Characteristics of Bangzi opera performing arts

Bangzi opera is a traditional Chinese opera that integrates literature, music, singing, dancing, acting and other forms of arts. Singing is the strongest feature of Bangzi opera. Firstly, Bangzi opera’s singing voice is sonorous and powerful, full of passionate and unrestrained masculinity, and conveys powerful emotional expression. Secondly, Bangzi opera's articulation is clear and natural, as well as good at expressing the characters’ inner emotions. Thirdly, Bangzi opera has a clear and strong rhythm, and the storyline has a good combination of a beginning and an end. Together with the humorous melody, Bangzi opera is not only suitable for performing light comedies, but it is also grand and suitable for performing large-scale operas involving emperors and generals. Bangzi opera sometimes is featured by euphemistic tunes and sad singing, which is very suitable for performance of a tragic opera. The key plots of Bangzi opera are usually arranged with grand singing, which is smooth, rhythmic and extremely challenging. In general, Bangzi opera's articulation is clear and easy for the audience to hear, reflecting its unique artistic charm.

All kinds of plots can be performed on a simple stage

Traditional opera performances are character-centered where only simple symbolic props on the stage are required to represent the dramatic scenes. For example: a table and a chair can represent various study rooms, mountains, bridges, etc. When a character makes a circle on the stage, it can represent traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, walking in the garden, passing through days and nights, or just waiting for the next minute. In addition, the stage can also be divided. For example, when one character is sitting on a chair and another character is walking around in front of him, the two characters are invisible to each other because there is a wall between them. As a result, this is a “stage that can change at any time.” The use of simple props enables audiences to imagine the stage in various locations, environments, and times.

The actors in the Bangzi opera must clearly reflect the characters in the plot in terms of appearance and movements

In traditional opera, actors are the main body, and the actors’ personal presentation conveys resonance with the audience. The actor's own appearance and movements are consistent with those of characters in the performance. In short, as soon as an actor steps onto the stage, the audiences will know which character he is playing just by looking at his appearance, costumes, and movements. Moreover, suitable props and musical accompaniments must be chosen for actors’ singing, which must conform to the type, personality, age, and identity of the character and cannot be made up of nothing. Besides, everything in the environment must be assumed to exist by imagination, so some actions must be used to arouse imagination. For example, when an actor raises his feet to cross the threshold, and then turns around to close the door, it means that the character has entered the room and closed the door. The movements must pay attention to details so that the audiences can understand them. Therefore, the actors’ appearance and interpretation of movements alone can create distinctive characters and win recognition from the audiences.

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