The musical version of Maestro Tadashi Suzuki’s Tsubaki Hime, made in Taiwan.
The acclaimed opera reborn today as a drama riding upon Asia’s finest.
Tsubaki Hime – He Ri Jun Zai Rai (Known in English as When will you return), is a musical created in Taiwan by none other than early SPAC’s Art Director Tadashi Suzuki. Tsubaki Hime (The Lady of the Camellias), is a famous opera of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), and Suzuki first produced it in 2009. With this as a launching base, he grew more intrigued by the lady of the Camellias, and in February of 2011, based on Alexandre Dumas fils’ drama, Suzuki came to direct the musical version, made by and performed at The National Theatre of Taiwan. It became a sensation. This will be the first time it is shown in Japan.
Woven into this musical, are over 10 of some of the most popular songs in Taiwanese music history. Songs that are exotic yet nostalgic to the Japanese decorate the stage like confetti. These friendly hits make it easier for the people of our age to engage in this aged piece.
Tadashi Suzuki spoke of Marguerite and Armand, the lovers in this drama, saying “unaccepted by their peers, their love had nowhere to go but into seclusion”. The director sees this as the path that leads to Armand’s heart ache after losing Marguerite in the end. Suzuki set the stage around this unique outlook, and has created a piece that lingers on, even after the story is over.
Summary of the Original
Top class courtesan, Marguerite, though suffering from an illness, spends her days at parties being patroness to the royal patrons of Paris. Here she meets Armand, a young man who falls earnestly in love with her. The two of them leave their gorgeous lifestyle in Paris to live quietly in the suburbs. Marguerite gets a taste of a happiness she had never felt before. However, while Armand is out of the house, his father George Duval approaches Marguerite, telling her to leave Armand, for the good of the family. Marguerite, thinking only of Armand, makes a decision to leave. In order to make him feel betrayed, she returns to the patrons of Paris. Armand, not knowing the truth behind the matter….
| Produced by：National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center／ＳＣＯＴ |
| Endorsed by：Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office |
