Chinese Peking Opera

We had the wonderful experience of attending a special assembly where the Chinese Peking Opera performed for our Lower School and Middle School.  We learned that the Chinese Peking Opera includes expression of several different forms of the arts.  It includes, martial arts, acrobatics, theatrical acting, and singing. Today, we watched two performers perform The Monkey King.

We first viewed a short newscast video about the Chinese Peking Opera which showed the back stage work that is involved in creating these magnificent operas.  We saw costumes, make-up , staging and rehearsals that gave tremendous insight into the world of the Peking Opera.  Today we watched two Perking Opera performers prepare and then produce the opera The Monkey King.

We watched as the warrior transformed himself into the character of the monkey by applying make-up.  It was fascinating to watch as he applied face paint in strategic places to create his character.  Interestingly , he told us that when he is in a real full production it takes at least 45 minutes to apply his make-up.  This particular segment of the opera was focused on marital arts as we watched and enjoyed the incredible martial arts movements during the performance.

We learned that one trains for 8 years before they are able to join the opera and that each day involves 12 hours of practice.  Each performer practices and must become excellent in all areas of the arts.  One must learn and perform 200 operas before they can complete their education and join the Chinese Peking Opera.

This was an incredible cultural experience that we shared with our larger AFS community.