Yueju opera (simplified Chinese: 越剧; traditional Chinese: 越劇; pinyin: Yuèjù, Yue opera) is a form of Chinese opera founded around 1906 in Shengzhou, Zhejiang province. Over time, it grew in popularity, now the second most popular form of Chinese opera only to the Peking opera. It is highly popular in Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Fujian, while its audiences are all over China.
Originated from the folks and ballad singing of rural area in Zhejiang, by drawing the experience of other developed Chinese opera forms such as Peking opera and Kunqu, Yueju Opera became popular in Shanghai in early 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yueju performers in Shanghai launched a movement to reform the Yueju performance, including learning from Western cultures, which made Yueju opera remarkably different with other forms of Chinese opera. After the foundation of People's Republic of China, Yueju opera was welcomed by the government and Communist Party of China at first, and reached a pinnacle popularity in late 1950s and early 1960s. However, during the Cultural Revolution, like other traditional Chinese art forms, Yueju performances were outlawed, which cause a serious setback in its development. Since the 1980s, Yueju became popular again, while being challenged by new amusement forms.
Yueju opera features are elegant and soft, which made it suitable for telling love stories. It was initially performed by men only, but female groups started performing in the style in 1923, and during the 1930s, the form became female-only.
Read more about Yueju Opera: Notable Actors
Famous quotes containing the word opera:
“Opera once was an important social instrument—especially in Italy. With Rossini and Verdi people were listening to opera together and having the same catharsis with the same story, the same moral dilemmas. They were holding hands in the darkness. That has gone. Now perhaps they are holding hands watching television.”
—Luciano Berio (b. 1925)