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Ping Opera

Ping Opera is very famous in Beijing (北京), Tianjin (天津), North and Northeast China.It has a history of more than 70 years. Developing out of 'Lian Hua Luo' in the east of Hebei(河北) Province (a kind of story-singing), it borrowed the tunes and acting style of Beijing Opera, Hebei Clapper Opera, shadow show and drum melody, and developed its own style. Since moving from the rural areas into the cities, it has produced many new programmes under the influence of modern drama and Beijing Opera. It is especially good at reflecting urban people's life as it has accessible text, speech-like tunes, easily understandable articulation and the rich flavor of life, thus gaining great favor of the people in rural and urban areas. At first, female characters in Ping Opera were dominant and their tune was beautiful and touching whereas the male's tune was quite simple. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the male's tune has been greatly developed and there are many new plays in which male characters play the leading roles. Xin Fengxia is one of the representative performers of the opera.

The following is a list of famous synopses of Ping Opera. Child Husband(Xiao Nuxu): Set in the early 1950s, this opera tells the story of Yang Xiangcao, a young woman in Yangjia Village, who is engaged to Tian Xi, Yang's father forces her to marry Luo Changfang, the 11-year-old son of Widow Luo, just for Luo's generous betrothal gifts. Yang and Tian sue Yang's father in the county court. The judge awards Yang a divorce and she and Tian finally get married.

Empresses, The (Jiemei Huanghou): This opera is about conflicts within a royal family in the Liang Dynasty (502-557 AD). The Liang Emperor, who is over 70, wants to crown a prince, and Prime Minister Lu Hao recommends that he choose Xiao Xun, the emperor's eldest son. But Empress Bi doesn't agree, since Xiao Xun is the offspring of an imperial concubine. The empress wants her own son Xiao Ying to ascend the throne so that she may hold court from behind a screen. The ensuing clashes make for entertaining opera.

Xiao Bai Yushuang (白玉霜), Xi Cailian, Xin Fengxia, Han Shaoyun, Wei Rongyuan and Ma Tai are the Representative performers.

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