Peking Opera (Cultural China Series)
Language: English
Pages: 128
ISBN: 7508502566
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Since its ironical origins from South China, and not Beijing, the Peking Opera is the most popular form of Chinese entertainment. The author gives information on the Peking Opera¡¯s makeup, music and acting techniques. It also has biographies of renowned Peking Opera performers and its two-centuries-old history. With b&w and color photos.
the stage before hearing applause from the audience. Sometimes, before dancing onto the stage, he has begun acting at the sound of music behind the curtain door. Behind the curtain also stands a man whose job is to raise the curtain to allow an actor to go onto the stage. When an actor is ready to go off the stage, the curtain was raised once again to allow for his exit. Coming to the stage from behind the curtain door, an actor walks along an imagined curve and comes to a stop at center stage and
Male audiences liked the images of women they played, and female audiences marveled at their ability to play women. Their collective brilliance has shone in the history of Peking Opera, and they have had no match so far. These renowned impersonators of the female role were born in an era when there were neither female performers nor female audiences. For an opera company composed of male actors only, female characters could be played only by men who looked like women. These actors might The four
and performed a well-known play called Farewell My Concubine (ba wang bie ji). From 1922, Mei became head of Cheng Hua Opera Company. Borrowing elements from ancient paintings of beauties and statues of female deities, Mei made creative innovations in the facial makeup, headgear and costume of characters. Even in the use of musical instruments, Mei tried bold reforms, too. For example, he used the erhu (two-stringed Chinese fiddle with a gentle sound) as a supplement to the jinghu (Peking Opera
predecessors chose temple fairs to stage their performances. A fair was a true occasion of pleasure for common Pekingers. In the last couple of centuries, temple fairs have had ups and downs in Beijing. Of the two biggest fairs in Beijing, one was in east Beijing, at Long Fu Temple, and the P eking Opera 92 The theatrical stage inside the other was in west Beijing, at Hu Guo Temple. In the residence of Prince Gong of 1950s, the White Dagoba Temple joined the two in Qing Dynasty built in
Dynasty horsedrawn chariots. On the stage are placed props of a decorative nature, usually a table and two chairs. An imaginary room comes with the presence of a table and two chairs.In the P eking Opera 26 Stage setting. Photo by courtesy of Mei Lanfang Museum. mind of the audience, the space around the table and chair may be a palace, a study, a court where suspects are tried, or a military commander’s tent. Or it can be a boisterous restaurant. The difference lies in details in the