peling opera n kabuki Flashcards
- Sometimes called Beijing Opera
- Combines music, vocal
performances, pantomime, dance,
and even acrobatic movements - Dates back to later 18th century,
full development in mid-19th
Century (Qing Dynasty)
Peking Opera
How do Performers Train?
- They are handpicked by master teacher at
young age with parent’s permission - 7 years practice: Wake up at 5AM,
practicing acting and combat skills in the morning - Seniors perform outside theaters at night
2 sets of Tunes:
(happiness)
Xipi
2 sets of Tunes:
(sorrow and melancholy)
Erhuang
(slow)
Manban
(moderate-fast)
Yuanban
– civil division, accompanies singing
Wenchang
– military division, accompanies acting, dancing, and fighting
Wuchang
Four Levels of Song:
- Songs with Music
- Verse Recitation
- Prose Dialogue
- Non-verbal Vocalizations
design principle that shows relation of parts of an artwork to each other and the whole with regards to size, placement, and amount.
(insert: symmetry)
Proportion
main male
lead roles
Sheng
commonly invloved with beautiful women
- handsome and
young
- sings in high shrill voice
Xiaosheng
- combative character
(great martial arts skills) - Trained to do acrobats
- Natural voice for
singing.
Wusheng
- dignified older role
- gentle and cultivated
disposition in life - wears sensible
costumes
Laosheng
Female
Character
Dan
vivacious and
unmarried
woman
Huadan
– old woman
Laodan
– martial
woman
Wudan
– martial
woman
Wudan
- virtuous and elite woman
Qingyi
– female warrior
Daomadan
– young
married girl
or woman
Guimendan
(Primary and Secondary roles)
- Performer must be a forceful
character
- Strong voice to exaggerate gestures
Ching/Jing
Red Face
Loyalty and goodness
White face
Evil
Black Face
Integrity
- Usually a secondary role
- Name means “Ugly”
- Connotes combination of
ugliness + laughter which
can drive away evil spirits
Chou
- “Beautifying makeup”
Junban
- “mask-like” makeup
Lianpu
– court robe worn only by imperial family members,
prime ministers, or generals.
Mang
– worn as casual
clothing by imperial member or upperclass
Pei
– a kind of armor
worn by warriors
Kao
– casual clothes by the middle class and ordinary persons
Zhezi
“The Art of Singing and Dancing”
Kabuki
What does kabuki mean
Ka “song”, Bu “Dance”, and Ki “Skill”
Men who portray women are known as
oayama
or onnagata who spoke in falsetto voice chants.
4 Forms of Japanese
Traditional Theater:
Bunraku, Noh, Kyogen, and Kabuki.
– incidental music
Debayashi
– traditional narrative music accompanied by shamisen
Gidayubushi
– musicians, gagaku ensembles, wooden clappers to announce beginning and ending of presentation
Shimoza Ongaku
Stage features
the “True Stage”
- Aside from pillars to enclose it, it has
curtains called Joshiki-maku with black, dark green, and yellow stripes that are symbolic to kabuki
Honbutai
– the “lift”
- Platform that can be raised and lowered
Seri
– “revolving stage”
- Set on giant circular platform that can be rotated to reveal another set on opposite side
Mawari Butai
– the “Flower Path”
- Narrow strip of stage that extends from main to stage right passing through back of the audience making distinctive sound upon entrance of performers
- Used as entrance and exit with metal rings on a steel bar at the end of the path
Hanamichi
– the “terrapin”
- Small lift place on the narrow hanamachi near the main stage
Suppon
– the ‘floor’
- A small section allocated for the
Takemoto
Yuka
– narration accompanied by
shamisen
Takemuto
– the ‘black bamboo curtain’
- Small space concealing the singers and
musicians
Kuromiso
- rope dolly-system to lift harnessed
performers in the air for air performance
or fights - no longer common but used during Edo
era
Kakesuji
Basic Process of Kabuki Makeup (Kesho)
1. Face and neck covered with oil and then thick cover of
white cream called
Oshiroi
2 Distinct Styles of Kesho
– majority of characters
Standard
– used for
superheroes and villains
Kumadori Style
aristocratic clothes, samurai battles
Jidaimono
everyday clothes of commoners contemporary setting plays
Sewamono
costumes for special dances; dance drama or minimal narrative dialogue
Sosagoto
