More than 100 years after Mackay passed away, the "black-bearded barbarian" would have felt proud to know that people still benefit from a memorial hospital named after him, and that the torch of knowledge is still passed down from generation to generation of students in the building he constructed in 1882. Moreover, the reverend would be surprised to learn that his legendary life has been made into an opera.
Six years in the making, "The Black-bearded Bible Man" held its world premiere Nov. 27 at the National Theater in Taipei City. Tchen Yu-chiou, chairwoman of National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center and producer of the opera explained that it was the first production to be overseen by the organization. "It is also the first to be sung in [Holo-Taiwanese] and English anywhere in the world," she added.
The idea of putting the legendary missionary's life on stage originated with Gordon Chin, one of the most active contemporary Taiwanese composers. Born in Taiwan and educated in Japan and the United States, Chin's modernist music reveals his concern for current society and contemplation on the role of religion. "When I thought about composing my first opera, Mackay's story came to mind immediately," Chin said, "I was moved that he came to Taiwan with the question, 'What can I do for the island and people here?' This is the spirit that I'd like to remind the public of."
To bring this goal to fruition, Chin put in a Herculean effort, much like Mackay's during his gospel-spreading days. After the composer's repeated attempts to seek financial support for the project came up empty-handed, he was almost forced to turn his back on the opera until Tchen--who oversaw the Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs in 2002--decided to support the proposal and later make it the CKS Cultural Center's flagship show after she took over the helm in March 2007.
As in Mackay's desire to find a place where few had spread the word of God before, Chin similarly sought the path less travelled by composing the first Western opera sung in Holo-Taiwanese. "Choosing [Holo-Taiwanese] as the opera's main language came naturally, since it's what Mackay learned in order to communicate with local people," he said. Without any precedents to base his work on, Chin had to find a way to create music that matched the complex tonal system of Holo-Taiwanese, adding that "the rhyme and accents of lyrics have great impact on the lines of music."
Instead of producing a collage of traditional Holo-Taiwanese ballads and Christian music, Chin insisted on pursuing a modernist style with an emphasis on applying certain instruments and motifs to portray each character. "Chin absorbed these elements and melded them into Western opera," commented Chien Wen-pin, conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra.
For the librettist Joyce Chiu, her challenge lay in that she had to dig up stories from archives and manuscripts. Initially declining Chin's invitation to write the story because she thought her non-Christian beliefs made her unsuitable for the job, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra later had a change of heart. "When I learned that Taiwan's first school for girls was established by Mackay, I started to look at the missionary in a new light," Chiu said. For her, Mackay is not only a missionary who devoted himself spreading the gospel, but also a man who demonstrated his love for Taiwan through his philanthropic efforts.
Thus, Chiu attempted to depict Mackay as an everyday man who has normal worries and a sense of humor, rather than a man of God. As her writing reveals, Mackay was equally as anxious as other passengers on the journey to Danshui, wondering if he made the right choice. He also proved to be a romantic at heart when it came to expressing love for his Taiwanese wife, Chang Tsung-ming, played by soprano Chen Mei-lin. "I don't think Mackay is a saint. He's a common person who accomplished uncommon things," Chiu stated.
Like Mackay, Lukas Hemleb--the opera's director and designer of set and lighting--is no stranger to the experience of standing between colliding cultures. With experience in presenting a wide range of operas and modern plays, he was the first German director to direct a production at the French National Theater, and prior to this, had already collaborated with top Taiwanese theater artists. Hemleb directed "Luo Shen Fu--The Tale of the Luo River Goddess" for the Han-Tang Yuefu Music Ensemble, which won excellent reviews during its French tour in 2006.
For the director, Mackay's story epitomizes the turbulence of the era. "It was a period when immigrants from different places came together on a relatively undeveloped island," he said. "The fact that he was gradually accepted as part of the community and even had debates with the local intellectuals signifies the birth of a diverse society, which Taiwan now takes pride in," Hemleb pointed out. However, the opera also demonstrates that diversity is not created without a price. In the production's second act, a group of villagers holding Taoist rituals on the street nearly come to blows with Mackay and his followers over their singing of gospel music.
In addition to a first-rate production team, the opera also brought together a selection of big-name performers. The production's central character, Mackay, is played by the New York-based baritone Thomas Meglioranza, who was praised as "one of America's finest young baritones" by The New Yorker magazine in July this year. To the actor's surprise, he discovered that he shares a great deal in common with Mackay--both men took Taiwanese wives, both enjoy traveling and experiencing different cultures, and both struggled to come to terms with Holo-Taiwanese in environments lacking traditional learning resources.
In an interview published in the National Theater's Performing Arts Review, Meglioranza said he was fortunate to receive help from his wife's parents, but it still took much longer than he expected to learn the language's eight tones. The baritone admired how Mackay devoted himself improving the living conditions of Taiwanese people. "He did not preach through words but via his outstanding humanitarian work, including building a medical facility in Danshui, establishing the Oxford College and operating dental clinics in Taiwan's remote mountain regions for aboriginal people," the singer said.
According to the singer, one of the production's challenges and joys is that everyone involved was breaking new ground since it is the first Western-format opera sung in Holo-Taiwanese. South Korean tenor Choi Seung-jin, who plays Mackay's loyal pupil Yen Tsing-hua, echoed Meglioranza's sentiments, stating that during his battle to learn his role's Holo-Taiwanese lyrics, he developed a strong attachment to the new dialect because of their emotional intensity and beautiful melodies.
By 1900, Mackay's struggle with his illness had taken its toll on his physical state and left him nearly unable to speak. Yet the example he set for those encountered during his travels, and the love he demonstrated for Taiwan, goes beyond words. Moreover, the regrets of reality can always find rewards in art. In the final scene, Mackay's last words ring out for all to hear: "No matter whether you are Han people, Pingpu people or aboriginal, you are my fellowmen. Formosa is where my heart rests. And my unfulfilled dreams depend on you and later generations to accomplish."
Write to Amber Wu at mailto: amber0207@mail.gio.gov.tw