Famed Japanese theater director Tadashi Suzuki, who is in Taipei to work on a local adaptation of the French novel La Dame aux Camelias, said he will transform the famous story into a musical that will wow audiences with its strong Taiwanese flavor.
La Dame aux Camelias, written by French novelist Alexandre Dumas and published in 1848, follows the life of heroine Marguerite Gautier, a sought-after courtesan in Paris, who leaves her lover Armand Duval rather than see him become a social outcast.
The opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi was adapted from the novel.
Suzuki said that instead of using the more familiar opera aria written by Verdi, he has chosen 14 Taiwanese and Mandarin pop songs that will resonate with Taiwanese audiences.
The songs include When Will You Come Again, The Person That I Really Miss and Am I Your True Love, Suzuki said after a short rehearsal in Taipei on Thursday.
“I am always interested in bringing together different cultures and people under a single production,” the 71-year-old director said.
“There will be no fun if a group of similar people come together to do similar things,” Suzuki added.
Suzuki said to add new sparkle to the famous love story, in his version of La Dame aux Camelias he combines the French script with local pop music and places a cast of Taiwanese actors in a modern European set.
He described the relationship between Marguerite and Armand as a dramatic love story that ultimately leads to death or a nervous breakdown, since it is extremely difficult to overcome social class barriers.
Suzuki is a powerhouse of Japanese theater and the founder of the Suzuki method of acting, which emphasizes foot movements and breathing, that lead to a release and channeling of “animal energy.”
Weng Ning-chien (翁寧謙) and Chou Ming-yu (周明宇), who play the lead roles in the production, spent a month training in Japan last year with Suzuki’s troupe to become acquainted with his special methods.
La Dame aux Camelias is being staged at the National Theater from Feb. 10 to Feb. 13 as part of the this year’s Taiwan International Festival of Arts, before it shifts to the Chihshan Hall in Kaohsiung on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS