The Opera

 Theresa went to the Opera last week.  A group of performers were passing through town for a series of shows.  The Suzhou Expats Association arranged for a special presentation one afternoon, with English language explanation and a chance to meet the players afterwards.  It wasn't a full performance, but only about a 30 minute sampling.  That is more than enough for first time Westerner viewers.  A visitor from Spain once went to a baseball game in Indianapolis and said that the first 15 minutes were really exciting because of the novelty, but the last 2 hours were deadly boring because he didn't know the rules of the game.  By all accounts, Chinese Opera and baseball have that aspect in common. 

 This special performance focused on the novelty.  A short history was given and some of the traditions were explained.  As you would expect, Chinese Opera is chock-full of tradition and regional variations.  The pronunciation, pitch, and singing cadence are all governed by strict rules, as are also the highly choreographed movements of the hands and feet.  I've heard some describe it as a beautiful combination of opera and ballet.  I've heard others describe it as an imitation of screaming robot cats in heat.  Evidently, you either like it or you don't.

Everyone loves the colorful silk costumes, though.  That much seems to have agreement.

 The top two photos show some of the standard, traditional characters - the chaste and honorable young girl, the wise old woman, and the love-seeking young man.  Every plot needs a bad guy in a mask, and our opera's bad guy appears in the third photo.  This one happens to be a specialist in the art of fast-face-changing...a skill developed and made famous by the performers from ChengDu.   The villain is able to change his face instantaneously, as if by magic.  This one ripped through 10 different masks in the course of a few minutes.

 

 

 

 

 After the demonstrations, the players invited some of the audience to the stage for some quick lessons.  The photo below shows a couple of expats learning the steps and finger movements.  The costumed lady, we were told, is a long-famous actress who, now in her 60s, has become an equally famous teacher.