Chinese Opera dates back 200 years. The art form is very versatile in that it pulls from several different forms, including singing, dialogue, dancing and martial arts. Although all of these components are important, music is the driving force behind all Chinese Opera.
There are four main components to the Chinese Opera; Dan, Sheng, Jing and Chou. Dan is the female component of Chinese Opera, Sheng represents the male, Chou is the comedic part of the act, and Jing means the painted face.
The largest type of Chinese Opera is Peking. Peking uses dance, mime, acrobatics, fighting, dialogue, and singing to tell a story to the audience or to show emotions and characteristics of the actors or performers. The acts usually tell a story of historical events, great beauties or geniuses, or fairy tales widely known throughout the Chinese culture.
An audience member at a Peking performance would expect to see a stage full of vibrant, hand-crafted costumes and various types of face paintings. They would experience an act full of fighting acrobatics and music that helps to tell the story. The music, along with face paint and facial expressions, indicate moods and emotions of the characters on stage. They would also be told a story through mime and some dialogue.
The image (left) shows the various types of masks used in Peking Opera. The way the masks are painted depict emotion and characterization of the actors who are wearing them. The mask can make the character either look angry, happy, sad, vicious, excited, etc.
The image (right) shows a seasoned Peking performer with a kindergarten student learning the techniques of Peking. Training for the art of Peking starts at a very young age. Children go through vigorous, detailed training for most of their lives in order to earn the privilege of performing on a Peking stage in front of a live audience.
The video (above) shows a Peking performance driven by mime, acrobatics
and music. The act is entitled "Fight in the Dark Night". The performers are
shown acting as though they are searching around in the dark for their
opponent and once they find them, engaging in a fight with them. Although
there is no dialogue in the performance, this action is clearly defined by the
actions of the performers.
Interesting Facts
Peking Opera is so popular in China that they have declared a month in their calendar to be "Peking Opera Month".
In order to change emotions on stage, actors do something that they call "changing faces". Changing faces is a practice that takes years to master and only the very skillful can do it successfully. There are four ways in which a performer can change his face. They can:
- Blow dust that is hidden in the palm of their hands back into their face
- Manipulate the color of their beard
- Pull down a new mask that was hidden on the top of their head
- "Mop out" the grease spots that were on the sideburns or eyebrows, or around their eyes or mouth
All of the above would result in a different appearance of the face paint on a character, thus they would now display a new emotion.
Sources:
Orenstein, Claudia. "Chinese Opera." The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. By Mira Felner. New York: Pearson Education, 2006. 132-35. Print.
Kristin,
ReplyDeleteGood work. Complete and clear.