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.
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 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.Pecking Opora, the best-known Chinese opera style, was formed from the mingling of these regional styles.Known as China's national opera, Peking Opera, which originated in the late 18th century, is a synthesis of music, dance, art and acrobatics. It is the most influential and representative of all operas in China. Based upon traditional Anhui Opera, it has also adopted repertoire, music and performing techniques from Kun Opera and Qingqiang Opera as well as traditional folk tunes in its development, eventually forming its own highly stylized music and performing techniques. Peking Opera can be divided into "civil" pieces, which are characterized by singing, and "martial" ones, which feature acrobatics and stunts. Some operas are combination of both. |  |
Its repertoire includes historical plays, comedies, tragedies and farces. many historical events are adapted into Peking Opera plays, which in the past were an important primer on history and ethical principles for poorly educated folk.
Two orchestras, playing string and percussion instruments, accompany the singing, which follows a fixed pattern but has a variety of melodies and rhythms. The "jinghu", a small two-strings bowed instrument, is the backbone of the orchestras.
The operatic dialogues and monologues are recited in Beijing dialect, and some of the words are pronounced in a special fashion, unique to the opera.
The actors and actresses, in addition to singing, use well-established movements, such as smoothing a beard, adjusting a hat, jerking a sleeve or raising a foot, to express certain emotions and meaning.
The hands and body trembling all over indicates extreme anger and the flicking of a sleeve expresses disgust. If an actor throws his hand above his head and flicks his sleeves back, he is astonished or surprises. An actor or actress demonstrates embarrassment by covering his or her face with one sleeve.
Some of the movements are less easily understood. An actor grasps his sleeves with a quick movement and then promptly puts his hands behind his back in a decisive manner to show that he is bracing himself for some peril to come.
Sometimes a movement can go on for as long as 20 minutes. For example, while an actor is conceiving a plan, his fingers and hands flutter nervously at his sides, and when the plan is formulated, he just thumps his fist against the palm of his hand with a resounding smack. When worried the actor will rub his hands together for several minutes.
Peking Opera's acrobatic fighting, whether between two parties or in a melee, is a skillful combination of martial arts and acting.
There are four roles in general: the male, the female, the "painted face", and the clown, which are further classified by age and profession. Sheng or male roles can be divided into three categories: the old, the young and the martial arts expert. Dan or female roles includes the young and the middle-aged, the innocent and dissolute, girls with martial arts skills and old women. Jing or painted face roles are always played by frank and open-minded men with brightly colored faces. Chou or clown roles are marked by a dab of white on the ridge of the nose. This character is sometimes positive, kind-hearted and humorous, but sometimes negative, crafty, malicious or silly. Each role has its fixed singing and acting styles.
Like the acting and singing, the makeup is stylized, inspired by the masks worn by dancers in Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties operas. The makeup highlights and exaggerates the principal features of the characters.
For the painted face role, the color of their made-up faces can be an indication of their characters or personality. Red indicates uprightness and loyalty; white is craftiness and cunning. Blue indicates a vigorous, courageous and enterprising nature while yellow shows an intelligent character, but a less extroverted one. Black shows a sound and honest character while brown is often the symbol of a stubborn and obstinate character.
The costumes are based on those of the Ming Dynasty, no matter when the story is set. The props can include a cloth wall, tents, parasols, whips, paddles and weapons. The props are realistic, but not so elaborate that they detract from the performance. Exaggeration and symbolism are characteristics of the opera. Holding a whip is enough to indicate an actor is galloping on a horse. A few soldiers on the stage may represent a whole army. An actor circling the stage suggests a long journey.
Often there are just a table and a few chairs on the stage. The description of many situations depends on the performance of the actors and actresses. In this respect, it is quite different from modern plays of the English languages for the lack of stage manager to tell the setting, the time and overview.
Opening a door, walking at night, rowing a boat, eating, drinking and the like are all demonstrated by the stylized movements of the actors and actresses. Performers also use their eyes and facial expressions to help convey the specific meaning.
In the past 200 years, numerous schools and celebrated performers have emerged. Many of them are emulated by modern-day actors and actresses.
Famous male actors include Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou, Yu Shuyan, Ma Lianliang and Zhou Xinfang. The most famous actors who played female roles are Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu, Zhang Junqiu and Xun Huisheng.
Peking Opera represents an important part of Chinese culture and has become a refined form of art as a result of the hard work of hundreds of artists over the past two centuries.
In the 16th century there was nothing particularly new about drama and nothing new in the combination of music and drama. Such a combination had had a place, after all, in medieval Christian liturgy, with plays and music re- enacting events associated with Easter and with Christmas. From this a larger repertoire had grown, with plays based on events recorded in the Bible or derived from Christian tradition. Music was associated with dramatic action in secular performances of one sort or another. Court entertainments of various kinds took place in which elements of drama and music were combined. An extravagant example is recorded in accounts of the Feast of the Pheasant in Burgundy in 1454. A court banquet was given as an attempt was made to arouse interest in a Crusade, after the Turkish capture of Constantinople. On this occasion singers in the guise of musical blackbirds emerged from a giant pie for the edification of the guests. Such diversions, whether primarily political or artistic, took place throughout Europe. The essential difference in the new art of opera lay in its developed dramatic structure. This, in turn, was associated with a much more dramatic style of music, drawing on the classical art of rhetoric, the art of public speaking, which, nominally at least, formed part of the new education. The period now known as the Baroque developed in the last decades of the 16th century. It is distinguished, above all, by the development of what has become known as dramatic monody. Here a simple form of melody closely follows the rhythms and intonations of speech, accompanied by simple if occasionally startling chords. The new technique of composition made opera possible. Plays with songs and dances were one thing, but works providing a dramatic combination of words and music throughout were something different.
Under the direction of architect Elisabetta Fabbri the theatre, once celebrated as the most beautiful in Europe and perhaps the world, has once again become a state of the art venue for opera. In particular, a hi-tech stage set has been installed and the theatre has at last been provided with air conditioning so that it will no longer be necessary to leave the doors open during performances from May to September.
The theatre was the inspiration of the Bourbon King Charles VII of Naples [known as Carlo III in who wanted to give his city a sumptuous, up-to-date theatre that would be admired by visitors from all over the world.
This he did and the theatre, decorated in gold and luxuriously upholstered in the blue and gold Bourbon colours, successfully opened in 1737. The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1816 and rebuilt under the direction of Antonio Niccolini and this is the structure that we see today. In 1818 the French writer Stendhal wrote of it that
"It dazzles the eyes, enraptures the soul."
In 1845 the theatre was again refurbished and the blue and gold were replaced by red and gold. In 1872, at the suggestion of Verdi, an orchestra pit was added and electricity was installed in 1890. The theatre was bombed in 1943 but was quickly repaired by the Allied occupying forces.
In its heyday Naples was the capital of European music and Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini and Verdi all had premières there. Rossini was house composer and director of the Royal Opera Houses from 1815-22 [when he famously left with the theatre's prima donna, Isabella Colbran] and was followed in this post by Donizetti from 1822-38.
In 2007 government administrators took charge of the theatre because it was found to have debts of over 20 million euros. The Chief Administrator now says that they hope to be able to hand the theatre back into local authority control soon.
The theatre will reopen with a performance of Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito" conducted by Jeffrey Tate and directed by Luca Ronconi. President Napolitano is expected to attend.
Naples has received much bad publicity in recent times and it is hoped that the occasion will inaugurate not only the revival of the theatre but of the city.
