Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
This course invites scholars and experts in traditional Chinese opera to guide students in exploring the innovative contemporary perspectives of Taiwan’s new aesthetics in Peking opera. For the first time, professional Peking opera performers from the Guoguang Opera Company will serve as instructors, personally mentoring students in hands-on performance practice. Students will transform into opera actors, taking the stage in full costume and makeup, experiencing firsthand the life and artistry of traditional performers. Using the classic play Chun Cao Breaks into the Court as the model, this semester will focus on teaching its first scene, A Fortuitous Encounter. The Guoguang Opera Company's teaching team will provide direct instruction in singing, recitation, acting, and movement, with intensive training in body movement, vocalization, character work, music, and vocal styles. From scholars and playwrights to actors and directors, professionals from across the theatrical field will offer students a comprehensive introduction to Peking opera performance. The goal is to deepen and strengthen the roots of opera education within the campus, paving the way for the future of Peking opera in Taiwan. By cultivating student performers in schools, the program seeks to inspire more young people to rediscover the literary beauty of traditional opera and enrich their cultural and humanistic lives.
Results/Contributions

Sponsor: TSMC Education and Culture Foundation

Number of Students Enrolled: 13

 

Peking Opera is a Pursuit!

The 113-1 Peking Opera: New Aesthetics course places great emphasis on training in fundamental techniques. From articulation and vocal delivery to hand gestures, eye movements, body posture, and footwork, students carefully practice every detail under the instructors’ guidance. Building upon these foundations, they gradually develop overall coordination, allowing even those with no prior exposure to Peking Opera to grasp its subtle intricacies.

 

Our students come from a wide range of disciplines, including the Department of Economics, Department of Mathematics, College of Technology Management, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Department of Chinese Literature, College of Engineering, the Master's Program in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as participants from National Taiwan University and the general public.

Peking Opera has brought us together in a shared pursuit!

 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the instructors from Guoguang Opera Company who guided our students in their performances: Mr. Wang Guanqiang, Mr. Hsieh Guansheng, Ms. Lin Tingyu, Mr. Chang Chialin, and Ms. Chen Changyen.

Special thanks also to the section chiefs, administrative staff, prop and costume managers, critics, playwrights, and demonstration performers who generously shared their expertise at the Qing Salon, and to our senior classmate Yuyu, who tirelessly helped us manage countless logistics.

Thank you all for making our weekly Peking Opera performance practicum run smoothly.

 

This semester’s final presentation will take place on Monday afternoon, December 9, 2024, at the College of Education Building.

Keywords
Peking Opera, Xiqu, GuoGuang Opera Company, Performance
Contact Information
羅仕龍
losl@mx.nthu.edu.tw