Jingxi - Beijing Opera
Two Types of Plays:
Wu - Military
Adventures of warriors & brigands
Wen - Civil
Social & domestic themes
Stories:
Theatrical rather than literary
Performances are excerpts
Stories from familiar sources:
Historical epics
Legends, myths, folklore
Well-known romantic novels
Play text is an outline for performance
Each troupe has own version
Always happy endings
Actor Training
Begins age 7 - 12
Study for 6 to 12 years
Actor skills:
Nianbai - speaking
Chang - song
Acrobatics
Great flexibility & stamina
Powerful muscle control
Leaps from standing position
Staging Space:
Square raised platform stage
Roof supported by lacquered columns
Wooden railing surrounds stage
2 doors at rear wall
SR for entrances
SL for exits
Large embroidered curtain hangs between doors
Carpeted stage floor
Furniture :
Limited furniture
Permanent elements:
Wooden table & a few chairs
Used to indicate law court, banquet hall
Used to represent a wall, bridge or hill
Hand & Stage Props:
Simple representational props
Whip indicates actor riding a horse
Wind is represented by 4 strips of cloth carried by actor running across the
stage
Banner w/ fish design represents water
Rolled up water banner on a tray is fish dinner
Two yellow flags w/ wheels painted on them suggest a chariot
Additional Staging Conventions:
Orchestra seated on stage
Dressed in contemporary clothing
Come & go freely
Not considered part of stage picture
Stage assistants
Assist w/ costumes & props as need
Dressed in street clothes
Present & visible at all times
No attempt to conceal or disguise them
Stage Movement
Symbolic, rhythmic, stylized, mime-like
7 specific hand gestures
Arm movements
20 pointing gestures
12 leg movements
Specific sleeve movements
Water sleeve
Specific beard movements
Stylized & Symbolic Makeup
Sheng - male
Eyebrows rising at a slant
Dan - female
White face, eyes surrounded by pink shading
Jing - painted face
Bold multi-colored patterns
Chou - clown
Rectangular white patch around eyes
Aspects of Costume
Geometrically simple shapes
Complex embroidered surface patterns
Elaborate headdresses
300 types, indicating:
Specific character type
Age
Social status & rank
Occupation
Basic Costume Elements
Kao - armor
Pi - informal robe
Ankle length for men
Knee length for women
Xuezi - Scholar’s robe
Mang - formal court robe
Kuanyi - robe with rank badge
Qunzi - Skirt w/ pleated sides & flat panels
Ku ao - Women’s trousers
Symbolic Images & Patterns
Dragon - emperor
Tiger - power & masculine strength
Plum blossom - long life & feminine charm
Overall patterns for youthful characters
Formal roundels for elderly characters
Costume Color Symbolism
2 groups of 5 colors each
Shang Wu
Xia Wu
Govern color choices, considering:
each individual character
color in the stage picture
Parallel systems, indicating:
character type
relative level of importance of the characters
Shang Wu - Upper 5 Colors
Red - (Ranks 1- 4)
Loyalty & high position - Honorable & respectable
Green - (Ranks 5 - 7)
Generals & statesmen w/ military honors
High virtue, upright, honest
Yellow - Royalty
Emperor & his family ; Wisdom & cleverness
White - Young generals & statesman
Also the color of mourning
Black - High born men of cruel nature
Straightforward, fierce, brave, honest
Xia Wu - Lower 5 Colors
Purple (Ranks 1- 4)
Age
Blue (Ranks 5 - 7)
Virtuous & kind
Pink
Youth, ladies’ man
Turquoise
Youth or jealousy
Dark crimson -
Barbarians, usurpers, old officials & military advisors
Four Character Types
Sheng - Leading Male Roles
Lao sheng - Old Men
Xiao sheng - Young Men
Wu sheng - Warriors
Dan - Leading Female Roles
Qing yi - Quiet & gentle
Hua dan - Vivacious
Wu dan - Warrior women
Lao dan - Old women
Jing - Painted Face Roles
Men of strength
Lacking reasonableness
Have tragic flaw
Emotions are visible on face
Rough but frank
Crafty or treacherous
Swaggering (braggart soldier)
Chou - Clown Roles
Less dignity - no nobility
Most realistic movement & speech
Speaks in everyday dialect
Improvises & tells jokes
May be:
stupid official, servant, businessman, soldier, jailer, matchmaker or shrewish
mother-in-law
Music
Combination of styles
Orchestra includes:
Wooden clappers
Drums
Flute
Huqin (2-stringed bowed instrument)
Pipa (4-string lute)
Yuechin (4-string guitar)
Brass gongs & cymbals
