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

BRITTEN's music is written for both the visible and invisible worlds. His music vocabulary speaks of both the light of spirituality and the dark of human conditions, especially the struggles between the two. As a committed pacifist, Britten refused the fate of being drafted during WWII, and endured harsh critiques and even trials. Yet he remained compassionate in his music to find the voices of the vulnerable, and the hopefulness amongst the sufferings, finding light where darkness seems so dense, thick and inescapable. The dichotomy of the medieval chant and the twelve-tone serialism, both of which Britten was deeply fascinated with and steeped in, provided the juxtaposition of a ceremonial religiousness and a tormented soul. Where the agony seems overwhelming, so is the depth of healing. BRITTEN's music takes you on the journey of such a transformation.

The Turn of the Screw uses the plot of a psychological thriller to reflect on the loss of innocence (of the children) and the desperation to rescue (of the Governess). The story begins with the journey of a young and pretty Governess to Bly House to care for an orphaned boy and girl. The job entailed the most unusual circumstances, and even though the Governess was captivated by the children's angelic appearances and demeanours, she quickly received signs that told a different story. What lies beneath the angelic innocence is horror, and where self-righteousness exists is blindness. There is no clear division between innocence and evil, victims and tormentors. BRITTEN incorporates six singing roles and a chamber ensemble of thirteen that consists of a string quintet, a wind quintet, a piano, percussion, and a harp, in the chamber opera of two acts and 16 scenes. The "Theme of Screw" is constructed by twelve-tone series in a deceivingly simple and childish melody. The opera is revealed with each variation as a turning of the screw, each turning deeper into the mystery, the suspended horror and the unsettling revelation. BenFeng Music Production is the first to bring a staged performance of The Turn of the Screw to Taiwan. In another first, the groundbreaking opera presents all musicians joining the singers on stage to perform from memory, in the chamber music style with no conductor.

As in all of the BenFeng Music Productions, the exploration is not just in the freedom of expressing music in the realm of performing art, but also in the freedom of our inner spirit. Because of the relentless exploration, we are bestowed with more clarity of the world we live in and we aspire for it to be. Music and art not as entertainment, but as a way of learning about life.

  Pre-talk  

2022/11/18(Fri)18:45-19:15 Playhouse 2nd Floor

2022/11/19(Sat)18:45-19:15 Playhouse 2nd Floor

2022/11/20(Sun)13:45-14:15 Playhouse 2nd Floor

  Post-talk  

2022/11/20(Sun)16:45-17:15 Playhouse Auditorium

  Creative and Production Team  

Artists:

Governess｜LIN Meng-chun

Mrs. Grose｜HSU Yu-chen

Prologue & Quint｜TANG Fa-kai

Miss Jessel｜CHEN Yen-ling

Flora｜YOSHIZAWA Maki

Miles｜CHU Yu-sen

Violin I｜WU MinTze

Violin II｜KUO Nan-hui

Viola｜LIN Chieh-yu

Violoncello｜CHANG Yi-chung

Double Bass｜CHIU Yi-hsuan

Flute｜SUN Li

Oboe｜CHUNG Hsiao-hsuan

Clarinet｜KAO Chen-yin

Basson｜KUO Chia-chih

French Horn｜LIN Fang-yu

Keyboard｜TSAI Hsueh-min

Harp｜HSU Suting

Percussions｜HUANG Ching-yu

Production:

Artistic Director｜WU MinTze

Stage Director｜MALONEY John

Set Design｜LIANG Joshan

Light Design｜LEE I-shun

Costume Design｜LIANG Joshan & LIN Yu-yuan

Maestro Concertatore｜HSU Chia-chi

Stage Manager｜TSAI Hsin-ying

Marketing｜Oriental Phoenix Cultural Creativity Co. Ltd

Photography｜HSU Wei

Graphic Design｜LIN Yu-hsuan

Production Assistant｜LIN Yi-chen & LI Chia-yi

  Artists Introduction  

Soprano｜LIN Meng-chun

While her repertoire includes music from all historical periods, her specialty is in vocal chamber and contemporary music. Soprano LIN Meng-chun has received Masters of Fine Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts in Vocal Performance, and Bachelor of the Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University in Vocal Performance. She has won the Taiwan Ministry of Education Scholarship (2004-07) and pursued Doctor of Musical Arts at the College-Conservatory of Music in University of Cincinnati. Ms. LIN is currently a contract instructor at National Taiwan Normal University, and adjunct faculty at Taipei National University of the Arts, Soochow University, and Shih-chien University, where she teaches Voice Lesson, Opera Performance, Vocal Chamber Music, Vocal Pedagogy, and English Diction and Song Literature.

Soprano｜HSU Yu-chen

Lyric Soprano HSU Yu-chen, entered the Music Department of Tung-hai University and received a Master Degree in Vocal Performance in 2002. She is now a singer and vocal teacher. As a professional singer and performer, she has been on most of the stages in U.S.A., Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Soprano｜CHEN Yen-ling

Soprano CHEN Yen-ling, a native of I-Lan, Taiwan, Ms. CHEN earned her master degree in vocal performance from Conservatorio G. Verdi di Milano, Italy. In Italy, Ms. CHEN studied from Professor B. Adele and Professor G. Cigna for vocal techniques. Soprano CHU Tai-li has been Ms. CHEN's lifetime mentor since studying from her in Italy. In 1996, CHEN was honored “Premio d'Onore'' in the Festival Musicale di Camerino. CHEN was also a popular guest performer in major theaters and musical schools, such as Conservatorio di Lecce, Teatro Erba and Teatro Rosetum. Ms. CHEN performs major roles with NSO's (National Symphony Orchestra) from 2002 to 2012; successes include role as Tosca in Tosca, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Clotilde in Norma, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro.

With National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Ms. CHEN has sung as soloists in several concerts and Mimi in La Bohème, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, and C. DEBUSSY: La Damoiselle elue. 2013 with Taipei Symphony Orchestra: La clemenza di Tito. Other highlights include as soloist in Mahler Symphony No. 8, appearing in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Elektra and Suor Angelica. In addition to her vocal performances, Ms. CHEN teaches in National Taiwan University of Arts.

Soprano｜YOSHIZAWA Maki

Born in Kanagawa, Japan. After graduating from the Toho College of Music in voice performance in Japan, she continued her study at the University of Music and performing arts in Vienna and Taipei University of the Arts. Her important performances include the Bregenz Festival in Austria, and other solo and ensemble performances in Japan, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Taiwan. Especially from her passion in Early Music she has had a lot of performances with historical instruments in churches of Austria. Her opera performances include a Baroque opera, Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER's Les plaisirs de Versailles as the main role La Musique at the Zwettl Abbey in Austria in 2016 and an Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel und Gretel as the role of Gretel in Tainan, Taiwan in 2017. She is currently working as a voice trainer for preschool kids to elderly people and Rhythmic and Elementary Music Education at Centre musical et artistique Debussy and Kids Link Montessori in Taipei.

Tenor｜TANG Fa-kai

TANG studied vocal music in the Taipei National University of the Arts and the graduate school, under TENG Ji-lung, HO Kang-ting, and TANG Chen; studied piano under LIN Hsiang-ti and LIN Ho-hui. With his excellent performance, TANG achieved his master's degree in opera from the University of Music and Drama in Hamburg (Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg) in 2012. Subsequently, in 2013, he gained the highest diploma in opera singing from HFMT Hamburg. TANG was awarded many times, including The Best Asian Prize and Akishino Prize of Japanese Song in the International Francesco Paolo Tosti Singing Competition 2007. In November 2007, he won The Best Singing in the NTD Television International Vocal Contest and won the TNUA Concerto Contest of New Artists as well. He was awarded the second prize in Mozart Vocal Contest in Hamburg. In 2011, he also won the Tai-nan Chi-mei Arts Award twice in 2012 & 2014. TANG is a full-time educator, teaching in Kuang-jen High School, Juang-jing High School, National Taiwan Normal University, and Tong-hai University.

Countertenor｜CHU Yu-sen

In 2021, CHU accomplished an MMus degree with Distinction in Vocal Performance at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Meanwhile, he was offered with Royal Opera House Jette Parker Young Artist mentoring Programme and Olimpia College of Music and Arts-Baroque Specialist's Full Scholarship. He was the member of RBC Chamber Choir under Paul Spicer and Ex Cathedra under Jeffrey Skidmore, where he held a scholarship for the 2019-2020 season. His performance included Baritone and Countertenor's repertoire. He participated Kuandu Arts Festival's Opera Production-Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore as Belcore with TNUA Symphony Orchestra conducted by Prof. Amy CHANG; TNUA Opera Production-Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief as Mrs. Todd; RBC Opera Scene-Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea as Nerone, and The Enchanted Island as Ariel.

CHU recently received 2022 Taiwan Young Vocal Artist Award. Besides performing, he has been promoting Vocal Pedagogy through workshops and lectures.

CHU Yu-sen's YouTube Vocal Pedagogy Channel has reached ten thousand subscribers.

  Team Introduction  

BenFeng Music Productions

Entering music with playful curiosity, BenFeng (meaning "running with free spirit") Music Productions was initiated in 2013 by violinist WU MinTze. Along with a great array of artists of similar minds, the artistic exploration of BenFeng Music Productions has journeyed to ancient sites, churches, temples, campuses, parks, and all three National Performing Arts stages of Taiwan. Each BenFeng Music Productions strives to discover what is beyond and underneath the known materials, and to experiment in a new expressive and immersive style of classical music presentation. The aspiration, whether existing in large-scale productions or intimate chamber music setting, is to transcend boundaries between races, faiths, cultures, and artistic disciplines. The experiences created by BenFeng Music Productions are both powerful and exquisite, and most definitely memorable. In 2017, BenFeng transformed an empty warehouse into a black box theatre “BenFeng E Warehouse”, which was recognized by the Taiwan Ministry of Culture with an award in Outstanding in Creativity. The notable BenFeng Music Productions include Kiss (2013), Carmen Fantasy (2014), Life True (2015), Traces (2016), Beneath (2017), XU Zhi-mo & His Transfigured Night (2017/2018/2020), Kreutzer Sonata (2019), and Strolling with Schubert (2020). Its unique style of expansiveness and free-spirit, its embrace of both eastern aesthetics and western philosophy, and its unparalleled precision and expressiveness, all make BenFeng Music Productions one of the kind in both classical music world and performing art.

Artistic Director｜WU MinTze

WU MinTze, is a violinist of many passions, and a visionary with illuminating artistry. A native of Taiwan and deeply rooted in the richness of classical music, MinTze embraces the word “BenFeng” (running with free spirit) as her way of exploring the world and the music. Expanding on the ideals of chamber music, MinTze interweaves words, movements, and other theatrical elements to create a compelling narrative and a multi-dimensional experience for performers and audiences alike. Infused with spirit, precision, and soulfulness, MinTze founded BenFeng Music Productions and played the role as producer and artistic director to several notable productions, including Kreutzer, Beneath, Xu Zhimo & His Transfigured Night, and Death of the Pugilist.

Presenter: BenFeng Music Productions

Co-Presenter: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Sponsors: National Culture and Arts Foundation, BenFeng Culture & Arts Foundation

By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.