Students responses NYCOS 5th Annual event from Pace University

Posted on December 12, 2011

Elaine Wu

Modern East Asia in Film – HIS 217

09 December 2011

The New York Chinese Opera Society: 5th Annual Winter Cultural Exchange Festival

On December 2, 2011, the New York Chinese Opera Society launched the 5^th Annual Winter Cultural Exchange Festival at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts Theater. Our “Modern East in Film” class watched the first performance, Female Generals of the Yang–Secret Passage. Throughout the show, I was introduced to various Chinese traditions as an audience member. People in the crowds would shout the Chinese word “hao” (meaning very good) and clap loudly to show their appreciation and respect for the performers. The show used many traditional Chinese instruments to tie together the story plot illustrated by the outstanding performing artists. A loud drum or cymbal would announce the climax of the story.

I personally loved the colorful and elaborated costumes that the performers wore on stage. This allowed me to paint a vivid picture of the story plot. The screens on both sides with the English translations of Chinese songs definitely helped me depict a better representation of what was going on in each of the scenes. This performance reminded me of the familiar story of Mulan because of the strong feminist roles depicted in the plot. Both Mulan and the female warriors of the Yang family showed their honor and heroism by serving in the army. The invisible horses played a major role as well because they led the warriors to victory in battles. One of Mulan’s best friends was her horse and the Yang clan relied on their horses for directions.

I really like the idea of incorporating the various aspects of acting, dancing, martial arts, narrating and singing in a Chinese opera because this gives the audience a glimpse of the Chinese culture from different perspectives. The martial arts piece of the presentation was phenomenal, I felt like I was sitting in front of the aerobics in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was impressed by the number of flips, jumps and twirls that the performers executed; I was a little dizzy watching them perform. One can see that a lot of time was spent on stunts training and the makeup of the performers. This further exemplifies their professionalism in exposing the crowd with a better understanding of the Chinese heritage.

Compared to Western opera, Chinese opera focuses on the movements that the crew takes on stage. Their attention to details on each step enabled the audience to see their intricate hand gestures, patterned footsteps and portrayal of props. Even though the horses were not presented on stage, one could tell that the actors/actresses were riding horses through their execution of body movements. The artists would flick their feathers on their hats after stating a bold statement.

Overall, the performance was magnificent in portraying the story because I understood what was presented without having lots of background knowledge. Attending such cultural events can aid a person to become a better-rounded person. I have learned a lot while going to these various events and I am very happy that both the New York Chinese Opera Society and Pace University help attain and preserve theses cultural and traditional occasions for future generations.

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Bram Vandeperre

Fall 2011

Chinese Opera

Chinese opera is different from any other type of opera on Broadway in New York City. For me, it was a completely new and interesting experience. There are a variety of colorful costumes which automatically create an interest for the audience. The costumes are not only there to stimulate this interest, they also create a specific type of elegance if combined with bodily movements. All the costumes are also very detailed and creative in design. The more important role that a performer plays is revealed in the level of details in his or her costume. The main opera singers wear large colorful feathers; those feathers would turn in spirals when the performers sing along with an elegant dancing style.

The dances are a combination of Kongfu with weapons. Everyone will mostly move in correlation witch each other, parading over the stage until the next scene. The make-up used by every artist creates a totally different reality where the people are not seen as just ordinary people but as performers in a different universe. The story-telling is characterized by a type of singing of high notes in correlation with repetitive music. Of course, if one doesn’t speak Chinese the singing sounds strange. However, I can imagine when understanding the lyrics it must be very beautiful. The repetitive music mostly happens by drums. In the beginning it is hard to understand why an almost stressful rhythm is used. However, after a while the viewer understands that this is done to create a form of excitement, and to announce a sort of battle that will happen between some of the clans. In other words, the music does not serve as background music; it is part of the opera by creating a meaning connected to the type of scene that will occur next. The whole act is represented in such a dynamic way with so many performers that it becomes a very new and great experience. Every scene will have a large or small amount of performers doing their thing. When there would be a lot of people, it would mostly mean that a dance is happening. When there was a small amount of people, actual singing would happen. In this way, the viewer does not get distracted during the singing. He or she can also enjoy the perfect correlation between everyone when they dance in a scene without singing.

Another interesting fact that I noticed during the performance is that the audience loudly yells after an impressive stunt happening during the performance. A loud “Ha Ha” will randomly happen from every direction within the audience. This creates a sort of excitement because it makes the opera more interactive. In other words, the viewer is allowed to express his or her emotions after something impressive. In Western opera, it is custom that everyone is as quit as possible which could cause one to fall asleep after a while. Yelling “Ha” as a token of appreciation would not be appreciated at all. Besides that, Western opera is also less colorful which makes it also more dramatic.

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Richard Marmolejos

HIS 217

Chinese Opera

I find that the song and dance, which, together with the colorful costumes, make-up, acrobats, jesters, storytellers, acting, poetry and martial arts are the main features of Chinese Opera. These combines present the Opera in a very attractive way. What appeals to me are the different styles of facial make-up and this requires distinctive techniques of painting. Overstressed designs are painted on each performer’s face to symbolize a character’s personality, role, and fate. Another fascinating element is the acrobatics, simple marvelous.

The Female Generals of the Yang – Secret Passage is very exciting. I have never had the opportunity to see a Chinese Opera, so to say the least I was very excited. The first thing I noticed was the vibrant colors of the clothing/outfits the characters wore – very strong, almost neon like colors. The stage lights definitely brought out the colors. The headpieces were amazing and I recall only seeing those in the Dynasty Warriors PlayStation video games – very nostalgic. The face paint was great, so much detail and variations. The face paint definitely gave the viewer insight into a character. As I note in the previous paragraph you could tell the role of a character by the face paint. If was obvious that the ladies were the most prominent characters in the story.

The music emphasized the characters’ vocals; it dramatized the lyrics/speech of the characters speaking. The instruments are definitely in sync with the high pitch vocals of the characters. It seems very tricky to pull off, so I can only imagine the amount of practice that goes into learning the variety of instruments used in the opera.

The uniqueness of the Chinese Opera from the Western Opera is the high pitch vocals used by the characters as well as the instruments used. Western operas don’t have as much movement as Chinese opera. Chinese opera is much fast paced than Western opera. The use of the acrobats only shows the fast pace and constant moving of the Chinese opera compared the western opera. I can honestly say that Chinese Opera is much more exciting and I look forward to my next show.

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Yuhua Ou

HIS 217

December 9, 2011

Chinese Opera Performance Review

On December 2, 2011, we went to see a Chinese opera performance at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center. The performance was part of the 5^th Annual Winter Cultural Exchange Festival and it celebrated the Chinese culture right here in downtown New York and honoring those who excellence in their talent and research. Chinese operas have always been used throughout centuries as a way of entertainment and storytelling in Chinese history. It has actors and actresses in full-on make-up and costumes, with the sounds of background music, singing, dancing, and doing acrobats. I have never sit through and seen an entire Chinese opera before, other than the bits and pieces that my grandparents watched on television and my parents watched at times. But seeing an entire performance live in person for the first time ever, I can tell that the people involved in the show had put in a lot of hard work, rehearsal time, and dedication. Through the performance of “Female Generals of the Yang – Secret Passage,” though I was opened to a new spectrum of Chinese operas, there were similarities and differences compared to western performances that either surprised or confused me.

The audience’s reaction to the Chinese opera of music and dancing, together with the colorful costumes, make-up, acrobats, jesters, storytellers, acting, poetry, and martial arts were positive. The songs were sung in extremely high-pitched and even being a Chinese speaker, I could not understand what the words were because the lyrics were sung so high. I even had to base the story on the English subtitles to help me understand the story better. The costumes looked amazing, but appeared to be uncomfortable if someone were to wear them because they were large layers upon layers, with large feathers coming out of even some of them. The make-up and costumes that were worn and used in the performance would not be considered as everyday-wear by people, or even those that lived during that time period. But it was the right use for the purpose of fitting the stage light, and whoever that was sitting the back row can see the extravagant colors and the emphasis of the details of their overly exaggerated make-up and costumes. Above all that, the actors and actresses sang, danced, and performed acrobats while being in their heavy costumes. The music instruments used by the musicians added rhythm and emotions to the performance, by stimulating empathetic feelings with the characters’ tension, such as excitement or disappointment. Whenever the actors or actresses did a spectacular movement or acting, the audience responded with a very tough and low voice “huh!” It is a phrase used to show the appreciation of the performer’s talent. The entire performance can be seen as put together by dedicated people through hard work to make it appear astounding.

There were various similarities and differences between Chinese operas and Western operas or any Broadway/Off-Broadway shows that I had noticed throughout “Female Generals of the Yang – Secret Passage.” Some similarities were their exaggeration in acting, the make-up, costumes, so that again, people from far away can still see it and not miss any details of their performance. There is less or no acrobat in Western operas and Broadway/Off-Broadway shows at all, it is more of an Eastern way to perform when on stage. In the west, performances usually incorporate ballet, jazz, or street dancing into the play instead. The genres in the west is usually about the rite of passage, growing up, and following and accomplishing one’s impossible dream. On the other hand, Chinese operas are mainly about war, fighting, and loving someone that they should not love. Overall, the performance piece was excellent and broadened views of different types of cultural performances out there in our world.