Peking opera is China's traditional theater art form that combines music, singing, dancing, acrobatics, and combat. It became popular in the 19th century. Students undergo rigorous training from a young age, learning skills like acting, singing, combat. Main roles include Sheng for male roles, Dan for female roles, Jing for painted face roles, and Chou for clown roles. Performances utilize costumes, props, and conventions of movement to depict characters and tell stories for audiences seated to the south of the stage.

2. Theater Arts and
Festival
China
Japan
Indonesia
Thailand

3. PEKING OPERA

4. -China’s known traditional theater art
form, which combines music, vocal
performance, pantomime, dance,
and acrobatics.
–It started in the late 18th century and
became fully developed and
recognized by the mid-19th century
-It became extremely popular and
came to be regarded as one of the
cultural treasures of China (Qing
Dynasty)

5. Peking Opera Training:
Pupils were often handpicked at a young age by
a teacher and trained for seven years on
contract from the child's parents. After 1911,
training took place in more formally organized
schools. Students at these schools rose as early
as five o'clock in the morning for exercises.
Daytime was spent learning the skills of acting
and combat, and senior students performed in
outside theaters in the evening.

6. Roles and Characters:
1. Sheng- is the main male role
in Peking opera

7. a. Xiaosheng actors are often
involved with beautiful women by
virtue of the handsome and young
image they project.

8. B. WUSHENG - is a martial character
for roles involving combat. They are
highly trained in acrobatics, and have
a natural voice when singing.

9. c. LAOSHENG - is a dignified older role,
these characters have a gentle and
cultivated disposition, and wear
sensible costumes.

10. 2. Dan - refers to any female
role in Peking opera.

11. a. LAODAN- old woman respectively
representing a middle-aged woman
who always acts as a Mrs.

12. b. WUDAN- martial woman

13. c. DAOMADAN - are
young female
warriors

14. d. QINGYI - are virtuous and elite women

15. e. HUADAN - are vivacious and
unmarried women

16. 3. JING -is a painted
face male role who
plays either primary or
secondary roles, entails
a forceful character,
• must have a strong
voice and be able to
exaggerate gestures.
• The red color denotes
loyalty and goodness,
white denotes evil, and
black denotes integrity.

17. 4. CHOU -is a male
clown role.
-usually plays secondary
roles whose name
also means "ugly”
-it reflects the
traditional belief that
the clown's
combination of
ugliness and laughter
could drive away evil
spirits.

18. • Visual Performance Elements:
Peking-opera performers utilize four
main skills
1.Song
2.Speech
3.Dance-acting - This includes pure
dance, pantomime, and all other
types of dance.
4.Combat - includes both acrobatics
and fighting with all manner of
weaponry.

19. The meaning of colors in
Peking Opera
Masks/Make-ups
Red - devotion, courage,
bravery, uprightness
and loyalty.
Black - roughness and
fierceness
Yellow - fierceness,
ambition and cool-
headedness

20. Purple - uprightness,
sophistication and
cool-headedness
Reddish purple - just
and noble character
Blue - loyalty,
fierceness and
sharpness

21. • White -
dangerousness,
suspiciousness and
craftiness. Commonly
seen on the stage is
the white face for the
powerful villain
• Green - impulsive
and violent and
stubbornness

22. Xiaohualian (the petty
painted face) is a small
patch of chalk on and
around the nose. Clowns
of traditional drama
who wears this special
make-up show a mean
and secretive character.

23. Aesthetic Aims and Principles of
Movement:
• The highest aim of performers in
Peking Opera is to put beauty into
every motion.
• The art form, gestures, settings, music,
and character types are determined by
long held conventions

24. Conventions of movement
-Walking in a large circle always
symbolizes traveling a long distance
- Character straightening his or her
costume and headdress symbolizes that
an important character is about to speak
-Pantomimic opening and closing of
doors and mounting and descending of
stairs

25. Stages:
• square platforms, the action on stage
is usually visible from at least three
sides
• were built above the line of sight of the
viewers, but some modern stages have
been constructed with higher audience
seating
• divided into two parts by an
embroidered curtain called a shoujiu.

27. • Costume: Xingtou
- popularly known as Xifu in Chinese
- origins of Peking Opera costumes can be
traced back to the mid-14th century
-enable the audience to distinguish a
character's sex and status at first glance
if noble or humble, civilian or military,
officials or private citizens

29. • Props:
• utilizes very few props
• will almost always have a table
and at least one chair, which can
be turned through convention
into such diverse objects as a city
wall, a mountain, or a bed

30. •Musicians:
- are visible to the
audience on the front
part of the stage

31. • Viewers:
- always seated south of
the stage, therefore,
north is the most
important direction

32. •Performers:
-immediately move to
center north upon
entering the stage.
All characters enter
from the east and
exit from the west