In the beginning, a Chinese theatrical performance consisted mainly of singing And dancing. Singing, dancing and acting skills constitute a Peking Opera performer's basic accomplishments.
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| Zhang Xuejin (second from left), a pupil of the Ma Lianliang Performing School, plays a role in lao sheng opera. | In some Peking Opera plays, one aspect is emphasized rather than a combination of the three. As a result, we have singing shows, recitation shows and plot shows. A typical singing show is visiting the palace Twice (erjin gong), in which not only are emotions expressed through singing but singing is used to indicate how characters walk. A typical dancing show is The Cowherd and the Village Lass (xiao fang niu), in which a cowherd and a village girl dance a lot without much
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| Substituting acrobatic fighting with dancing. | singing. In plot shows, singing, dancing and other skills are largely discarded; they win audiences with intriguing stories. Such shows include Catching the Count." Magistrate in a Dough Vat (da mian gang), Beating the Town God (da cheng huang) and A Maid's Choice of the Husband's Family (san bu yuan yi), in which a clown or a beautiful woman is usually the leading character.
There are also operas with a grand combination of singing, dancing and acting skills. These include The Battle of Wits (qun ying hui), Borrowing the East Wind (fie dong feng), the Huarong Pass (hua rong dao) and Ganlu Monasterx' (gan lu si), which involve a full range of roles and all ways of portrayal.
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| Acrobatic fighting in Peking Opera. | Operas of different styles have different audiences. Singing, recitation and plot shows are for connoisseurs, who know where the beauty of such plays lies; whereas comprehensive shows are for the laymen, who love fun and excitement. "Music is made out of every sound, and dancing out of every movement." This is a feature of Peking Opera.
¡°Sound¡± in Peking Opera refers first of all to a performer's singing and recitation. It also includes the sounds of nature and animals - the sounds of wind, rain and thunder, a dog's bark, the mewing of a cat, etc. By "music is made out of every sound" is meant that once such sounds come from the stage, they must all sound pleasant to the ear, no matter how they actually do.
Singing is of the first importance in Peking Opera. Most people go to a Peking Opera theater to hear singing. Through singing, characters engage in dialogues and speak to themselves. In Peking
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| The hat is used to express different feelings in Peking Opera. |
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| Women Generals of the Yang Family, a traditional Peking Opera. | Opera, actors and actresses sing according to different tunes and rhythms. For different plays and different sections of singing in one play, there is much room to select tunes.
What are acting skills, or xigong in Peking Opera? These refer to skills that conform with acting conventions in Peking Opera. Traditionally, they refer to skill-related rules and methods that have been passed down relating to acting with the hand, eyes, the body, the hair and steps. Such rules are reflected in singing, recitation, acting and acrobatics. Singing should have modulation in tone, be sweet and complicated; body movements should be agreeable to look at, with each step and
hand movement complying with required rules and forms. Every role requires a set of basic skills. Learners cannot master them unless they practice them year after year with great dedication.
There are also some skills that are called juehuo, meaning feats or stunts. In Peking Opera, there was once a skill called qiaogong that portrays steps made by a woman with bound feet. At the time, all Peking Opera performers were men with big feet. Someone invented the method of having a male actor's feet supported by wooden sticks to perform such steps. An actor needed to practice two to three years to master the technique. Besides, fans are frequently used in Peking Opera. In hongniang the Maidservant (hong niang), the maid uses a round fan to catch butterflies. In other plays, ladies usually use folding fans. As performances involving fans grew in number, there came into being a so-called fan skill, which has become a basic acting skill in Peking Opera. Fans are used for different purposes: for cooling, or for helping convey a meaning, such as emphasizing what the user is saying or indicating a distance. In Peking Opera, there are also handkerchief skill , beard skill, hair-throwing skill and chair skill. |
