1. Chinese Opera

2. How this opera is what you expected.
Do Now
Watch this clip from the opening of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. Write down the following observations:
How this opera is what you expected.
How this opera is what you did not expect.
Be objective! Words like dumb, boring, stupid, etc. are not allowed!

3. What can we expect?
Watch this news clip about the Peking Opera Company’s visit to New York City. Make some predictions as to what all is a part of Chinese opera.

4. Beijing Opera Characters and Costumes
There are four types of characters found on stage:
Sheng (male)
Dan (female)
Including qingyi (serious heroine), wudan (military woman), huadan (flirtatious maid), laodan (elderly woman), and Caiden (comic woman).
Jing (painted-face), usually a warrior or general, strength over intelligence
Chou (clown), for comic relief.
Make-up and costumes are very expensive and elaborate!!
They identify each character.

5. Dan (female)
Jing (painted face)
Chou (clown)
Sheng (male)

6. Beijing Opera Sets Scenery and stage props are very simple and scarce.
Why? Stage troupes travelled everywhere, making large sets and props difficult to move.
Let’s see if we can make a set using only a few items with these settings:
Mountain
Hotel
Party
Beach

7. Tools Used in Beijing Opera
The four skills for expression are:
Singing
Speaking
Acting
Fighting
Fighting in opera later went on to influence films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Each character specializes in one or two of these skills.
Acting was one of the most important tools because it could communicate a message without words…think you can do that?

8. A Day In the Life of An Opera Star
Admired for skill, low in status.
Many made ends meet by becoming prostitutes.
Operas were rowdy with gambling and wickedness
Often male or female only groups.
Often men would take female roles and vice-versa.
Opera was used in many occasions and often stretched over hours or days.
Operas had a moral message.
What are some examples of moral messages?

9. What happened in the 20th century on?
Opera adopted Western instruments, theaters, and sets.
Topics changed from moral lessons to social themes.
What are some social themes that could have been present today?
Communism’s effect:
More operas with working-class characters instead of historical heroes and villains.
Describing China’s struggles and wars.

10. Listening: Third Wife Teaches Her Son
This opera is about the struggles of a wife after her husband dies, the other two wives remarry, and she is forced to care for the other wife’s son.
At this time ( BC) men were allowed to have multiple wives and when the husband died the wife was not to remarry.
Watch and listen for: the acting, especially hand and face movements, the voice quality, the costumes and makeup.