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11-06-2008 18:17

Each of the 100-odd types of traditional Chinese drama em- ploys the dialect of a particular locality, with a particular musical style and repertory typical of that area. Otherwise, in costuming, make-up and the style of acting, they are more or less the same, except that some are more refined while others are less polished or even crude. Peking Opera, so named because it was a new theatrical form evolved from several types of local operas being staged in Beijing (Peking) some 200 years ago, is just one of these 100-odd local operas. Patronized by men of let- ters, artists, audiences from all walks of life, the Qing Court (which held sway from 1644 until 1911) and post-Qing officialdom, it was Steadily developed and improved by masters of performing art for many generations before it reached maturity and perfec- tion. It is considered a superb art form famous for its great artistic skill in singing, dancing and martial skills.

　Theatrical art forms in many countries do not present singing, dancing and spoken parts in one single drama. An opera singer, for instance, neither dances nor speaks on stage; there are no singing or dancing parts in a modern play; in a dance drama the dancer has no speaking role and does not sing either, Tradi- tional Chinese drama, including Peking Opera, as described above, is a kind of entertainment which includes spoken pans, singing, dancing and acrobatics. These demands call for versa- tility on the part of the performers, particularly those of Peking Opera. An all-round top-notch Peking Opera performer, for instance, must be good-looking or attractive when appearing in make-up, of pleasing physical proportions, with a pair of expres- sive eyes and a rich variety of facial expression. Whether of the warrior type or not, an actor must undergo years of funda- mental training in martial skills so that every movement on the stage is gracefully and precisely made and every pose assumed at the end of a movement makes the performer resemble a piece of well executed sculpture, thereby increasing the aesthetic value of the acting.

　A performer from a regular, professional Peking Opera troupe is required to undergo at least seven or eight--sometimes as many as a dozen- years of such basic training, after which he must still keep on practising all aspects of the art, including sing- ing and recitation, for the rest of his working life.