Chinese Opera

Chinese Opera http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-opera.htm

Chinese opera together with Greece tragic- comedy and Indian Sanskrit Opera are the three oldest dramatic art forms in the world. During the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), the Emperor Taizong established an opera school with the poetic name Liyuan (Pear Garden). From that time on, performers of Chinese opera were referred to as 'disciples of the pear garden'. Since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) Chinese opera has been Beijing Opera Pictures encouraged by court officials and emperors and has become a traditional art form. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Chinese opera became fashionable among ordinary people. Performances were watched in tearooms, restaurants, and even around makeshift stages.

Chinese opera evolved from folk songs, dances, talking, antimasque, and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage. Accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the Erhu, the gong, and the lute, actors present unique melodies - which may sound strange to foreigners - as well as dialogues which are beautifully written and of high literary value. These dialogs also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks, to listen to this kind of opera is a real pleasure. The Peking Opera band mainly consists of an orchestra and percussion band. The former frequently accompanies peaceful scenes while the latter provides the right atmosphere or battle scenes. The band is not as big as the western orchestra. It usually sits on the left side of the stage. Shaanxi Opera (Qinqiang) Pictures Make-up

What appeals to foreigners most might be the different styles of facial make-up, which is one of the highlights of Chinese opera and requires distinctive techniques of painting. Exaggerated designs are painted on each performer's face to symbolize a character's personality, role, and fate. This technique may have originated from ancient religions and dance. Audiences who are familiar with opera can know the story by observing the facial painting as well as the costumes. Generally, a red face represents loyalty and bravery; a black face, valor; yellow and white faces, duplicity; and golden and silver faces, mystery.

Besides color, lines also function as symbols. For example, a figure can be painted either all white on his face, or just around the nose. The larger the white area painted, the more viperous the role. Acrobatics

Another technique that fascinates people is the marvelous acrobatics. Players can make fire spray out of their mouths when they act as spirits, or can gallop while squatting to act as a dwarf. This reflects a saying among actors: 'One minute's performance on the stage takes ten years' practice behind the scenes.'

Over the past 800 years, Chinese opera has Facial Make-up, Beijing Opera evolved into many different regional varieties based on local traits and accents. Today, there are over 300 dazzling regional opera styles. Kun opera, which originated around Jiangsu Province, is a typical ancient opera style and features gentleness and clearness. This enabled it to be ranked among the World Oral and Intangible Heritages. Qinqiang opera from Shaanxi, known for its loudness and wildness, and Yu opera, Yue opera, and Huangmei Opera are all very enjoyable. Beijing Opera , the best-known Chinese opera style, was formed from the mingling of these regional styles.

The Four Opera Character Types http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/archives/a_short_history_of_chinese_opera.php

In the Chinese Opera, there are generally four main categories of roles: sheng (the male roles), dan (the female roles), jing (the painted face roles), and chou (clowns). Each category is further subdivided into distinct types. An actor typically trains for a single type of role within one category. Actors who can play multiple types of roles within a single category are considered especially talented. An actor almost never plays roles outside his or her category.

Sheng 生: There are three main male roles that an actor trains for. The first is Lao Sheng 老生, a middle-aged or old man. The Lao Sheng 老生 are dignified and refined. They may be high level scholors or officials, and wear a black hat with fins on either side to denote rank, or a general in a military play, wearing armour. In either case the Lao Sheng 老生 wears a beard (black or grey, depending on age). The second type of role is Hsiao Sheng 小生, or young man. The Hsiao Sheng 小生 sings in a warbling voice to indicate adolescence, and does not wear a beard.

The third type of role is Wu Sheng 武生, or acrobat, who performs much of the most exciting elements of Chinese Opera. A special Wu Sheng 武生 role is that of the Monkey King, featured in a number of operas based on the famous story A Journey to the West.

Dan 旦: There are twice as many female role types as there are male. They are divided according to character, status, and age. Lao Dan 老旦 is the old woman role. The costume is subdued, no make-up is worn, and the singing voice is natural and therefore lower than that for the other Dan 旦 roles. The Wu Dan 武旦 is the female acrobat, and is equivalent to the Wu Sheng 武生 role for the men. A Qing Yi 青衣 actress is the noblewoman, of good quality and character. She is the model or ideal of the Chinese woman. Faithful, proper, shy, graceful. The Hua Dan 花旦, however, is of a lower social status than the Qing Yi 青衣, and represents a more feisty, flirtatious young woman. A young woman from a wealthy family, set apart from the world in the family mansion, is called the Gui Men Dan 贵门旦. This character is still young, and will one day grow up to become either a Qing Yi 青衣 or a Hua Dan 花旦. Finally, there is the Dao Ma Dan 刀马旦, or warrior woman. This character typically wears full armour and great peacock feathers in her hat. The famed military heroines of China are all played as Dao Ma Dan 刀马旦. The story of Peking Opera Blues, featuring three extraordinary women heroes, is actually titled 'Dao Ma Dan 刀马旦' in Chinese.

Jing 净: The Painted Face role is the most recognizable part of Chinese Opera. This part is reserved for high-ranking army generals or bandits, warriors or officials. All Jing 净 characters have their faces painted elaborately, the colors on the face indicating the personality and temperment of the character. A white face means treachery, black means uprightness, red indicates courage and virtue, blue denotes cruelty or wild temperment. A mix of multiple colors indicates a more complicated personality.

Chou 丑: The clown is the only role that can break the 'fourth wall,' so to speak, and reference current or local events and speak in colloquialisms. Male clowns are easily recognizable because they all wear a distinctive white patch of make-up around the nose and eyes. This same make-up is sometimes used for mean-spirited villains as well. Female clowns do not have the white make- up patch but instead have a reddened face with black eyebrows.

Setting of the Stage

On the Chinese Opera stage, scenery and props are sparse. Often, only a table and chairs are set on the stage and to signify various thrones, mountains, and so on throughout the story. A character committing suicide by jumping down a well may in performance simply be stepping off a chair and walking off stage.