Page 64 - Prime Time 1-5 Leaflet

e 2
Predicting content
The title, photographs and the first and the last
sentence in each paragraph help us predict the
content of a text.
Reading
1 Look at the pictures and read the title
and the first and last sentence of each
paragraph of Iris’ blog entry. What do
you think Chinese opera is like?
Listen and read to find out.
32
If you want to watch a music performance that
combines song, dance, and striking design, just
forget about the latest pop video. Take a look at a
truly original style of musical performance: Chinese
opera. Last month I was on a trip in Shanghai. I was
staying with my Chinese friend Mai-Li. She insisted
that we go to the Chinese opera and I have to admit
the experience was amazing from beginning to end.
Opera has a long history in China. In ancient times,
actors performed the operas on the streets on
temporary stages with only hanging lanterns for
lighting. It’s funny to think that such grand art started
out like that!
We arrived at the theatre just before the lights went down.
As the curtain rose, the actors came on stage in their
beautiful costumes; the fiery reds and ribbons of gold and
silver were like a kaleidoscope of colour! The costumes go all
the way back to the street show days, when the actors used to
wear bright colours to stand out in the dark.
The singing was quite strange – very sharp and high-pitched.
Just like the costumes, the singing style was really ancient. The
street performers used to sing that way so that their voices
could carry over the crowds who gathered to watch.
The opera we saw was ‘Lady White Snake’; a classic Chinese
folk tale. A white snake changes into a beautiful girl, and
then falls in love with a human. But the actors didn’t only tell
the story through song; the dancing and acrobatics were
fantastic, too. The actors used not only their faces but also
their whole bodies to act out the story and show their emotions.
These actors train very hard at opera schools for years from about
the age of 7 or 8. There weren’t a lot of stage props or scenery
because the actors use a lot of symbols to help tell the story. An
actor galloping with a whip, for example, means they are riding
a horse. Doing somersaults from a table or a pile of chairs
means they are running down a mountain.
The actors’ make-up was incredible. Each colour has a special
meaning and reveals something about their character; red
means loyalty and bravery, black shows a warrior or a wild
character, blue means cruelty and gold and silver means
mystery. At the finale, it was breathtaking to see them all
on stage together in their bright costumes and make-
up. I didn’t think that opera was for me, but I can’t
believe how much I enjoyed it. You must all see a
Chinese opera one day!
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Chinese
Amazing performances