Chinese Name: 陳美雲歌劇團
Founded: 1979
Founder: Chen Mei-yun (陳美雲, 1951-2023)
Did you know?
Chen Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe's "Blooming Tiger's Claw Flowers (刺桐花開)" won the National Traditional Drama First Prize in 2000 and was the first traditional Taiwanese opera to be performed in the National Theater by an outdoor theater troupe. Over the years, university professors across the country have made it required viewing material for traditional drama studies.
Chen Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe was founded in 1979 by Taiwanese opera actress Chen Mei-yun and is one of Taiwan's most famous troupes. Chen Mei-yun, the head of the troupe, was born in 1951 in Pingtung County. She was able to sing and tell folk tales at the age of six, learned Taiwanese opera at the age of seven, won the Best Child Star Award in local drama competitions at the age of 10, officially served as the leading role in a troupe at the age of 16, and gradually becoming popular in the Taiwanese opera world by the age of 18. Having dedicated nearly 70 years to life in the opera, Chen was a more persistent promoter of Taiwanese opera culture than many. The troupe usually performs shows for the entertainment of temple Gods, with daytime shows historical dramas with high and gentle singing and exquisite performances, and nighttime shows martial arts dramas with elements of both modern theater and traditional Taiwanese opera.
Because the troupe has many talented veteran actors, it has established an excellent reputation in all parts of Taiwan and has laid a solid performance foundation. From 1998 to 2003, Chen Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe was repeatedly honored by the Council for Cultural Affairs (now the Ministry of Culture). In 1998, the troupe performed at the Taiwan/Singapore Taiwanese Opera Development and Exchange Seminar, and in 2000, it was invited to perform in Singapore for a month, with the local audience responding enthusiastically. In November of the same year, the troupe won the Best Performance Award in the Taipei City Taiwanese Opera Competition.
The troupe's founding mission statement was to be "rooted in the outdoor stage, based on local culture, and promoting traditional art and culture." The troupe actively produces many exquisite large-scale stage plays, and has repeatedly won local drama competition awards for show such as "Flames of Lovebirds (烽火鴛鴦)," "Demon Queller Zhong Kui Giving His Sister Away in Marriage (鍾馗嫁妹)," "Loyal Heart to Save the Lord (丹心救主)," "Qin Xianglian (秦香蓮)," "Taming of the Princess (金枝玉葉)," "Blooming Tiger's Claw Flowers (莿桐花開)," and "Spring Dream by the River (河邊春夢)." All of these and more have become iconic works well recognized by audiences.
Chen Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe’s “Blooming Tiger’s Claw Flowers" won the National Traditional Drama First Prize in 2000 and was the first traditional Taiwanese opera to be performed in the National Theater by an outdoor theater troupe. Over the years, professors from universities around Taiwan have made it required viewing material for traditional drama studies. Themed around Taiwan’s Plains indigenous peoples, it is with the combined efforts of the local drama industry it presents the traditional music culture of Taiwan's indigenous peoples in the style of Taiwanese opera. The theme consciousness, costumes, music, and other aspects are all unprecedented initiatives in the Taiwanese opera world. After its premiere, the audience couldn’t stop praising it, and both academia and the media gave rave reviews.
Adapted from Taiwanese folk stories, and named for the tiger's claw flowers that have special significance to many of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, who customarily use them to count the years as the flowers bloom once a year around the second and third months of the lunar calendar. Traditionally, these peoples would celebrate the New Year when the tiger's claw flowers bloom, a very meaningful moment for them. In the past, Taiwanese opera stories had primarily focused on Han Chinese, and so the play "Blooming Tiger’s Claw Flowers" can be said to be the first Taiwanese opera to present the cultural elements of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. Against the backdrop of the landscape of Kaohsiung and all the characters except the male protagonist based on indigenous peoples of the time, the show is markedly different from the traditional Taiwanese opera of the past.
The 2004 play "Spring Dream by the River" was another experimental effort by the troupe. In addition to retaining the traditional Taiwanese opera tunes, it also added folk-style songs throughout the performance, while integrating situational music with the development of the plot to increase the dramatic tension. The performance form of Taiwanese opera integrated with modern theater is uncommon in the traditional Taiwanese opera world. Employing the Western operatic approach to stage performance, this bold experiment with Taiwanese opera performance form received high praise from all walks of life.
(Photo courtesy of Chen Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe)