Charming Peking Opera
Peking Opera is a beautiful treasure in Chinese culture. Therefore, its charm is also passed on by people who appreciate it.
Kathy Hall (Li Huixin) is an experienced art administrator, promoter, host, teacher and doctor of Jingju Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera in London. She worked for the former London Jing Kun Opera Association from 2002 to 2014.
Kathy studied Hong Kong and the late Mei Lanfang style expert Bao Youdie for nine years in Peking Opera. She also studied with the former Shanghai Kunqu actor Le Yiping for five years of Kunqu movement. Kathy is the founding chairman and voluntary CEO of the London Jing Kun Opera Association. In 2005, she won the Tourism Scholarship of the Winston Churchill Memorial Foundation in the UK, and studied in depth with Wang Fengmei, the master of Kunqu Opera in Hangzhou. In 2008, under the auspices of the London Arts Council, she studied in Shanghai, the famous Kunqu actor Liang Guyin.
Before she settled in the UK in 1997, she was the Vice-Chancellor and Senior English Officer of any secondary school and the Secretary General of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. She has held lectures, workshops and performances in Beijing opera and Kunqu opera in museums, theaters, community halls and schools. She also appeared at Malta, Northern Ireland and the 2006 Venice Biennale. In 2010, she was awarded the honorary membership of 48 group club “Ice-Breakers” in recognition of her contribution to the understanding of East and West. She often translates opera scripts into English to enhance the understanding of the audience and learners. She teaches Peking Opera and Kunqu in London, regardless of age and race.
Their studio mainly promotes two forms of Chinese drama, Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera. Peking Opera developed The Jade Bracelet (‘Shi Yu Zhuo’), and a dream in the Spring Boudoir (Chun Gui Meng) a special form of performance.
Kunqu Opera developed two of the most classic drama scenes, The Peony Pavilion (Mu Dan Ting). They are “The Stroll in the Garden” and “The Startling Dreams”.
Nowadays, she will hold her personal performance in London. From November 21, 2018 to February 8, 2019, she will hold two Peking Opera performance. The latest performance is from 7pm to 9pm on February 8. She will perform the classic drama “The Hudred Flowers Pavilion”.
This story is about Tang Dynasty. Yang Guifei was one of the four beautiful women in ancient China. Emperor Xuan Zong promised to watch moon and drink wine in “Hundred Flowers Pavilion” with her, but emperor broke his promise because he went to find other concubines and abandoned Yang Guifei.
This story mainly reflects the extravagant and romantic feelings of the Tang Dynasty’s heyday. The emotional entanglement between the emperor and his wife is a hot topic that women love. Yang Guifei also represents the image of ancient beauty.
“The Drunken Imperial Concubine” belongs to the performance form of Peking Opera. However, the audience is worth looking forward to see a vibrant show in this play, because a new scene shows young people wearing four gorgeous flags and long pheasant feathers spinning around the heroine.
According to Kathy’s talk, Jing Kun Opera Association is a non-profit organization. She hopes to promote China’s national quintessence through educational work and performances, and she hopes to be loved by the British people.
She and her studio hosted a full-day exhibition of Chinese opera art in forty-three primary schools and sixty-six high schools, each showing more than an hour. She said they would tell stories through drama, various instruments, faces and operas. At the same time, they will also popularize calligraphy, ink painting and Chinese paper-cutting art.
They also visited 35 cities in the UK and Ireland. On September 26, 2013, they gave lectures on Peking Opera at the Confucius Institute at the University of Central Lancashire, and they also opened Peking Opera courses and workshops here.
The wonderful Peiking Opera, the applause of the audience can better reflect the British and Chinese culture at this moment. It is also a representative of the essence of culture.
Vivid faces:
The facial makeup of traditional Chinese opera is a kind of formula for actors’ facial makeup. Generally used in the clean, ugly two lines of business, in which a variety of characters have their own specific style and color spectrum, in order to highlight the character characteristics of the characters. Also known as the role, Peking Opera can be divided into five major roles: sheng, Dan, jing, mo and Chou.
Sheng is one of the main acts of Chinese opera performances and it plays a positive role for man which includes Lao Sheng: Mainly playing the emperor and the middle-aged and old people who are elegant and weak. Xiao Sheng: Mainly plays the young and handsome male character. Wu Sheng: The main player is the brave warrior or the green forest hero. Hong Sheng: Refers to the old man who hooked the red face. Wa Wa Sheng: There are several major categories such as children’s characters in the play. Except for Wusheng, who has a red face and a face (that is, a face painted on his face), the general line of Sheng is plain, that is, the appearance is relatively clean and beautiful.
Dan is a female role of different ages, different personalities and different identities. It is divided into Tsing Yi, a positive role: A dignified and elegant woman.The characteristics of Tsing Yi’s performance are mainly singers, the action range is relatively small, and the action is relatively stable. Hua Dan: a naive and lively girl or a young woman with a sultry personality. Wu Dan: Playing the female characters of brave, especially the fight. Dao Ma Dan: Young and middle-aged women who are good at martial arts, do not have to fight. Lao Dan: Older women. Cai Dan: Funny and humorous comedian. Hua Shan is a versatile actor who can play all roles.
Jing is commonly known as Hua Lian. They are usually played as male characters. It can be divided into positive role: The loyal minister who has a higher status and a steady manner. Deputy role: Commonly known as shelf face, most of them play the character of a ruthless character. Wu Jing: The role of martial arts. The patterned facial makeup with various colors is a prominent symbol, showing the characters who are rough, miraculous and heroic in character temperament. The performance should be wide and bright, and the singing is thick and loud, and the lines of action are thick and frustrating.
Chou is generally a funny and sly character. It also corresponds to the role of a clown, which is often used in comedy. Actors usually play funny characters and they need to draw a face spectrum between the nose and eye sockets. They generally do not pay attention to singing in performances, but pay attention to the clear fluency of speaking. It includes the Wen Chou: A playful or insidious character. Wu Chou: A savvy and humorous hero. Peking Opera blends the essence of many operas and represents the general law of most dramas. Different characters have their own specific style and color spectrum.
Alice Huang
