What is Chinese peking opera?

Peking opera (Peking and Chinese opera are also common names in English), or Beijing opera in pinyin romanization of Mandarin, (Jingju in Mandarin Pinyin pronunciation, literally "Capital drama" or sometimes Peking or Jing), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics.[5] It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and refined by the mid-19th century.[6] The form was extremely popular in the Qing dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.[7] Peking opera has been greatly influential on the development of many other Chinese operas such as Cantonese opera and is considered the national opera of China.[8]

Key features

* Singing: The singing in Peking opera is highly stylized and uses a variety of vocal techniques, including falsetto, vibrato, and nasalization. The melodies are often based on traditional Chinese folk songs and tunes.

* Speech: The spoken dialogue in Peking opera is delivered in a stylized manner, with a strong emphasis on rhythm and intonation.

* Movement: The actors in Peking opera perform a variety of acrobatic movements, including flips, tumbles, and jumps.

* Costumes: The costumes in Peking opera are very elaborate and often represent particular characters or roles.

* Makeup: the performers wear heavily stylized elaborate makeup that creates specific character types which indicate characters' personalities, social and moral alignment.