[Weiwuying Opera Lecture] Blazing Flames, Songs of Love and Hate: Verdi's 'Il Trovatore'

This lecture is presented by Dr. Che Yen-chiang (車炎江), a Doctor of Musicology from Taipei National University of the Arts and a senior music scholar. With his profound dual background in vocal performance and musicology, he will guide the audience in an in-depth analysis of this classic masterpiece in a way that combines academic depth with vivid liveliness—from Verdi's creative context to the intricate web of love and hate within the opera—covering core repertoire analysis, plot structure, and character psychology. This will help you welcome the arrival of the September 2026 Weiwuying flagship opera 'Il Trovatore' with a more comprehensive perspective.

This September, Weiwuying will grandly present the flagship opera Verdi's 'Il Trovatore.' This monumental classic, renowned alongside 'Rigoletto' and 'La Traviata,' will bring together top domestic and international vocalists, conductors, and production teams, joining forces with a symphony orchestra and choir to powerfully recreate this peak Italian bel canto work, full of dramatic tension and a magnificent cast, on the Weiwuying stage.

You are invited to grasp all the musical highlights and plot intricacies of 'Il Trovatore' through this introductory lecture, opening the best prelude for the flagship opera experience in September.

Speaker | Che Yen-chiang (車炎江)
Doctor of Musicology, Taipei National University of the Arts; currently Assistant Professor at the Graduate Institute of Musicology, Taipei National University of the Arts. After graduating from the Department of Architecture at Feng Chia University, he switched to music. He earned a master's degree from the Department of Music at Tunghai University, majoring in voice under the tutelage of Li Hsiu-fen (李秀芬). During his career as a baritone, he performed leading roles in numerous concert solos, male recitations, operas, and musicals. Recently, aside from participating in a few stage performances or recording projects, his focus has been on teaching and research in Western music history and music aesthetics. He is frequently invited to present lectures on music topics, writes program notes, season handbook articles, or program recommendations for concerts, and serves as a collaborating scholar for professional groups such as the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, acting as a pre-concert lecturer and main speaker for season-themed concert series.