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The Battle of Dragon City: Signature Opera of Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group Debut at Weiwuying Opera House
The Battle of Dragon City, the signature production for the young generation, will soon have its debut at Weiwuying National Performing Arts Center! Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group has fully devoted itself to preserving traditions in recent years. Their new production of The Battle of Dragon City, the final episode of the 2014 version of The Bandits, will be performed by their leading character Sun Tsui-Feng, along with young performers including Chen Chao-Hsien, Chen Chao-Ting, Li Yu-Chen, and Chen Tsu-Hao. The story depicts the conflict among the Dragon City, the Tiger-Pond Fort, and others. The opera, capturing the mindset of commoners and how they can achieve greatness, will be presented for the first time at Weiwuying Opera House on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th, 2019.
Given Gezaixi as exclusive Taiwanese opera, and southern Taiwan as a budding area for the hundred branches of Gezaixi troupes, Weiwuying launched the “Young and Singer Project of Traditional Taiwanese Drama: Performers and Musicians” to train opera novices. The tailor-made fantasy opera, the Hero Academy, allows young people to perform on stage with full confidence. ChiChi Musical Theatre’s major production Kurama Tengu brought together talents from traditional theatre. Last year, the grand opening presented In Love with Gezaixi and The Gezaixi Time Machine—Staging Improved Opera. In addition, the upcoming The Battle of Dragon City, is also an effort to use Weiwuying as an international platform to showcase the beauty and spirit of Taiwanese opera.
Reaching its 90th anniversary since formation, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group has transformed from the ditch to become a venue for artistic careers that transcend generations. In recent years, the group, starting from its 85th anniversary celebration, has focused on preserving its legacy with efforts like creating a series of youth oriented productions by Playwright/director Chen Sheng-Guo, the winner of national award for arts. Chen revised The Bandits for the young generation, later tackled The Shooting Star, and then moved on to the new version, The Battle of Dragon City. Ming Hwa Yuan debunks its tradition, inviting their leading performers and young performers to inject new life into old works, passing the torch of Taiwanese Gezaixi culture.
The Battle of Dragon City derives its tale from the bandits in the chaotic era, and sees the world from commoners’ perspectives. The first production, The Bandits, portrays the rise of common bandits, their journey from zeroes to heroes. The sequel production, The Battle of Dragon City, focuses on the love conflict among the soldiers of the Dragon City, the force of Tiger-Pond Fort, and main characters. Who would be the rightful Lord of Dragon City?
The Battle of Dragon City will debut at Weiwuying this weekend and will then tour around Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Hwalien.