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