The Characteristics of Yu Opera

The charm of Yu Opera is not solely in terms of an art form, but also as a cultural heritage. It survives through an ongoing process of cultural inheritance.

In Yu Opera, besides the singing, performance and roles, art forms include many new artistic techniques and ways of expression continuously being absorbed. Only through inheritance and innovation has Yu Opera managed to carry on and attain sublimation.

Singing

In terms of vocal tunes, Yu Opera belongs to the Bangzi tune system. There are mainly five major genres in Yu Opera: The singing method centered in Kaifeng is called 'Xiangfu tune'; the singing method centered in Shangqiu is called 'Yudong tune', also known as 'Eastern tune'; the singing method popular around Luoyang is called 'Yuxi tune', also known as 'Xifu tune'; the one popular in southeastern Henan is called 'Shahe tune', also known as 'local Bangzi'. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of Yang Lanchun and others, a comprehensive absorption and significant reform were carried out on the singing of the four major regional genres of Yu Opera. Using scientific vocalization and integrating elements of opera, the 'Modern tune', also known as the 'Modern drama genre', was formed.

The main genres of Yu Opera singing are Yudong tune and Yuxi tune. Influenced by the singing of Shandong Bangzi, in Yudong tune, the male voice is high-pitched and passionate, and the female voice is lively and bouncing, being good at presenting operas with a comedic style. Due to retaining some charm of Qinqiang, in Yuxi tune, the male voice is desolate and solemn, and the female voice is low-pitched and euphemistic, being good at presenting operas with a tragic style.

Roles

The roles in Yu Opera are composed of "sheng, dan, jing, and chou". Generally speaking, there are four sheng, four dan, and four painted-face roles. The sheng roles are heroic, bold, and upright; the dan roles are charming, tender, kind-hearted and virtuous; the jing roles are mighty, resolute and selfless; the mo roles are witty, intelligent, and humorous; the chou roles are funny, cute and lively. Among them, the sheng category plays a major role. The sheng roles generally have a distinction between civil and martial roles, and some actors are proficient in both. However, in Yu Opera, martial-arts-focused plays are quite outstanding.

Performance

The performance form of Yu Opera mainly focuses on singing, supplemented by speaking. Yu Opera is good at performing magnificent large-scale scenes, with a strong local flavor and closely related to the life of ordinary people. In the performance of Yu Opera, the main musical instruments used include those for the civil-music section and the martial-music section. The instruments in the civil-music section mainly include the three-stringed piweng, moon lute, erhu and so on. The main accompaniment instruments in the martial-music section include the clapper drum, tanggu (a type of Chinese drum), big gong and small gong.

Makeup

Yu Opera Makeup

The makeup of the Yu Opera actors is usually fairly thick. Oil-based makeup is almost invariably used in making up the foundation, with the colors used tending to be white or yellow. This is to emphasize the actors' faces under the stage lights and enable the audience to see the actors' expressions from a relatively long distance quite clearly.

Costumes

Yu Opera Costume

The colors of Yu Opera costumes are very bright. Red, yellow, blue and green are quite common. Different colors have specific symbolic meanings and are used to distinguish the identity, character and status of the characters. For example, yellow represents the royal family and nobles, often worn by characters like emperors and empresses; red symbolizes solemnity and festivity, often worn by generals, prime ministers, imperial concubines and so on; black represents integrity and dignity, suitable for characters with an upright personality like Bao Zheng; white can reflect purity, elegance, or sadness, and is often used for young women or characters who have suffered misfortunes.

The patterns on Yu Opera costumes mostly originate from traditional Chinese culture. Common ones include auspicious animal patterns like dragons, phoenixes, kylins and lions, symbolizing good luck, authority and nobility. Some flower patterns like peonies, plum blossoms and lotuses are commonly seen in Yu Opera costumes. Peonies represent wealth and honor, plum blossoms represent nobility, and lotuses represent purity.

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