Date post: | 03-Sep-2014 |
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Beijing Opera
Peking Opera
Beijing Opera
Four main roles
l Sheng (male) l Dan (female) l Jing (painted face) l Chou (Clown)
Sheng (male)
l Lao Sheng (middle-aged or elderly gentleman with black or white beard)
l Hsiao Sheng (young man) l Wu Sheng (military man or martial art
expert)
Dan (female) l Lao dan (elderly noble woman) l Qing yi (good and virtuous woman) l Hua dan (charming and open girl) l Wu dan (young, strong female, good at
fighting and riding)
Mei Lanfang
Mei lan fang
Jing (painted face)
l Nine colours, each representing a difficult personality
l Mixed colors indicates complex personality
Chou (clown)
l Person of low social standard; talks in a joking manner
l Wen chou : emphasizes on funny speech l Wu chou : breaks the tension in serious
plays
Principle techniques
l ‘Chang’ (singing) l ‘Nian’ (speaking) l ‘Zuo’ (acting) l ‘Da’ (fighting)
‘Chang’ (singing)
l Different vocal techniques for different roles
l Tempo changes according to the emotions conveyed by the lyrics and the plot
‘Nian’ (speaking)
l Speak in ‘jing bai’ instead of natural dialogue
l Jing = currently used modern Mandarin l Bai = the stage version of the dialogue,
spoken with an unnatural voice
‘Zuo’ (acting)
l Simple stage set l Performers use
symbolic techniques to present the story
l Body movement represents personality
‘Da’ (fighting)
l Martial arts are widely used
l Only show acrobatic skills; not allowed to make contact with their weapons
Orchestra
l Is usually located at the right corner of the stage
l Size is quite small, contains 4-8 players l ‘Wu Chang’ (martial section) l ‘Wei Chang’ (civil section)
‘Wu Chang’ (martial art section)
l Consists of percussion l ‘Danpigu’ plays the main role l Others: a small gong, a large gong, and a pair of
cymbals l Provides sound effects by punctuating the
performers’ speech and movements l Other function: structural divisions
‘Wei Chang’ (Civil section)
l Consists of strings and winds
l Main instruments: jinghu, jingerhu, and yueqin
Peking Opera