Heritage of Chinese Opera

• 1978 ----- color ----- 31 min ----- vhs
• Chinese Opera has a history of more than 13 centuries, beginning with the court ballet of the early Tang dynasty. It differs from Western opera in the way that it combines singing, reciting, acting and dancing. The distinguishing features of Chinese opera include paucity of stage props, falsetto singing, symbolism in gait and gesture, face painting which is used to reveal character, acrobatics, stylized and colorful costumes and accompaniment by a small orchestra. Illustrates all of these features in detail. (Deposited by the Motion Picture Development Foundation of the Republic of China on Taiwan)
• Topics: (China, Drama, Ethnomusicology)