Cantonese Opera in Canada: General Materials

Chinese Opera looks at Chinese society through an exciting series of photographs of operatic performances from many regions of the country. The book introduces the reader to this unique theatrical form and tells the traditional stories that are its narrative foundation. Siu Wang-Ngai's extraordinary images, taken in existing light during performances, lovingly reveal the visual excitement of Chinese opera and point to the differences in costuming and presentation that distinguish each regional style and character type. Through Peter Lovrick's engaging text, Chinese Opera provides a brief anecdotal history of the development of Chinese opera and introduces a language of theatrical convention entirely new to the Westerner.

This edited volume includes critique of the representations of “another-other-than-self” in Western European operatic tradition. The complex construction of operatic characters as either mainstream (reflecting Self) or marginal (representing Other), is examined as racialized, exoticized, or simply misrepresented (especially in the case of Other). Representations of operatic characters of African Americans, Jewish peoples, Chinese, Chinese Americans, African Canadians, and Canadian First Nations are often depicted as the antithesis of European goodness and virtue, constructed as “Other,” and treated as powerless, forbidden, devious, and/or dangerous. The orientalist legacy of the femme fatale and the exotic “Other,” blackface, distorted image of Chinese and Chinese opera, “Other within” of First Nations Peoples in Canada and anti-Semitism are discussed in Part I: Opera as Tradition. In Part II: Critical Case Studies, aspects of multiculturalism, racialized, gendered, and sexualized practices in the creation, text, music, performance, and reception of opera are illuminated. Part III: Opera in the Real World presents an assessment of critical responses to the diversity of voices in a multicultural operatic world from the perspectives of Critical and Cultural Studies.

An introduction to Chinese opera, this book provides basic knowledge, including its historical origins, genres, characteristics of different types of opera, and singing techniques, in order for the readers to establish a critical understanding and aesthetic appreciation of opera as an art form. Chinese opera is a culmination of culture, encompassing traditions such as literary, moral, costume, vocal, and linguistic arts. This book primarily analyzes the characteristics and forms of various opera genres and singing styles, as well as aspects such as music, facial makeup, singing and dialogue, and martial arts movements, outlining a comprehensive picture of opera and contributing to a holistic understanding of opera music.