to name just a few.The instruments of the melodic ensemble of the Peking opera are mostly comprised of strings and winds, as well as a set of ten small, suspended pitched gongs called the yunluo. The strings include the jinghu (2-stringed bamboo spiked fiddle with high, piercing pitch), the erhu, the yueqin, and a small sanxian. The winds are the dizi transverse flute, the sheng, and the big and small suona (double-reed oboes). The primary functions of the melodic ensemble are to play introductions and interludes for arias, to accompany arias, and to play incidental music for dance and miming movements. The instrumental ensemble only contains nine players in the entire ensemble. Therefore, the players are obviously very versatile, and can usually play more than one instrument. For instance, one who plays both the single-headed drum and the clapper also plays the big and small barrel drum.Vocal music in Peking opera is comprised of arias, recitatives, and heightened speech. Heightened speech is used exclusively, however, by "important characters" and characters of high social status, while everyday speech is used by the comics and the characters of lower social status. All Peking-opera arias derive from a group of about thirty pre-existent tune-and-rhythm patterns called ban. By setting the same melodic-rhythmic type to a different text, a new aria is produced. Defined in terms of their rhythm, tempo, and timbre, five main aria types can be identified: the narrative aria, lyrical aria, animated aria, dramatic aria, and interjected aria. In conclusion, in the Peking opera, the oral and visual elements are both equally important. The actors have both mastered highly stylized acting techniques, just as thoroughly as singing. Also, audiences of Peking operas have been shrinking rapidly. One reason is because conventions of this opera-type are deeply rooted in an old society based on Confusion moral precepts and political outlooks. Although t...
