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Chinese opera was formed in late 13th century, during the late Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was known as narm hei (南戲), or the Southern Play. Narm hei was imported from the northern part of China to the southern province of Guangdong, when 1276, in response to the Mongol army's presence, the Emperor Gong fled to Guandong with a lot of followers. Among these people, some were narm hei artists from the north. Therefore, narm hei was brought into Guangdong by these artists and was developed into the earliest kind of Cantonese opera.
However, Cantonese opera is not to be mixed up with Chinese opera. Cantonese opera is only one variation of the Chinese opera. Chinese opera in general dates back to the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong.
Many well-known operas performed today like The Purple Hairpin and Rejuvenation of the Red Plum Flower originated in the Yuan Dynasty, with the lyrics and scripts in Cantonese.
Cantonese opera is a traditional Chinese art which involves music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. Most of the plots are based on Chinese History and famous Chinese classics and myths. Other than being simply a form of entertainment, opera usually carries messages or lessons of great educational value. Cultures and philiophies of the Chinese people can be seen in the plays. Virtues like loyalty, moral, love, patroitism and faithfulness are often refleced by the operas. Therefore, cantonese opera is commonly regarded as illustrations of old Chinese wisdom.
There are two types of Cantonese Opera plays. One is called "Mun," and the other is called, "Mo." Mo means martial arts. Characters in Mo plays are usually generals or warriors. Mo plays are action-packed and intricately choreographed, often using weapons. The costumes for Mo plays are very complicated (and heavy). Mun means intellectual, polite, cultured. These are the plays whose characters are either scholars, royalty. Mun plays tend to be dramatic and their movements are soft and slow. Instead of using weapons, performers show off their abilities in water sleeves work (see terms below). This type of plays focuses more on facial expression, tone of voice, and meaning behind the movements.
While actors are singing and moving around on stage, they also need to act! Cantonese opera acting is not the same as acting in movies or on TV. Many emotions have certain facial expressions and body gestures that go along with it. Performers also have to be careful not to ruin their makeup or hair with histrionic expressions.
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The musical instruments are mainly divided into melodic and percussive types.
Traditional musical instruments used in Cantonese opera include wind, strings and percussion. The winds and strings encompass erhu(二胡), butterfly harp, pipa and flute, while the percussion comprises many different drums and cymbals. The percussion is responsible for the overall rhythm and pace of the music, while the er wu leads the orchestra. Nowadays, Cantonese opera has incorporated many western instruments such as the cello, saxophone, and even the violin which is used in place of the er wu.
To see the pictures and listen to the sounds of the instruments, visit
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Cantonese opera music and performance can generally be classified into two forms, Theatrical and "Gor Tarn" or singing stage. And within the theatrical form which is a more traditional style, it is split into two sections: Western Music "Saih Ngok" and Chinese Music "Jung Ngok" , with "Gor Tarn" having only the Saih Ngok(western music) section. The "four great male vocals" is a represenation of this music style. The "Saih Ngok" section refers to the strings, woodwinds, brass plus electrified instruments and the "Jung Ngok" section refers to the traditional chinese percussion instruments.
In Cantonese opera the writers put words into this pool of melodies and tunes. One song may contain many melodies, and it is up to the singer to add his or her own personal variation and style to the melody when they sing it. The singing must be combined with music, of course.
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The entire cast is made up of six different and unique character roles.
Different kinds of costume would be used in different types of play. For example, most of the costumes in Mun plays have water sleeves. Costumes tend to be long, almost like robes. They can either be tied at the waist or left straight down. There are many different types of cuttings; some are double breasted and tied on the side, while others are single breasted and button-down. Some have round collars and are buttoned around the shoulder. For Mo play, costumes are usually more elaborated than Mun and also more costume accessories.
Almost all of the ladies' costumes have water sleeves in Mun plays. Costumes are usually made up of a shirt, either buttoned down the front or back, and a long, flowing skirt. The ladies' costumes tend to be less diversified and interchangeable than men's costumes because a lady's costume (and hair) tells a lot about her status. Maids and/or poor girls usually wear a shirt and pants set. The more embroidery there is on an outfit, the richer or higher in social status that female will be. Like men's costumes, women's Mo costumes are far more elaborated than in mun plays. There are also numerous accessories which can be worn with the costumes.
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Cantonese Opera makeup is very unique and difficult to master. For the most common type of makeup, the white and red face, the process is as follows. First, a white or off-white base foundation is applied to the entire face, including the neck and ears. Then, red rouge is spread across the eye area, blending down to the cheeks and stopping just at the bridge of the nose. Traditionally, the eyes and eyebrows are drawn following the natural shape. Nowadays, the eyebrows must be drawn at a sharp, upward angle, and the eyes are also drawn slanting upwards, to make them appear long. The actor gives the eyes and eyebrows a lift using a flat black ribbon and pulling the skin tightly upward and tying it tightly behind the head. Some actors, now, prefer to use cosmetic tape to pull their eyes into a slant, to lessen the discomfort, and it does make eyelining easier. Lipstick is bright red. The makeup helps enhance the actor’s facial features and many times tells the audience a lot about the characters personality. For instance, if an actor plays a comical role, he will usually paint a large white circular shape in the center of his face. This tells the audience that he is a comical character. If the character in an opera is ill, the actor playing that role paints a thin red line in between the eyebrows upward, symbolizing sickness. For male generals or male characters with a lot of aggression, the actor paints a “ying hong jee” in between his eyebrows. This is an arrow shape that is painted and blended starting from between the eyebrows and fading into the forehead. This symbolizes a lot of frustration in the character.
There is also another type of face painting which is always associated with Chinese opera. This type is called “hoy meen” (開面) which literally translates to open face. The characters that wear this type of makeup are tall, broad male characters, such as the three sworn brothers in the famous story the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu, Jueng Fey, and Lao Bey. This type of makeup is truly an art of its own. The actor applies many different colors of oil-base and water-base makeup to create different faces of characters. Each open face character in opera has his own distinct makeup. These consist of many symbols, intricate details, and blendings. The colors used are just as important as the designs because each color also symbolizes difference between characters.
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The hairstyle of the performers is not simply for beauty. Actually, it tells a lot about the age, status and ability of the characters which the performers play.
All information in this section copyright © Bay Area Cantonese OperaHistory
Implications of Cantonese Opera
Types of Play
Musical Instruments
Music
Performers
Image of a Female General in a PlayCostumes
Makeup
Painting of a comical characterHairstyle
