Veteran opera actress Chen Ya-lan (陳亞蘭) has been nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Golden Bell Awards. She is the first woman nominated in the television award’s category usually reserved for male performers.
Chen was nominated for her role as the male Qing-era Jiaqing Emperor (嘉慶帝) in Lord Jiaqing and The Journey to Taiwan (嘉慶君遊臺灣).
The 30-episode opera series in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) features a number of other female performers in male roles.
Photo: CNA
The story was adapted for television using techniques and filming styles pioneered by Chen’s mentor, Yang Li-hua (楊麗花). Yang, considered a national treasure by many opera fans in Taiwan, laid the groundwork for actresses to play male characters in operas serialized on TV.
The trend became a tradition in Taiwanese operas, with Chen and fellow actress Sun Tsui-feng (孫翠鳳) seen as two of the most prominent leading male character performers.
Golden Bell jury member and television producer Chen Hui-ling (陳慧玲) said Chen’s impeccable acting and convincing portrayal of the emperor persuaded the jury to nominate Chen in the actor category for the 57th edition the awards, schedule to take place on Oct. 21 and 22.
Also nominated in the category are Berant Zhu (朱軒洋) for Danger Zone (逆局); Kuo Tze-cheng (郭子乾) and James Wen (溫昇豪) for Gold Leaf (茶金); Tony Yang (楊祐寧) for Light the Night (華燈初上) and the late Camake Valaule for Seqalu: Formosa 1867 (斯卡羅).
Chen’s groundbreaking nomination at the TV awards follows Ivy Ling’s (凌波) recognition at the second Golden Horse Awards in 1963 for playing the titular male role in the Huangmei opera movie The Love Eterne (梁山伯與祝英台).
After the jury could not agree on whether Ling should be nominated for Best Actor or Best Actress, she was instead awarded a Golden Horse Special Award for Outstanding Performance.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS