2e Amazing Performances Exercise 1, Page 32.0:00
If you want to watch a music performance that combines song, dance and striking design, just forget about the latest pop video.0:26
Take a look at a truly original style of musical performance.0:35
Last month I was on a trip in Shanghai.0:42
I was staying with my Chinese friend Mai Li.0:45
She insisted that we go to the Chinese opera.0:49
And I have to admit the experience was amazing from beginning to end.0:52
Opera has a long history in China.0:58
In ancient times, actors performed the operas on the streets, on temporary stages with only hanging lanterns for lighting.1:01
It's funny to think that such grand art started out like that.1:09
We arrived at the theatre just before the lights went down.1:14
As the curtain rose, the actors came on stage in their beautiful costumes.1:19
The fiery reds and ribbons of gold and silver were like a kaleidoscope of color.1:24
The costumes go all the way back to the street show days when the actors used to wear bright colours to stand out in the dark.1:30
The singing was quite strange, very sharp and high pitched, just like the costumes.1:40
The singing style was really ancient.1:47
The street performers used to sing that way so that their voices could carry over.1:50
The crowds who gathered to watch the opera we saw was Lady White Snake, a classic Chinese folk tale.1:55
A white snake changes into a beautiful girl and then falls in love with a human.2:04
But the actors didn't only tell the story through song.2:11
The dancing and acrobatics were fantastic too.2:14
The actors used not only their faces but also their whole bodies to act out the story and show their emotions.2:18
These actors trained very hard at opera schools for years.2:27
From about the age of seven or eight, there weren't a lot of stage props or scenery because the actors use a lot of symbols to help tell the story.2:31
An actor galloping with a whip, for example, means they are riding a horse.2:42
Doing somersaults from a table or a pile of chairs means they are running down a mountain.2:47
The actor's make up was incredible.2:54
Each colour has a special meaning and reveals something about their character.2:58
Red means loyalty and bravery.3:04
Black shows a warrior or a wild character.3:07
Blue means cruelty and gold and silver means mystery.3:11
At the finale, it was breathtaking to see them all on stage together in their bright costumes and makeup.3:17
I didn't think that opera was for me, but I can't believe how much I enjoyed it.3:24
You must all see a Chinese opera one day.3:30
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