Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese (folk) opera (Chinese: 歌仔戲; pinyin: gēzǎixì; POJ: koa-á-hì; literally "song-drama") is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. The story elements are traditionally based on folk tales of the Hokkien (Minnan) region.
Taiwanese opera was later exported to other Min Nan-speaking areas.
In the early 1980s Taiwanese opera was brought to the television audience, with Iûⁿ Lē-hoa (楊麗花) as its popular face. The artistic elements remained largely traditional, however.
Taiwanese opera, like other forms of Chinese opera and theater around the world, often traditionally uses cross-dressed performers (反串; fǎnchùan; hóan-chhòan), specifically women portraying men's roles in the case of Taiwanese opera.
Modern and experimental forms show some propensity for syncretism. Western instruments such as the saxophone and guitar have been used in some performances. Loose Western adaptations have included Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector [1]. Perhaps due to the influence of the Taiwanese localization movement, stories set in Taiwan, as well as aboriginal characters and stories, have been developed in recent years. Taiwanese forms of the Hakka tea-picking opera show some influence. Fans of the opera attribute its continuing relevance to a willingness of performers to adapt to modern times in terms of style and artistic diversity.
History
Origins
Taiwanese opera is the only form of Han traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan, specifically the Yilan region. In the early stages, most Han immigrants in Yilan were from Zhangzhou, Fujian. Koa-á were story-telling ballads spoken in Min Nan. Each line could have five- or seven- characters, and every four lines constituted a paragraph.
Performance elements
Script
There is no script in Taiwanese opera. In the past actors were illiteracy so they did not have the script. Xi Xian Sheng, such as a director, told the story. Before the proformance Xi Xian Sheng gives an outline and distribute characters.
Characters
There are three roles in Taiwanese opera, Sheng(生), Dan(旦), and Chou(丑).
Performers and roles
Male Leads (Sheng)
Originally, Taiwanese opera only had three classifications of characters: namely, the male lead (siao sheng 小生), the male jester (siao chou 小丑), and the female lead (siao dan 小旦). Later, as Taiwanese opera began to incorporate more styles from other major operas, it gradually expanded to include eight major characters. In addition to the siao sheng 小生, there was also the supporting actor (fu sheng 副生), which was further divided into the subcategories of villain (fan sheng 反生) and martial artist (wu sheng 武生); the sorrowful female character (ku dan 苦旦); the primary supporting actress (fu dan 副旦 or hua dan 花旦), which included the subcategory of female villain (yao fu 妖婦); the secondary supporting actress (da hua 大花); the elderly woman (lao po 老婆 or lao dan 老旦); the third-tier supporting actress (san hua 三花); and the female jester (cai dan 彩旦 or san ba 三八). With this variety of characters, Taiwanese opera vividly portrays both comical and special events from everyday life.
These characters are gentle and brave. There are two male leads, laosheng(老生) and xiaosheng(小生). Laosheng is a older male lead. Old shengs have a chastity and decency dispostion.Young male characters are known as xiaosheng.
Female Leads (Dan)(旦)
In Taiwanese opera there are four subtypes in dan roles. Laodan (老旦) is a dignified older role and she is a stright arrow.Laodanreveals sentiment of the affection to the children so she takes sides with her children.
Costume
-
The costume of Sheng -
The costume of Dan
Stage properties and figures
Stage properties and figures are a part of dancing. Taiwanese opera are not graphic. Sometimes a chair in Taiwanese opera stands for a fence or a bridge. Rasing red flags stands for fire, rasing blue flags stands for water, and rasing black flags stands for wind. There are many types of figures:
- Entrances and Exits
- Pulling a Mountain
- Walking a Circle
- The Kneeling Walk
- Small,Quick Steps
- Sweeping Hair
- The Bat Jump
- The Vertigines Gesture
- The Water Sleeves
 | |
| Classification | |
|---|---|
| Related instruments | |
Voices
The most important in Taiwanes opera is the music for voices.
Instruments
The use of a wide range of traditional musical instruments in Taiwanese opera.
- Da Guang Sian
- Suo Na
- Jinghu
Performance Types
Three-Role tea-picking Opera
The three-role opera is known as the story of tea-farmer Zhang Sanlang performed by one clown and two female roles and the plot and the singing are fixed. The three-role tea-picking opera is simple and does not have official stage.They bulit the stage before they perform.
See also
External links
- TaiwanBrief introduction to Taiwan(in English)
- Taiwanese Opera WebDex Brief introduction to Taiwanese Opera, photo gallery, online music, et al. (in English)
- Taiwanese Opera Introduction, photo gallery, online music, forum, and more resources. (in Mandarin)
 | This Taiwan-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |