http://www.npm.gov.tw/ The National Palace Museum (NPM) in Taipei is home to one of the foremost collections of Chinese art and objects in the world. The extensive range includes bronzes, jades, ceramics, lacquerware, curios, calligraphy, painting, rare books, documents, and many others. The total number exceeds 650,000 and spans 7,000 years of Chinese history. Address: 221 Chih-shan Rd., Sec. 2; Shih-lin, Taipei, 11143, TAIWAN TELEPHONE: +886-2-2881-2021 FAX: +886-2-2882-1440 en Copyright National Palace Museum 15 http://www.npm.gov.tw/resources/images/en/logo.gif http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/home.htm http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/new_02.htm?docno=657 2009/10/15 The theater of the Children's Gallery will be closed on 10/18, 11/8, 11/29 and 12/20 from 13:30 to 16:00 for a special event. Screenings of "Adventures in the NPM" and "National Treasure Maze" in the afternoon will be cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience. http://english.www.gov.tw 2009/10/09 http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ 2009/06/29 http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/new_02.htm?docno=572 2009/06/09 Place: Wen-hui-t'ang Auditorium (Administration Building)
Performance Date: 7/8 - 9/23 and 10/7 - 12/30, every Wednesday from 14:30 to 16:00

Origin and Objective

The National Palace Museum, renowned for its rich collection and beautiful setting, is a must-visit tourist destination for international visitors to Taiwan. Besides the Main Exhibition Hall, the Administrative Building, and the Library, the NPM's architectural structures also include the Wenhuitang Auditorium, which is a venue for art seminars and international conferences. In order to effectively use the Museum's facilities and resources and respond to the government's cultural policies, the NPM especially installed acoustic and lighting equipments at the Wenhuitang Auditorium and organized "New Melody from the National Palace Museum," a series of traditional Chinese opera performances. These events will not only provide domestic and foreign visitors with an excellent touring experience, they will also effectively advocate Taiwan's diverse traditional artistic culture.

"New Melody from the National Palace Museum" uses the Museum's collection as the core, and combines the artifacts with lively performances of traditional Chinese opera to provide visitors with a multi-sensory experience that will leave a lasting impression. These performances will be complemented with educational outreach events, such as themed lectures and family interactive activities, to allow the audience to deeply realize the beauty and variety of traditional Chinese culture. When visitors come to the NPM, they will get to appreciate an exciting opera performance in addition to the exhibitions, thereby getting a taste of the diversity and depth of the Taiwanese culture.

Introduction to the Show

Composed of 50 acts, the play of "Palace of Eternity" combines beautifully written melodies, emotionally empowered recitals, and meaningful gestures that smooth the flow of the story. This production has shortened the script into a 90-minute long show in a quick-paced yet emotional show. It tells the long love story of an Emperor and his consort, Lady Yang in the setting of the Ancient Imperial Palace. It starts from the time they met each other and fell in love, then shows how they made their love vow under the twin stars each other, how they romantically took baths together, how they went to visit the Royal Garden in springtime; and tragically, how the Emperor had to give the decree to kill his beloved because of political coup led by his own soldiers. This is a story that witnessed the rise and fall of the Palace of Eternity. It cleverly resonates with the theme of the drawing, "Ming Emperor visiting Sichuan", which led the production team to the innovative idea of combining the opera with drawings on stage.

Briefing on the Production Team

Performing group: The Lanting Kunqu Opera Group.
History: Founded in the year of 2005, the ambition of Lanting Kunqu Opera Group is to inherit and to carry on the
tradition of ancient Chinese Arts by connecting elite performers domestically and overseas. It was invited to perform at a Kunqu festival by the Chinese Culture Department of the Chinese government in 2006, and was asked to conduct workshops and to perform shows of Kunqu in Hong Kong. It is obvious that their unceasing efforts in promoting and advancing this art form have won universal recognition over time.

Lanting was also known for fearless experimentation with mixing arts. One of the audacious adventures they did before was to integrate post-modern installation arts with Kunqu opera. Sometimes, a mix of visual architectural beauty with stage arts can also be inspirational. Their unceasing pursuit of such audacity simply matches the ambition from the beginning.

In addition, Lanting also produces adult and children's books about Kunqu, released the first MRT metro cards with animation characters of Kunqu operas, bookmarks of calligraphy strokes, and a number of anthology of Kunqu original play texts. Their experimental productions also won several government-sponsored musical awards( 19th and 20th Golden Melody Awards) in Taiwan. It is not surprising that Lanting is making all efforts to promote this long-lost Chinese Arts to Chinese people and is hoping to pass the spirit of this art to the generations to come. http://www.culture.tw/ 2007/07/17