Weiwuying’s Belgian-supported Don Carlo – Taiwan’s Largest-scale Opera in Recent Years, Complete with 16th-century Fashion
Since its opening in 2018, Weiwuying has put on one flagship opera every half year. This year, we are collaborating with the internationally renowned Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, in performing VERDI’s Don Carlo, which the group put on in 2020 for its 200th anniversary. This co-production at Weiwuying has been dragged out for three years because of Covid-elicited difficulties, but after close (though remote) work between the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Weiwuying, the show will finally see the stage this October.
This production of Don Carlo marks not only the first time in 15 years Taiwan will see an opera with a complete display of costumes in 16th-century fashion but also Weiwuying’s biggest-ever opera, boasting over 280 people in the cast and crew, nearly 300 costumes, over 1,000 clothing accessories, as well as scenery and props. Getting the production into Taiwan required six fully packed 40-foot shipping containers that took a three-month journey halfway around the world. This four-act opera in Italian, VERDI’s definitive version, has seven major stage scenes, ranging from an opulent 16th-century Spanish court to a dark, horror-instilling execution site, reproducing the grandeur of the French grand opera golden age.
Photo Credit: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)
Photo Credit: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)
Photo Credit: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)