In this Book
- The Rise of Cantonese Opera
- Book
- 2015
- Published by: University of Illinois Press
summary
Defined by its distinct performance style, stage practices, and regional and dialect based identities, Cantonese opera originated as a traditional art form performed by itinerant companies in temple courtyards and rural market fairs.
In the early 1900s, however, Cantonese opera began to capture mass audiences in the commercial theaters of Hong Kong and Guangzhou--a transformation that changed it forever. Wing Chung Ng charts Cantonese opera's confrontations with state power, nationalist discourses, and its challenge to the ascendancy of Peking opera as the country's preeminent "national theatre." Mining vivid oral histories and heretofore untapped archival sources, Ng relates how Cantonese opera evolved from a fundamentally rural tradition into urbanized entertainment distinguished by a reliance on capitalization and celebrity performers. He also expands his analysis to the transnational level, showing how waves of Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia and North America further re-shaped Cantonese opera into a vibrant part of the ethnic Chinese social life and cultural landscape in the many corners of a sprawling diaspora.
In the early 1900s, however, Cantonese opera began to capture mass audiences in the commercial theaters of Hong Kong and Guangzhou--a transformation that changed it forever. Wing Chung Ng charts Cantonese opera's confrontations with state power, nationalist discourses, and its challenge to the ascendancy of Peking opera as the country's preeminent "national theatre." Mining vivid oral histories and heretofore untapped archival sources, Ng relates how Cantonese opera evolved from a fundamentally rural tradition into urbanized entertainment distinguished by a reliance on capitalization and celebrity performers. He also expands his analysis to the transnational level, showing how waves of Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia and North America further re-shaped Cantonese opera into a vibrant part of the ethnic Chinese social life and cultural landscape in the many corners of a sprawling diaspora.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiii-xv
- Note on Romanization
- p. xvii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-8
- Part I: Formation of Cantonese Opera in South China
- Part II: Popular Theater and the State
- Part III: Local Theater, Transnational Arena
- Chapter Six: Popular Theater in the Diaspora
- pp. 131-151
- Conclusion
- pp. 189-196
- List of Characters
- pp. 197-204
- Bibliography
- pp. 241-256
Additional Information
ISBN
9780252097096
Related ISBN(s)
9780252039119
MARC Record
OCLC
907290340
Pages
288
Launched on MUSE
2015-04-24
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2015