Chinese beijing opera and dresses

At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics you will certainly have the opportunity of listening to the singing of performers of Beijing opera. Beijing opera is reputed to have the best form of stage presentation among the numerous operas that originated at different places over the vast territory of China. Operas in China do not flaunt luxurious and elaborate scenery on the stage. As a rule, they have a very simple stage setting. Take Beijing opera as an example. The same opera about a story from history can be staged in the same theater consecutively for hundreds of shows with the house filled to capacity every time. Reliance is not put on the stage setting but on fascination of the audience with the stage performance. The charm of Beijing opera is inseparable from the actors and actresses on the stage. If you want to play a radiant leading role on the opera stage you must be truly proficient in the skill of playing the role. Beijing opera fans, who frequent the theaters, often describe the skill of role- playing required of the successful actors and actresses by saying, “One minute of brilliant performance on the stage rests on ten years of hard training under the stage.” Here, in this special column on Beijing Olympics and Chinese culture I would like to introduce to you a few famous artists who have made great contributions to the cause of developing and popularizing Beijing opera in China in modern times. Their names were on everybody’s lips in China decades ago. There is a strange custom in Chinese operas. A female may wear the costume of a gentleman and play the part of a male, and a male may be dressed like a young girl or a lady and play the role of a female. The four performing artists in the photos were all gentlemen, but they played the roles of females in dresses of ancient styles on the stage. They were honored by the audience with the group title of “the four great female character types”. They played on the stage such roles as a heroine in the history of China, a famous princess, the daughter of an illustrious family, a charming girl from a humble family or even a servant girl, with the imitation so skillfully made as to be indistinguishable in the audience’s imagination from the originals, making the audience lost in wonder. But in real life they were men of courage and honor without the least bit of femininity. They were looked up to for their manliness. They taught and brought up many pupils and disciples in their lives. Therefore, some of the performing artists of Beijing opera at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will most probably be the pupils of their pupils.beijing opera and dresses
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