Peking into the World of Chinese Opera
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Beijing, China for a fun filled weekend excursion. This was my first visit to China’s capital so obviously I had to partake in all the usual tourist activities – The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall and of course a night at the Opera!
For those of you that aren’t familiar with Peking Opera you should know it’s not really opera in way people from the West might think of the term. Yes it does include singing but also includes other elements such as speech, dance and combat (both acrobatic and weaponry). The stage itself is usually left bare and it is up to the performers to fill it with their elaborate characters, costumes and makeup. Depending on your tastes this might come as a welcome change to the world usually associated with opera.
Personally, I found Peking Opera to have a lot in common with the Italian theatre known as Commedia dell’Arte. Both require minimal scenery and involve elements of dance, music and comedy. Also they both require years of intense training and the use of stock characters. Usually an actor spends years perfecting a specific role. Although the main difference between the two would be that Commedia is heavily improvised where as Peking Opera may have minor elements of improvisation but is for the most part heavily scripted down to ever gesture of the hand and tilt of the head. Also, it should be noted that Commedia uses costumes and masks to help distinguish between its stock characters while Peking Opera relies on costumes elaborate and colourful makeup that act like masks to distinguish its characters.
This leads me to what I found to be the most exciting part of the whole night. In my opinion the most exciting part actually happened before the show even began. It happened offstage and was like a show in itself. Every night patrons are allowed to arrive early and actually watch the performers go through the ritual of applying their makeup. While watching the performers carefully adorn their faces with swift, clean, precise lines and elaborate, colourful designs it is obvious that this too is like a dance that has been practiced and perfected for years much like the performances seen on the stage every night. They don’t even raise their heads or even acknowledge the constant barrage of flashes from the cameras as they work. It is hard to tell whether they find this element annoying or if they have just accepted it as part of the performance. Like skilful masters of their craft they just keep concentrated on the work at hand. They will even take time to answer questions as they work. Of course, for someone like me with Mandarin skills bordering on offensive even after 5 months in China a translator is necessary.
It was through this Q&A portion of the “show” that I found out that like many types of theatre throughout history all the roles were originally played by men and it wasn’t until the late 19th C that women began to appear on stage. Even still it wasn’t until the early 20th C that the ban on women performing on stage was actually lifted. Even with the ban lifted it was still very common to see young men performing the female roles.
It should also be noted that these performers take years to develop their skills for the stage and have to be competent in all elements of performance- song/speech, dance, combat etc. Although some characters rely more heavily on certain skills more than others it is still important for all of the elements to be present in every performance. From a young age it is determined what type of role that performer will specialize in and often but not always it is something that is passed down through generations of family.
Makeup and style is dependent on the type of role or character the performer is playing. This means that anyone who is familiar with Peking Opera will immediately know what type of character the performer is simply by their makeup and costume. There are 4 main roles in Peking Opera which are then subdivided into several smaller categories. I will only touch are the 4 main categories which include:
Sheng
The main male role in Peking Opera.
Dan
The Dan refers to any female role in Peking Opera.
Jing
The Jing is referred to as the painted face male role. This role can be either a primary or secondary character. This type of role will entail a forceful character so it is important that the performer have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures.
Chou
The Chou is the male clown role. The Chou usually plays secondary roles in a company but even still it is often one of the most demanding roles because it is a combination of comic acting, acrobatics and a strong voice.
Peking Opera consists of 15 basic facial patterns, but there are over 1000 specific variations. Each design is unique to a specific character. The patterns and colouring are thought to be derived from traditional Chinese colour symbolism and divination on the lines of a person’s face, which is said to reveal personality.
One thing I found very interesting about the makeup was that many of colours and the characteristics related to them are very different than Western ideas. For example White is often used for villains and suggests sinisterness, craftiness and treachery whereas in the Western world white is often used to signify purity and goodness. Another example is the use of the colour Red. In Peking Opera it signifies devotion, courage, bravery and loyalty whereas in the West it is often associated with the devil or demons. Some other popular colour choices and their significance include: Black – rough/bold, Green – impulsive/stubborn, Blue – fierce/staunch, Purple – noble/sophisticated.
I can honestly say that after experiencing such a unique and informative behind the scenes event it only furthered my appreciation for what I witnessed on the stage later that night. If only other theatres would make themselves as accessible to the public maybe it would help segway into a new modern era of theatre instead of something deemed stuffy and for our grandparent’s generation. I can say without a doubt it was definitely a night that will not soon be forgotten!
by Jessica Jean Myers
Makeup Artist | Blogger | Explorer
www.jessicajeanmyers.com
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