Beijing Opera

[carlos alden]

From Wikipedia:
"Beijing Opera or Peking opera is a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. "

This music is often hard for foreigners to appreciate because the singing exaggerates the tonal quality of Chinese, and thus often has high and nasal singing as opposed to the Western operatic style of singing that emphasizes a different approach to vocals.

Have a listen:
www.chinapage.com/beijing-opera.html

Additionally, the performances are full of gesturing, acrobatics, incredible costumes, and character types that all go toward a full and rich telling of the story. Performances are accompanied by a live ensemble which includes instruments such as pipas (lute), erhus, jinghus, and gaohus (two-stringed spike fiddles), and plenty of percussion and cymbals.

Because the singing is so stylized and has lost the tones inherent in the language, and also because the language is differing dialects or archaic dialects, Beijing Opera fans read the libretto as it is sung and acted. Characters are projected on screens on either side of the stage. And far from being a sedate and refined event, Chinese Operas are often a fun and noisy community event, with responses from the audiences as the well-known story is played out.