衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

In 2019, the audience burst into tears after watching LIN Ling-Hui's Tosca at the NSO Opera Concert TOSCA, which was jointly produced by the NSO and LIN Hwai-min.
The Autumn of 2020 will see LIN Ling-hui , in collaboration with Europe-based Korean tenor CHOI Seung-jin, perform the most famous arias and duets from PUCCINI's Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La bohème and Turandot, including Che gelida manna, Sì, mi chiamano Mimì, E lucevan le stelle, Un bel dì vedremo, and Vissi d'arte, aiming to once again touch music lovers. With music critic CHIAO Yuan-pu on hand to provide introductory commentaries to the music, even newcomers will be able to fully appreciate the music!

Program

The Meeting Scene of Rudolf and Mimi, from Act-I of Opera La Bohème

Che gelida manina

Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì

Ehi! Rodolfo! ...... O soave fanciulla

Un bel dì vedremo, from Act-II of Opera Madama Butterfly

Ch'ella mi creda, from Act-III of Opera La Fanciulla del West

Piu non resisto! ......Tu che di gel sei cinta, from Act-III of Opera Turandot

E lucevan le stelle, from Act-III of Opera Tosca

-------------------------------------Intermission----------------------------------------------

Mario! Mario! Mario!....Qual occhio al mondo, from Act-I of Opera Tosca

  Artist Introduction  

Soprano | LIN Ling-hui

LIN Ling-hui went to Italy in 2000, was admitted to Vocal Music of Conservatorio di Musica di Brescia, and studied with Italy-based Taiwanese soprano Chu Tai-Li. LIN continued to study in PhD programs of vocal music and chamber music in the same conservatory, and graduated in summer 2007 with honors again. She appeared in the Verona Eximia Forma, an opera workshop, for many years to study the interpretation of operas with opera director Enrico Conforti. Her important performances includes: recording of Four aboriginal Lieder for Soprano and Orchestra by Nan-Chang Chien in 2012, nominated for The Best Concert Award in the 24th Golden Melody Awards; female lead Butterfly in Puccini's Madama Butterfly by NSO in 2012; soprano solo in Verdi's Requiem during Taiwan International Festival of Arts in 2013; the Manon Lescaut in Puccini's Manon Lescaut by NSO in 2017; Tosca in Puccini's Tosca by the NSO's 2018 opera production.

Tenor | CHOI Seung-jin

Mr.CHOI received his education at the University of Music of South Korea, at the Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi in Milan(Italy) and at the University of Music in Rostock(Germany).

He was furthermore invited to the opera theaters of Tallin and Tartu in Estonia, and moved on to various German companies appearing in Eisenach, Erfurt, Flensburg, Kassel, Rostock, Detmold, Duisburg, at the Hamburg State Opera, at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, in Oldenburg and in Schwerin as well as in Holland at the Opera Wroclawska in Poland at the Opera theaters of Taipei, Taichung and Kao-Hsiung in Taiwan at the Opera theater Utsunomya in Japan.

His repertoire includes Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, Froh in Reingold the Italian singer in Rosenkavalier, Alvaro in La Forza del Destino, Kalaf in Turadot, Samson in Samso et Dalila, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Otello in Otello, Radames in Aida, Don Jose in Carmen, Rodolfo in La Boheme, Luigi in Il Tabarro, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Bank-Ban in Bank-Ban, Tenor Solo in Messa di Requiem, Tenor Solo in Messiah and Sou-Chong in Das Land des Lächeln.

Piano | WANG Pei-yao

Hailed for her poetic lyricism and insight, WANG Pei-yao is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. Ms. WANG has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, Mendelssohn and Miro quartets, and with musicians such as Hilary Hahn, LIN Cho-liang, Hu Nai-yuan, Benny Tseng, Nicola Benedetti, Mitsuko Uchida, Jerôme Comte, Radovan Vlatković, Sasha Cooke, Lisette Oropesa, among many others. Ms. Wang has given concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia; including venues such as Salle des Varietes in Monte Carlo, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, Beijing Concert hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall. As a member of the CMS II in New York, she is a frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Among many facets of her career, as a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program, Ms. WANG has worked with noted conductor such as James Levine, Alan Gilbert, to name a few. As part of the production team at the Metropolitan Opera, the noted opera production of Doctor Atomic by John Adams received the Grammy Award in 2011. Ms.WANG has since worked on over 20 productions nationwide.

Ms. WANG has commissioned and premiered over 20 solo and chamber works in the past. She made her conducting debut in 2017 at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, premiering 7 new vocal chamber works by Taiwanese female composers. In 2020, WANG Pei-Yao is the featured artist at the Taiwan International Festival of Arts.

Director | LIN Hwai-min
LIN Hwai-min was first known to the Taiwan public as a fiction writer. He started his modern dance training at the age of 23, while working on his MFA degree at the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. He founded Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in Taipei in 1973.
A self-taught choreographer, LIN often draws from Asian cultures and aesthetics to create works with contemporary resonance. Under his direction, Cloud Gate tours extensively to international acclaims and prominence.

In 2013, he received the prestigious Samuel H. Scripps / American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement. Previous awardees include Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, and William Forsythe. LIN is the first recipient based in Asia.
Among other honors LIN Hwai-min has received are the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the Ministry of Culture of France, the Honorary Fellow Trinity Laban, London, and honorary doctorates from six universities in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He was also celebrated by the Time Magazine as one of “Asia's Heroes.”

At the end of 2019, LIN retired from the position of the artistic director of Cloud Gate. Cheng Tsung-lung succeeded him to take the reins of the company.

Planner, Preview, Lyrics translation | CHIAO Yuan-pu

Born in Taipei, CHIAO Yuan-pu is a PhD of Musicology, King's College, London. He has published eleven books in Chinese on piano music, pianists, as well as classical music in general. “The Colors between Black and White”, the collection of his interviews of 108 pianists, has been also translated into Japanese with great acclaim. His adaptation of Ibsen's Peer Gynt and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with the complete incidental music by Grieg and Mendelssohn separately, also won tremendous praise. During 2008-2009, he was an Edison Fellow of the Sound Archive, British Library. In 2010 and 2012, he served as the artistic director of the International Chopin and Debussy Piano Festivals in Taiwan. Since 2011, he has been the dramaturgist of the National Symphony Orchestra. Besides being a popular radio host and podcaster, he is frequently invited by important venues in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau to give lectures and lecture-recitals.

Creative and Production Team

Director | Lin Hwai-min
Soprano | LIN Ling-hui
Tenor | Choi Seung-jin
Piano | WANG Pei-yao
Planner, Preview, Lyrics translation | CHIAO Yuan-pu
Lighting Design, Production Manager| Lulu W.L. LEE
Producer| CHEN Pin-hsiu
Production Manager| CHEN Chien-chang
Stage Manager| LEE Chu-hui
Wardrobe Mistress| HSU Wen-wen
Subtitle Operator |LEE Kuan-ying
Assistant Executive Producer | Rebecca R.L. CHEN LIU Chu-ching
The performance is produced by Cloud Gate Theater, co-produced by National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) and National Taichung Theater.

Major Sponsor

Photo by CHEN You-wei