Cantonese (Yue) Opera

With a history of over 300 years, Cantonese Opera is one of the major local operas rooted in Guangdong, part of Guangxi, Hongkong and Macau areas, also popular in some areas of Southeast Asia and among overseas Chinese throughout the world.

Cantonese Opera in Guangdong came into being on the basis of local aboriginal theatre combined with vocal melody from other regions and folk singing and storytelling skills. Present day Cantonese opera centers on Bangzi and Erhuang tunes (Two of major Chinese opera tunes) supplemented with local Ballads and rich varieties of local vocal system.

There are three major vocal tunes in Cantonese opera: Pinghou, Dahou and Zihou. Six major roles: Wenwusheng (man of both letters and martial arts), Xiaosheng (Personated young man), Wu sheng (cavalier), Chousheng (clown), Zhengyinhuadan (female characters) and Erbanghuadan (young woman). Five most influential schools: the Xue Juexian, the Ma Shizeng, the Liao Xiahuai, the Gui Mingyang, and the Bai Jurong as well as Hong Xiannu and Luo Jiabao. Cantonese Opera has experienced several development phases, which are theatrical troupe of out-province, local troupe, mixed troupe, voluntary troupe and Guangdong and Hong King troupe. Finally the Cantonese Opera was transformed into the present style after ages of development.

Famous Cantonese Opera repertoire includes "The Legend of White Snake", "Hu bugui", "Dinuha", "Soushuyuan", "Vicissitudes of the Country", and "Returning Home on a Snowy Night". Guangdong provincial and Guangzhou Municipal Cantonese Opera Houses enjoy highest reputation in this field. Once praised by late Premier Zhou Enlai as the "Red pea of Southern China", Cantonese opera keeps its attraction in the new historical period.

Voluntry Troupe and Guangdong and Hong Kong Theatrical Troupe

Right before and after the 1911 revolution, Cantonese opera witnessed some great changes. A number of patriotic artists organized voluntary theatrical troupes to stage operas with anti-feudalism themes as ''Wen Tianxiang Died for the Nation" and "Wen Shengcai Stabs Fuqi". Volunteers were in fact reformers of Cantonese opera supported by revolutionaries around the 1911 revolution. The reform was completed by 1920s when theatrical mandarin was replaced by Guangzhou dialect and falsetto by true voice.

Guangdong and Hong Kong Theatrical Troupe was also a Cantonese opera player active from the 1920s to the 1940s in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. To suit the taste of new citizens, it frequently changed its repertoire, reformed its performing art, and extended its resource for themes. It adapted a thousand stories from novels, foreign movies, plays and folklore in addition to traditional theatres. It fostered Ma Shizeng, Xue Juexian and other renowned Cantonese artists. This was a historical period of great changes and prosperous both in repertoire and in talents for the Cantonese opera.

Guangdong Music

Guangdong Music, evolved mainly in the Ming and Qing dynasties, was formed on the basis of Zhongyuan (central China) ancient melody, Kun melody, and Jiangnan (east China) folk tunes, belonging to a kind of string and wind instrumental music. First popular in the Pear River delta area and then spreading to other places all over China, it features clear and melodious and profound content, acclaimed as "transparent music" and "a pearl of oriental folk music". It is different from other folk music in tone color and style by using decorating tone and "Jiahua" when playing. More than 300 pieces were composed before the foundation of PRC and now it is heard wherever there are Chinese descendents. Many pieces of Guangdong music can be filled with words to become songs or operatic arias.

Most famous tune names of Guangdong music are "Pinghuqiuyue (Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake)", "Yudabajiao (It Rains on Plantains)", "Emayaoling (Hungry Horse Shakes the Bell)", and "Bubugao (Step by Step)".

Famous Works

"It Rains on Plantain"

Famous Guangdong music tune name. Composer is unknown, It was supposed to be a He family score. The piece sounds enthusiastic and flows smoothly to create a scene of southern Chian, making itself one of the most representative works of Guangdong music. On the 1st China Guangdong Music Competition in March of 1987, it was named the compulsory piece for all participants to play.

"Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake"

Famous Guangdong music work, it was composed by Lu Wencheng who admired the night scene of West Lake of Hangzhou which he toured in 1930s. Soft melodic praise of the natural scenery, it is an exquisite lyric piece of Guangdong music with a single passage of moving melody that exudes the artistic charm of a song.

Guangdong Quyi

Guangdong Quyi in a narrow sense means the Cantonese tunes singing and in a wider sense means the combination of all Quyi forms available in the province. For instance, the Cantonese tunes, Muyu songs, dragon boat songs, southern music, Chaozhou songs, Hakka bamboo slip songs, salt-water songs, etc. In a word, it indicates the singing and storytelling art active in Guangzhou and surrounding areas.

Cantonese Tunes Singing

The most popular Quyi form in the dialect area of Guangzhou, the Cantonese tunes singing came from Cantonese operatic arias. Sung in local dialect, it is popular in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. Overseas Chinese in north and south Americas love it too. Independent of the opera where it came from, it focuses on its own sweetness and pleasantness for vocal melody rather than story telling, While it is based on Xipi and Erhuang tune systems, it has also absorbed the essence of other folk art or Quyi forms.

Acrobatics

Highly developed in the area, Guangzhou acrobatics occupies an important position in contemporary acrobatic art of China. It features high difficulty and high risk, thus is highly artistic and enjoyable. Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe and Guangzhou Armed Forces Acrobatic Troupe have often represented China to visit abroad or participate in international competitions and win gold medals. Representative items include "Bowl Balancing", "Rolling Cups", "Double Balancing Bowls", "Jumping Through Holes". "Double Poles Climbing", "Diabolo", ""Contortionists", "Girls on Springboard" and "Jumping into Barrels".

Guangdong Puppet Show

Guangdong puppet show was first introduced into Chaozhou from Fujian Province in Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the puppet show was in vogue in the west part of Guangdong. That's why the west part of Guangdong won the name of "the county of Puppet ". Several Guangdong puppet troupes are highly acclaimed both at home and abroad. In 1956, Guangdong Provincial Puppet Troupe was established in Guangzhou, produced series of puppet shows with strong local flavors, such as Lotus Fairy, Sun Wukong Fight with White-bone Demon Thrice, Sun Wukong Changes the Palm-leafed Fan Thrice, etc. Guangdong puppet shows once won the silver medal of Romania International Puppet Festival.

Editor: Liao Ming