Chinese opera is mainly composed of three different art forms: folk song and dance, rap and comedy. It originated from primitive singing and dancing. It is a comprehensive stage art style with a long history and an indispensable part of Chinese culture. So do you know what types of famous Chinese operas there are? This article brings you the top ten Chinese operas, namely Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, Henan Opera, Ping Opera, Kun Opera, Quju, Yue Diao, Lu Opera, Shanghai Opera, Qin Opera, and Jin Opera.
1. Peking Opera京剧
Peking Opera is a performing art that combines singing, reading, acting and fighting. There are extensive performances throughout China, but Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai remain the main performance centres. Peking Opera is sung and spoken mainly in the Beijing dialect, and the scripts are created following a series of strict rules that focus on form and rhythm. Peking Opera is regarded as the culmination of the aesthetic ideals of traditional Chinese social drama, and is widely recognized as a Chinese cultural heritage. Peking Opera, once known as Ping Opera, is one of the five major opera types in China. Its tune is mainly Xipi and Erhuang, and it is accompanied by Huqin, gongs and drums. It is regarded as the quintessence of China and ranks first among the three tripods of Chinese opera. On November 16, 2010, Peking Opera was included in the “Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage”.
2. Yue Opera越剧
Yue Opera – the second largest type of opera in China, is known as the Second National Opera, and is also known as “the most widely spread local opera type”. Some people believe that it is the “largest local opera type” and is called “Chinese Opera” abroad. opera”. It is also one of the five major opera types in China (in order: Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Huangmei Opera, Ping Opera, and Henan Opera). It originated in Shengzhou, Zhejiang, originated in Shanghai, prospered across the country, and spread around the world. During its development, it absorbed the culmination of Kun Opera, modern drama, Shao Opera and other special operas, and experienced a historic evolution from men’s Yue Opera to women’s Yue Opera.
3. Huangmei Opera黄梅戏
Huangmei Opera originated in Huangmei, Hubei Province, formerly known as Huangmei Diao, Tea Picking Opera, etc. It is now spread in Anqing City, Anhui Province, Huangmei County, Hubei Province and other places. In the late Qing Dynasty, tea-picking tunes from Huangmei County in Hubei Province were introduced to Huaining County in neighboring Anhui Province and other areas. They were combined with local folk arts and sang and recited in Anqing dialect. It gradually developed into a new type of opera, which was called Huaiqiang or Huaiqiang at the time. Tune, this is the early Huangmei Opera. Later, Huangmei Opera borrowed and absorbed the music, performances and repertoire of Qingyang and Hui tunes, and began to perform the “original opera”. After more than a hundred years of development, with Anqing as the center, Huangmei Opera has become the main local opera in Anhui and a nationally renowned opera.
4.Yu Opera豫剧
Yu Opera originated in the Central Plains (Henan). It is one of the five major opera types in China and the largest local opera type in China. It is also widely spread throughout Zhejiang. Contemporary Henan Opera has followed Henan Satellite TV, Henan Henan Theater, Taiwan Henan Opera Troupe and other performance groups to travel to many countries around the world, such as Australia, Italy, France, Canada, Venezuela, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, and has been praised by Westerners It’s “Oriental Aria.” In 2006, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
5. Pingju Opera评剧
The original name of Pingju Opera is Bengbeng Opera and Luozi Opera, also known as Pingqiang Bangzi Opera, or Ping Opera for short. In 1935, the name of Pingju Opera was officially adopted. It is popular in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Northeast China and has a broad mass base. Around 1910, Bengbeng opera artists headed by Cheng Zhaocai absorbed the music and repertoire of Errenzhuan from Northeast China based on the counterpart “Lianhualuo” in Luanzhou in eastern Hebei Province. Later, they also absorbed the music and performances of Peking Opera, shadow puppets, drums, etc. art, and used a full set of Hebei Bangzi musical instruments to accompany the performance, forming the basic style of Pingju Opera. This new type of opera vocal drama was later further developed and improved in practice.
6. Kunqu Opera昆曲
Kunqu Opera, also known as Kunqu Opera, Kunqiang and Kunshanqiang, is a treasure in traditional Chinese culture and art. Kun Opera is one of the oldest existing operas in China. The singing style of Kun Opera has a strong artistic quality and has a huge influence on all modern Chinese dramas, such as Sichuan Opera and Peking Opera. Kunqu opera performances include singing, chanting, acting, playing, dancing, etc. These contents are also the basic subjects for training Peking opera actors. Kunqu Opera and its drama structure (Dan, Chou, Sheng and other roles) have also been borrowed from other drama types. Kun Opera was listed as a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2001.
7. Qu Opera曲剧
Quju is one of the traditional operas mainly spread in Henan Province. In the old days, it was also called Gaotai Opera or Quju Opera. Quju is popular throughout Henan Province and surrounding areas. It is developed based on the popular local folk music, drum music (Luoyang music, Nanyang music) and stilt-walking performances. On May 20, 2006, the opera was approved by the State Council and included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.
8. Yue Diao越调
Yue Diao is one of the local operas in Henan Province. It is mainly prevalent in Henan, northwest Hubei, southeast Shaanxi, northwest Anhui, southeast Shanxi, and southern Hebei. The main instrument of Yue Diao was the four-stringed elephant trunk in the early days, and later it was generally played with the pendulum. In addition to the opera form, Yue Diao also has two branches: folk art and puppetry. A severe drought occurred in Henan in 1942. During this period, many Yue Diao artists (such as Zhang Guilan) turned to street stalls to sing. After the famine passed, they returned to the stage to sing opera. The Yue Diao branch of puppetry is very popular in Nanyang, and some of the folk professional puppeteers are still very active today. On May 20, 2006, Yue Tiao was approved by the State Council and included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.
9. Lu Opera吕剧
Lu Opera, also known as masquerade dulcimer and qin opera, is a national intangible cultural heritage. It is one of the eight major opera types in China and the most representative local opera type in Shandong. It is popular in most of Shandong and parts of Jiangsu, Anhui and Northeast China. It originated in The Yellow River Delta north of Shandong evolved from Shandong Qinshu. Its music belongs to the banqiang style, and it also sings tunes. The main accompaniment instruments are zhuiqin (main string), dulcimer, sanxian and pipa, which are called “the four major pieces of Lu Opera”. It is deeply loved by the masses for its simple and vivid language, beautiful and melodious singing, and rich and colorful musical vocabulary.
10. Shanghai Opera沪剧
Traditional Chinese opera genres. Popular in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. Dongxiang tune, a folk song originating from Pudong, Shanghai, formed Shanghai Tanhuang in the late Qing Dynasty and was influenced by Suzhou Tanhuang. Later, it adopted the performance form of civilized drama and developed into a small stage play “Shenqu”. After 1927, Shenqu began to perform civilized dramas and current affairs dramas. In 1941, Shanghai Hu Opera Society was established, and Shenqu was officially renamed Hu Opera. There are mainly long cavity long boards, triangular boards, fuzi boards, etc. The tune is beautiful, full of Jiangnan local flavor, and good at expressing modern life. Excellent plays include “Luohan Qian”, “Ludang Fire”, “The Encounter of a Star”, etc. In 2006, it was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.
