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| Sichuan Opera |
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Sichuan opera is noted for its pitched tune accompanied only by
percussion and chorus without any wind or string instruments. It
also built a system of stylized movements and its acting is both
exquisite and vivid. In order to portray special characters, it
creates a series of stunts including the face-changing the performer
changing it suddenly on the stage. Most of the programmers in the
wide repertoire of the Sichuan opera are adapted from the Chinese
classical novel, mythology, legend and folk tale. Besides, the performance
is always full of wit, humor, lively dialogue and pronounced local
flavor. The Sichuan opera has also built a system of stylized movements
and its acting is both exquisite and vivid. In order to portray
special characters, it creates a series of stunts including the
"face-changing." In Chinese opera, facial makeup is usually
painted, but in Sichuan opera, the performer can change it suddenly
on the stage. Therefore, it makes the audience exclaim with admiration.
The performer has to make many special masks in advance, which
are made of gauzy and elastic material, such as the membrane of
the sheep's embryo, the rubber similar to that of a balloon. After
being painted with different patterns of the face and covered
with a kind of transparent and hardly visible thread, the special
masks will be pasted onto the face of the performer, who is ready
to perform on the stage. The performer needs to be insulated for
makeup before every performance and it merely takes fifteen minutes
for the makeup to be applied. The special masks for the 'Face
off' must be made in accordance with the face of the performer
to ensure the effect of being pasted closely on the face of the
performer. Previously, the special masks were abandoned after
the performance, but now they can be recycled after being meliorated.
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