Sharp Chinese Vocals Defy Language Barrier

Author: Liz Braunstein

Assisstant Professor of Chinese Carrie Reed addressed a packed McCullough Social Space on Oct. 18, cautioning, "Be prepared for a loud, raucous, lively and passionate performance." Her words of warning could not have braced the audience for the imminent spectacle — a melange of colors, sounds theatrics put on by New York City's Yeh Yu Chinese Opera Association.
The Association captivated its audience with "An Evening of Peking Opera." The event was sponsored by the Middlebury College Department of Chinese, the Office for Institutional Diversity, the Rohatyn Center for International Affaris, the C.V. Starr Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation and Wonnacott Commons. The opera aimed to broaden cultural perspectives with music, voice, pantomime, costume, martial arts and acrobatics.
Peking opera artists living in New York City founded the Yeh Yu Chinese Opera Association in 1958. Today, there are more than 100 members, and the society has a collection of more than 40 authentic traditional operas it performs throughout the year.
The association also consists of a full orchestra and a vast costume wardrobe. For the most part, the actors are professionally trained in China before becoming a part of the Yeh Yu troupe. In 1997, the association won a New York City People's Hall of Fame award for its work at preserving Chinese opera and bringing it to the people of New York.
The performance consisted of three excerpts from traditional Peking operas. The first opera, "The Three-forked Crossroads (The Fight in the Dark)" is based on a Chinese folktale about a general unjustly forced into exile. After being banished, the general's commander orders a young officer to secretly follow and protect the exiled general. The officer reaches an inn and meets the innkeeper, who also seeks to provide the general protection. Through a misunderstanding, the two men believe that the other's intent is to harm the general. The majority of the opera, however, features a fight between the innkeeper and the young officer.
Employing carefully choreographed martial arts and acrobatics, the two men fight blindly, searching through the dark to find one another. The shortest of all three excerpts, "The Three-forked Crossroads" was a crowd-pleaser.
The second opera, "The Price of Hesitancy" was full of violence and misery. Tsao, a fugitive, and his assistant, Chen, meet Lu, a friend of Tsao's father, on their journey. Tsao becomes suspicious as to whether Lu is on his trail and decides to kill Lu's family. Realizing that this was morally wrong, he runs off with Chen, meeting Lu again by chance. Although Chen thanks Lu for his accompanying him, Tsao kills the man, saying, "I would rather betray all people than have all people betray me," fearing that Lu may still be plotting against him. Following this, Chen decides that Tsao is clearly evil and flees. Full of drama and suspense, "The Price of Hesitancy" offered a lesson on morality and loyalty.
The last opera, "The Broken Bride (from 'The Legend of the White Snake')" was about the forgiveness a pregnant woman offers her husband who deserts her and then returns for her birth. The vocal talent demonstrated by the lead actress was unbelievable, as she held long phrases, which swooped down and reached high. An astounded audience gave a standing ovation.
The Peking opera featured a nine-piece orchestra composed of a drummer-conductor, violin, viola, moon guitar, three-string guitar, large gong, small gong,cymbal and flute. The percussion section opened the performance, and played background music while the strings complemented the vocal roles. All acting and singing was performed in Chinese, yet sub-titles projected onto a screen helped clarify the plot. The pantomime and expression of the actors, however, almost made the translations unnecessary, as their performance spanned cultural and linguistic barriers.
The stage was generally bare with only a table and a few chairs representing a throne, a mountain, a bed or another feature used in the three operas.
Costume and make-up also play a key role in Peking opera,indicating the position of a character in society or their personality. The elaborate gowns and robes illuminated the stage with bright embroidery, flowing sleeves and swinging tassels. Furthermore, gestures also play an important role, depicting anything from mounting a horse to a battle scene.