TSMC Culture and Education Foundation Inherits and Innovates the Culture of Traditional Chinese Opera: A New Broadcasting Program of “Tales from Chinese Opera”
The popularity of podcasts has soared globally in recent years. In order to draw the younger generation’s attention to Chinese traditional opera, the TSMC Culture and Education Foundation collaborated with IC Broadcasting company to utilize several digital platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, to create a new broadcasting program for traditional Chinese opera, “Tales from Chinese Opera.” This program uses common language to tell the stories of traditional Chinese opera in a fun and creative way. The Foundation hopes to draw more and more young people to traditional Chinese opera and carry forward the essence of the traditional art form in recent years. As of July 2021, the program has attracted more than 540,000 online subscribers.
Diversified Broadcasting Media: Listen to Traditional Chinese Opera on Podcast
As new media and diverse entertaining formats sweep across the world, it has become more challenging to carry forward traditional arts and culture. The new broadcasting program “Tales from Chinese Opera” is co-hosted by Ms. Anqi Wang, artistic director of GuoGuang Opera Company, and Dr. Shih-Lung Lo, Associated Professor of the Department of Chinese Literature of National Tsing Hua University. They share stories of the traditional Chinese opera including traditional Peking opera, Kungqu opera, and new theatrical works every week. The program provides a completely new listening experience through inviting different generations of renowned Peking opera actors such as Ms. Hai-ming Wei and Mr. Chien Sheng to share their stories and even give live performance.
Episodes of “Tales from Chinese Opera”
| Date (2021) | Subject |
|---|---|
| March 5th | Open the costume trunk and start from the beginning: Why do we want to watch opera? |
| March 12th | “Talking” about love: Love that blossoms in opera |
| March 19th | Exclusive interview with Ms. Hai-Min Wei: Her latest work, “A Thousand Stages, Yet I Have Never Quite Lived” |
| March 26th | His/Her/Its/Their love is particularly all-encompassing |
| April 2nd | Cast a spell on the audience through devil’s words: How do the playwrights catch the devils in their works |
| April 9th | What if love is a refrigerator? |
| April 16th | Exclusive interview with Chien Sheng: The multifarious Adonis on the stage |
| April 23rd | Exclusive interview with Xuejun Zhao: A homebody anime playwright full of wondrous ideas of thousand years |
| April 30th | Power, your name is woman! |
| May 7th | Exclusive interview with Jianxing Chen: A mother thinks differently when she’s on the battleground |
| May 14th | Pray you to act sincerely on stage and honestly offstage |
| May 21st | A stage of one: I am said to act like one but where am ‘I’? |
| May 28th | A stage of one: Acting on and off stage |
| June 4th | Dragon Boat Festival Special: A casual glimpse of the white snake on the hundred-year-old theatre stage |
| June 11th | Dragon Boat Festival Special: We are all Bei Suzhens and Xu Xians on and off stage |
| June 18th | Not a drop of rain in three years: The injustice to Dou E makes heaven and earth to tears |
| June 25th | How to turn a tragedy into a comedy: Stories on and offstage |
| July 2nd | From virtual to reality: The first step of the Ya-yin Ensemble |
| July 9th | Kan Yu Chuan: Tonight we’re all in Ministry Councilor Yu’s house…… |
| July 16th | Kan Yu Chuan: She alone performs in and out of the limelight, for all intends and purposes |
| July 23rd | Theater in Dream of the Red Chamber, Dream of the Red Chamber in Theatre: Imperial consort Yuan Chun’s home visits, the Lavish Banquet, and Qi Qiao (Chinese Valentine’s Day) |
Support and Cultivate Young Talents and Organize Theatre Study Workshops to Carry Forward the Essence of Traditional Chinese Opera
The TSMC Culture and Education Foundation is making traditional Chinese Opera more popular among different generations and carry forward the essence of traditional art and culture through various of platforms. In order to actively cultivate young talents, the Foundation collaborates with GuoGuang Opera Company and sponsors the Peking opera talent-cultivation project. The project offers programs to cultivate Taiwan’s young talents with great potentials to improve their skills and deepen their understanding about art and humanity, and also provides workshops on traditional Chinese opera for college students in order to enrich the younger generation’s appreciation and love for traditional arts and culture. With its relentless efforts, TSMC Culture and Education Foundation hopes to plant the seeds of traditional Chinese opera and expects them to blossom and bear fruits in the future, carrying forward the beauty of traditional art and culture.