donation
Exhibitions
The Tradition of Re-Presenting Art: Originality and Reproduction in Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (傳移模寫). This exhibition features a body of Chinese painting and calligraphy works from different times and dynasties that serves as explanation and testimony to the ancient tradition of "transmitting by copying." Looked down on in present days, copying was valued as a way to preserve the past and bring new inspiration. Through imitating the styles and works of old masters, artists were able to transmit their own experiences, creative energy and idiosyncrasies onto the canvas.
▲ National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), 221, Zhishan Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市至善路二段221號).
▲Open Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm; Saturday until 8:30pm. Call (02) 2881-2021.
▲Through March 25
LA Bote (戲箱) tells of the spirit and vitality of ancient puppet theater. Taiwanese artist Lin Hao-pu (林浩溥) and Margarita Saad, a French artist-in-residence at Taipei Artist Village, have created a work that shows how puppet masters play with puppets and tell stories behind the curtain.
▲Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村), 7 Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號).
▲Open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 7:30pm. Call (02) 3393-7377.
▲ Through March 9
One in a Loop - A Solo Exhibition by Chen Yung-hsien (人層迴圈 - 2008陳永賢個展) Chen's latest video and digital image works represent human bodies reconstructed and rearranged with an aim to explore the repeating loop of human behavior.
▲ Galerie Grand Siecle (新苑藝術), 17, Alley 51, Ln 12, Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市八德路三段12巷51弄17號).
▲Open Tuesday to Sunday from 1pm to 6pm. Call (02) 2578-5630.
▲ Through Feb. 22
The Living World Series - Painted Wood (2007朱銘人間系列 - 彩繪木雕) The exhibition features Ju Ming's (朱銘) latest series of over 20 pieces of wood sculpture colored in white paint. Taking a break from his previous colorful style of expression, the celebrated sculptor choose the simplicity of white to represent the unpolished force of wood.
▲ Juming Museum (朱銘美術館), 2 Sheshihu, Chinshan Township, Taipei County (台北縣金山鄉西勢湖2號).
▲ Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Call (02) 2498-9940.
▲Through Aug. 3
Engraving the World - the Chalcography of the Louvre Museum (刻畫天地 - 羅浮宮館藏銅版畫) The exhibition features a selection of 138 pieces of engraved copper plates from the chalcography collection of Louvre Museum to retrace the art of engraving in France. Though less known to the public, the museum's copperplate collection holds more than 13,000 items accumulated since the 17th century by the kings of France and has the same historical importance and high quality as the museum's other collections.
▲Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (高雄市立美術館), 20 Meishuguan Rd, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City. (高雄市鼓山區美術館路20號).
▲Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (07) 555-0331
▲ From tomorrow through April 13
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