Reflecting the taste and patronage of the imperial court, Jingjü absorbed various regional influences (more than three hundred forms) and synthesized over time, fusing song, speech, dance, music, and acrobatics simultaneously into an integrated performance. Amply illustrated, the book consists of eight chapters, two appendices-one of costume pattern drafts the other, a dictionary of Jingjü characters-and a Chinese/English glossary.Ĭhapter 1 gives an overview of the world of Beijing opera that itself only emerged in the nineteenth century. Long intrigued by the role of costumes in Beijing opera or Jingjü (literally, capital theater), Bonds set out to understand and decode from her unique perspective of costume design the multiple layers of meaning embodied in them.
But that doesn’t make them any more understandable.Īlexandra Bond’s Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture, nearly two decades in the researching and writing, is the reference we all need. Without question, the costumes present the most accessible information about the characters and the unfolding drama.
While listening to thus attired actors sing unfamiliar tunes accompanied by Asian instruments, the audience will follow with its gaze their exaggerated body movement and stylized hand gestures. Performance Art/Performance Studies/Public PracticeĪnyone living in the West who has ever attended a performance of Chinese Beijing opera will immediately notice that the actors wear elaborate headdresses above their brightly painted faces and that rich costumes clothe their bodies on a stark stage with few props.Museum Practice/Museum Studies/Curatorial Studies/Arts Administration.
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