The Professional Role of 'Tao Chiu' in the Taiwanese Opera: Case Studies on the Taiwanese Operas in Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival (2010-2015)

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As an old genre of drama that originated and developed authentically in Taiwan, Taiwanese Opera goes on flourishing in today’s modern society. The music part of the opera is mainly led by the labeled-melodies sung by actors. However, the accompanist band of the Taiwanese Opera, known as Wun-Wu-Chang, plays a vital role too. In the Wun-Chang, which applies to all non-percussionist instruments in general, the so-called Four Primary Instruments (including Kah-Ah-Hian, Tua-Kong-Hian, Yueqin, and Dizi), namely Shih-Dah-Jian, are the key factors of the music producing. Kah-Ah-Hian, a bowed string instrument similar to Yehu, acted as a leading instrument in the Four Primary Instruments in the past, which brought it a title as Tao-Chiu-Hian (Leading String). The player of Tao-Chiu-Hian usually serves as the director or the leading accompanist, which is called Tao Chiu (the leader). Nowadays, as an outcome of the development of the Taiwanese Opera, the composer sometimes also acts as Tao Chiu (the band leader). From a different point of view, one can also say that the Tao Chiu is no longer just a performer but also a composer at the same time. Accordingly, the performing formation and productions of Taiwanese Opera keep pace with the time, and the role of Tao Chiu has gone through dramatic changes. Therefore, the transformation of the function of Tao Chiu in Taiwanese Opera is worth being further reviewed and studied. This thesis aims to discuss the function of Tao Chiu in Taiwanese Opera, dividing the discussions into six chapters. Chapter One is the literature review on the previous Taiwanese Opera researches, making the multi-dimensional data serve the basis for this thesis. Chapter Two categorizes different forms of Taiwanese Opera and further illustrates their historical context by revisiting the former researches. Chapter Three primarily analyzes the historical background of Taiwanese Opera Wun-Chang and its qualitative changes. Chapter Four investigates the function of Tao Chiu, the leading Kah-Ah-Hian player. Chapter Five examines the function of a Tao Chiu replaced by other string and bamboo instrument players. Chapter Six explores the competency of Tao Chiu performed by an electric piano player. This thesis also offers case studies on the Taiwanese Opera productions in Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival in order to elaborate the diverse functions and representations of Tao Chiu in contemporary Taiwanese Opera domain. The thesis targets the changes for both the organization of Wun-Chang Four Primary Instruments and the function of Tao-Chiu, analyzing the development of Taiwanese Opera music in different transitional periods. Ultimately, this thesis hopes to direct professionals to introspect the root and principles of Taiwanese Opera music composition.