Ethnomusicology 5 Winter 2013 Professor Beken Laurie Ou 3/3/13 A Night to Remember The Chinese Yu opera, Cheng Ying Rescues

the Orphan, unfolds in the State of Jin during the spring and autumn period. A treacherous General, Tu Angu, intends on destroying the honorable Minister Zhao Dun. The general successfully frames the minister and manages to kill the whole Zhao family, all except the newborn Zhao child. Angered at the existence of a lingering Zhao lineage, Tu Angu swears to kill all newborns until the Zhao child is found. In an act of selflessness, Cheng Ying masquerades his own newborn son as the Zhao orphan. When his child has died in place of the orphan, Cheng Ying raises the Zhao orphan as his own child and when the orphan has grown into a young man the tragic history of the Zhao family is brought into the orphan's understanding. Upon hearing the truth, the orphan avenges his family by killing Tu Angu. The venue was a tale of a harmonious meeting between the East and the West. Upon entering the Warner Grand Theatre on February 22nd 2013, a setting of grandeur becomes readily apparent. A venue designed for kings and queens where flamboyant gowns and a string of pearls would only seem to fit the occasion. However, in the 21st century, most audience members evidently prefer their convenient, casual Friday work or school outfits over lofty, extravagant clothing. Despite being underdressed, it was a beautiful crowd. The ethnically diverse audience formed a mosaic with predominately white and yellow colors. The gentlemen and ladies of the night appeared to be in their 40s or 50s, including couples with gray hair and older folks who seemed knowledgeable of the opera tradition. Dark-brown wooden carvings on the walls and ceiling of the theatre resembling Aztec symbols scream Western antiquity while a backdrop of what appears to be the imperial palace sets the scenes in ancient China. The presence of a Chinese setting in a Western theatre mirrors the existence of a Chinese traditional opera in America, examples of the East meeting the West. These polar opposites came

together for a magical night of cultural exchanges and pure enjoyment. Most audience members were leaning back in their seats, focusing their attention between the stage and a screen with English subtitle, and for the span of an hour and a half the images of China overshadowed the present world. Demands for physical activity were absent and the audience is only required to listen to the music and the instruments in the room. Cheering ensued after a particularly spectacular note or a favorable song. Critiques elude the mind because of the level of professionalism, preparedness, and talent. The lead, who plays Cheng Ying, is a nationally ranked First-Level Performing artist. Furthermore, the performance appeared on Broadway and has garnered a considerably amount of media coverage. The audience's approval of their rendition was evident by a standing ovation when the performers took their final bow onstage. After the show in the foyer of the theatre, the audience could greet and applaud the lead characters in the opera. The performers spoke minimal English leading to sparse interaction with the audience. A level of professionalism was maintained in their conversations, a friendly smile repaid for compliments, polite exchanges with other performers, no explosive laughter or comments, just kind people behind exaggerated onstage characters. Their booming onstage voices were replaced with softspoken tones and features of their real faces could be pieced together behind the heavy layers of makeup. Most audience members stayed for an extra half an hour for what seems to be a largely social event. The music in the Yu opera is characterized almost entirely by song and interjection of dramatic speeches. The smooth flow of melodies joined the beginnings and ends of songs into what appears to be one unified melody. The orchestra was live onstage and would be noticeable to anyone looking. Faithful to the tradition the orchestra is divided into 2 parts: melody instruments and percussion instruments (Pian 2001:06). Although the instruments were not highly visible to the audience, the sounds of the pipa, erhu, clappers and gongs could be heard quite distinctly throughout the scenes. The overall structure of the performance, like the entertainers, was very professional. The opera proceeded without dead time in between scenes and no noticeable mistakes were made by the performers. The more efficient way to analyze the music would be to break it down by scenes rather than

musical selections. The level of enthusiastic applause suggest that the audience found Cheng Ying's bereavement for his murdered son particularly well-done. In the scene, Cheng Ying stands alone on a dark stage with the spotlight centered on him. He is holding his murdered newborn, tears are streaming down his face as he sings his farewells. This monologue was delivered entirely in song by the elongation of words and the accompaniment of the erhu. According to some, erhuang melodies are more suitable for serious, heroic stories (Pian 2001: 05). The erhu contributed to the dramatic aspects of the scene and complimented Cheng Ying's powerful vocals and adept retention of notes. The vibrations emanating from his voice moved the whole room. Cheng Ying poured out his emotions and his quavering voice reflected his shaken mind. The back and forth strumming of the erhu added another layer of vibrations which proved entirely suitable for the scene. The simplicity of having a single vocal and a powerful instrument onstage striped away distractions and allowed the audience to hone in on the emotions evoked from the scene. The final scene concluded the musical in a bitter-sweet note. The events in the final scene contain the Zhao orphan's confrontation with his family's murderer, Tu Angu, who feigns suicide to initiate a counterattack on Cheng Ying and successfully pierces his chest. The dramatic closure was heightened by the extensive use of percussion instruments to underline action, introduce and punctuate speech and singing, and reflect a character's emotional or psychological state (Pian 2001: 05). During the scene, two gongs spoke back and forth as if to provide a eulogy or dirge for Cheng Ying's death. The gongs emphasized the sudden turn of events and Cheng Ying's untimely death. While Cheng Ying's life slowly drifts away the erhu plays softly in the background to escort the hero into the unknowns of the non-living. Cheng Ying's final monologue before he fades away was delivered in plain articulation with little vocal ornamentation. The minimal use of dramatic speech adds an element of realism to Cheng Ying's death. While the melodic exaggeration of words has a desired artistic effect that seems to say: we are play acting (Yung 2001: 06), the lack of which suggest a desire to make the audience believe that Cheng Ying is really dying. The death of a person stirs more emotions than the

death of a character. Although death is an ugly event, beauty can be found in the final scene. As Cheng Ying waves his goodbyes to the present world he looks forward to reuniting with his old friends and acquaintances in a sphere for the non-existence. The accumulation of instruments in the final scene after Cheng Ying's death gave the play a definite ending with a symphonic mixing of the gongs, erhu, and vocals. I thoroughly enjoy all the assignments given in this class. Conventionally I would not even consider going to anything close to resembling a Chinese opera. It's definitely not on the cool list of this generation. However, I am really glad this assignment pushed me away from generational norms and allowed me to partake in a rich culture that is conveniently close to home. I was excited to finally experience something that I've only come to know through words and a perspective that was not my own. The beauty and the limitation of words are its ability to paint vivid images but never to actually live an experience. I was speechless because of the ethereal grandeur of the Warner Theatre. The performers traveled thousands of miles to be there. The story survived decades maybe even centuries to tell a tragic tale. An auditorium or a classroom is different than a theatre. Watching Youtube videos on a projector screen is different than seeing the flesh and feeling the presence of real performers. Even music from technologically advanced speakers can't quite fully capture the purity and unaltered state of a live performance. Instead of watching the rendition through a camera's lens, I watched the experience through my lens. The event was highly personalized and entirely unique for every person in the audience. Additionally, the proficiency and professionalism of the musicians sang the night away with a pleasant lullaby.

Reference Cited Pian, Rulan Chao. 2001. Peking Opera: Jingju in Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 7:East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea Provine, Robert (editor); Routledge (publisher). Yung, Bell. 2001. Chinese Opera: An Overview in Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 7: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea Provine, Robert (editor); Routledge (publisher).