Nuo Opera

Nuo opera or nuo drama, deemed the "living fossil of opera," is one of the most popular folk operas in southwest and has a long history. Characterized by its special features—such as ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the strange language used in performance, and mysterious scenes—nuo opera has been selected as one of the non-material cultural legacies of China. The opera integrates religious and dramatic culture. The purpose of nuo opera is to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and also to petition for blessings from the gods. Singing and dancing are included in nuo opera and performers wear costumes and masks.

Nuo opera is a direct and important expressive media of nuo culture. Other forms of representation of the nuo culture include Nuo dance, Nuo song, Nuo sacrifice and Nuo ceremony and so on. The unique symbol of nuo opera, the masks, are considered a treasure of Chinese folk art. The masks of nuo opera are also believed to be the origin of the facial painting used in another famous type of —Beijing opera.

There is a considerable number of repertoires in Nuo opera and they vary from area to area. Repertoires of Nuo opera are more or less based on some well-known historical events or folk stories in China such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" , "" , "" and the story of Dragon Kings and so on.

Some famous repertoires of Nuo opera include "Mengjiang Nü", "Seizing the Yellow Devil," and "Story of ."