Award-winning Taiwanese opera troupe Tang Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Company (唐美雲歌仔戲團) was invited by the George Town Festival (GTF) to perform the classical comedy "Swan Banquet (天鵝宴)" at the Majestic Theatre in Malaysia. Due to an overwhelming demand, the troupe will perform a total of three shows on Aug. 26 and 27.
According to its press release, Tang Mei-yun (唐美雲), the winner of the National Award for Arts, will personally lead a group of 50 performers, musicians and staffs to perform at the festival, including one of the main casts of the show, Hsiao-mi (小咪).
In less than three days after the opera troupe announced its shows, a total of 2,000 tickets for one show were fully redeemed. The representative of George Town World Heritage Incorporated said that they were overwhelmed by the high demand and had to set restrictions on redeeming the tickets, adding that they faced a high call volume and snaking queues were seen at the ticket redemption counter.
Tang Mei-yun said that the troupe had never performed two shows in a day before; after considering the physical stamina of the performers as well as the technical elements, they agreed to perform one extra show.
Tang said that the vision of the George Town Festival is to create "A Festival for Everyone." In recent years, it has been a common sight to see children accompanying their elderly parents to watch the opera and this touched her heart deeply. She looks forward to showcasing the beauty of Taiwanese traditional theatrical arts and letting the world see the vitality, potential, and charm of Taiwanese opera.
As an influential voice of the arts, culture and heritage, GTF 2023 features outstanding works by Malaysian and international artists ranging from traditional, experimental, and multidisciplinary productions of varied art forms, including music, dance, theatre, and the visual arts.