New opera celebrates life of Minnie Mackay, missionary and women’s pioneer

Описание: It''s 150 years since the Canadian missionary George Mackay landed in Taiwan, and went on to devote the rest of his life to education, medicine and religion on the island. A new opera celebrates the life of his wife, Minnie Mackay. Mrs. Mackay was born Chang Tsung-tzu, the daughter of a poor family in rural Taipei. She became a pioneer of the women''s movement and a highly influential missionary. "Formosa Bloom" will play at the Taipei Performing Arts Center on July 8 and 10, and at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in November.

Opera singers belt out a rousing duet in Taiwanese. Taipei Chinese Orchestra has teamed up with composer Lee Che-yi to commemorate the 150th anniversary of George Mackay’s arrival in Taiwan. Along with film director Wei Te-sheng, they’ve produced the new opera “Formosa Bloom,” focusing on the strong woman behind Mackay, his wife Minnie.

Cheng Chun-hao
Tamsui Presbyterian Church
She became a missionary, and a very important link between the foreign world and the local world. So this marriage became a very important impetus for Mackay to spread his mission in Taiwan, particularly in terms of his care for women.

Minnie Mackay, also known as Chang Tsung-ming, dedicated her life to spreading Christianity with her husband, promoting medical services and education, as well as gender equality.


The opera uses the Taiwanese language within a Western art form, which is no mean feat. For Lee, an award-winning composer, it was an exciting challenge.

Lee Che-yi
Composer
We can use the art forms of others to tell our own stories. In the future, we won’t be performing other people’s operas in Taiwan. We’ll be taking our own operas abroad to perform on stages overseas. This is really valuable for the stature of Taiwanese culture.

The new opera aims to celebrate the service of the Mackays through music, using a Western art form to express a Taiwanese story.