Peking Opera/Beijing Opera
Originally a form of local theatre, Peking Opera spread all over the
country and then became the national opera of China. About 200 years
ago, the Qing Emperor Qianlong toured in southern China and developed
an interest in the local operas. On his 80th birthday, he let local
opera troupes come to Beijing to perform for him. Some remained in
Beijing after the celebration. The ones from Anhui and Hubei were
incorporated with the palace opera -Kunqu Opera, which formed the
Peking Opera .Peking Opera combines stylized acting with singing,
dancing, musical dialogues, martial arts, colorful facial make-up
and fantastic costumes.
Male roles are “Sheng”, and clowns are “Chou”. Each role, according
to their sex, age and disposition, is characterized by different designs
of facial make-up, say, Jing representing a rough, frank character
and Hua Face representing a cruel or sinister character. So the audience
can easily tell what kind of character an actor is performing.Facial
make-up, costumes and head - dresses are wonderful works of traditional
art.
In the past, both Dan and Sheng roles were played by male actors,
but now they also can be played by female. It is necessary to see
Peking Opera while you are in China, just as seeing an opera while
in Italy. There are also some other types of opera staged in China,
such as Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera and Hebei Bangzi as well as other
operas from different places.
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