CHINESE THEATRE

BACKGROUND
- Chinese theatre was considered as the highest form of
arts in China.
- Peking opera theatre, is a stylized Chinese form of
opera dating from the late 18th century, in which
speech, singing, mime, and acrobatics are performed
to an instrumental accompaniment.
- It is fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th
century.
- It was one of the cultural treasures of China and was
extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court.
2 STYLES OF MUSIC
- Erh-huang (higher sound)
- His-p’l (lower sound)
- Fan-pan (commonly used for sorrowful
songs and sung by bearded characters.
OTHER INFOS:
- Orchestra of the peking opera is different from the
western orchestra.
- It has eight musicians sitting on stools in the far
corner of the stage.
- Each performance begins with the talo and siag-lo, a
small and large gong and cymbals or a single skin
drum or kettle drum.
OTHER INFOS:
- The conductor sits in the center of the orchestra and
creates the tempo with the drum or gong.
- The actor’s delivery of lines is rigidly controlled by
conventions.
- Each role has its vocal timbre and pitch, syllables,
and appropriate rhythm.
 FORMS
- Chou style (rarely has a singing part in peking
opera)
- Kunqu style (simplify the songs that accompany the
plays)
ACTIVITY
- Watch a peking opera.
- After watching, what can you say about the
following:
- Costumes (5 sentences)
- Vocal & Instrumental music (5 sentences)
- Back ground (5 sentences)
- Theatre elements (5sentences)