Crash Course Theater: Beijing Opera

Introduction

• Host: Mike Rugnetta
• Topic: Beijing Opera, a style of music theater with origins in classical Chinese drama, influenced by the Cultural Revolution but still performed today.
• Features: Gods, demons, strict color coding, innovative use of a chair.

Early Chinese Performance

• Origins: Uncertain; earliest performances tied to religious rituals.
• Early Forms: Songs and dances for fertility, harvest, war successes.
• Daoism Influence: Wu priests (shamans or 'Wizards') perform elaborate seances with jokes and special effects, later becoming court performances.

Development Through Dynasties

• Han Dynasty (206 BCE onwards):
  • Performance becomes secular: tightrope-walking, pole-climbing, sword-swallowing, fire-eating, juggling.
  • Mime and early shadow plays begin.
• Sui Dynasty (600 CE):
  • Emperor Yang-Ti’s enthusiasm for performance leads to opening of a training school and massive festivals.
• Tang Dynasty:
  • Innovations in combining music, dance, and acrobatics.
  • Emperor Xuanzong opens the Pear Garden, a training school that also serves for personal recruitment.

Song Dynasty and Beyond

• Literary Development:
  • Poetry and novels begin around 1000 CE.
  • Storytelling in teahouses becomes popular.
• Emergence of Plays:
  • Written plays mixing dialogue and song emerge.
  • Famous actors like “Orange Peel” and “Dimples.”

Mongol Influence (Yuan Dynasty)

• Golden Age of Literature:
  • Educated bureaucrats displaced by Mongols write literary works.
  • Drama draws from history, legend, and novels, often with strong moral messages.
• Two Drama Styles:
  • Zaju (North): Four-act dramas with songs, featuring male and female actors.
  • Chuan-qi (South): Long, elaborate plays with 30-50 acts.

Beijing Opera (Jingxi)

• Origin (1790):
  • Various troupes combined different regional styles to celebrate Emperor Qian Long’s birthday.
• Story Types: Civil and military, overlapping; borrow from history, legend, and literature.
• Performance Style:
  • Minimal physical staging using versatile props like tables and chairs.
  • Symbolic elements: silver banner for water, black silk for storms.
  • Extravagant makeup and costuming with over 300 types of dress and 250 types of makeup.

Characters and Roles

• Main Roles:
  • Sheng: Men
  • Dan: Women (initially played by men)
  • Jing: Painted face roles (gods, demons, courtiers, thieves)
  • Chou: Clowns (improvise jokes)
• Costume Colors: Red for brides, yellow for royalty, white for the elderly and mourning.
• Makeup: White base, with patterns and colors indicating character traits.

Influence of Communism

• Cultural Revolution Impact:
  • Repertoire tweaked to align with communist values; anti-communist plays removed.
  • Introduction of new works like “The White-Haired Girl,” promoting communist themes.

Next Episode: English Sentimentality and Romanticism