Tibetan people's 'fairy sisters'

There is a beautiful legend about the Tibetan Opera in its present form. During the 14th century, a high-ranking monk and bridge builder named Drupthok Thangthong Gyalpo decided to build iron bridges across all of the major rivers in Tibet to improve transportation and facilitate pilgrimages.

To fund the project, Thangthong Gyalpo created a singing and dancing group of seven beauties who danced while he played the cymbals and drums. They performed throughout Tibet to earn money for his bridge project. This is believed to be the source of the present Tibetan Opera.

Tibetan Opera became known in the local language as Ace Lhamo ("fairy sisters"), and Thangthong Gyalpo himself is considered as the father of Tibetan Opera.

To honor the great founding father, a blessing of his statue always precedes each Lhamo and usually ends with the presentation of the hada (a strip of raw silk or linen used for ritual greetings) by the performers and audience members.
From ritual dances to cultural syncretism

However, some say the origin of Tibetan Opera goes back a millennium to Tibetan ritual dances and early Indian Buddhist drama. Since Buddhist teachings and Tibetan history have provided the inspiration for Tibetan Opera, most of its repertoire is based on Buddhist stories and Tibetan history.

According to Tibetan historical records, when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) was married to the Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo, she brought the costumes, music and dances of the Han people to Tibet, which were greatly admired by the king. In response, he had 16 beautiful girls trained in an art form combining the Han-style and Tibetan folk music and dancing to entertain the princess.

In the eighth century, the Tibetan King Khrisong Detsan became a follower of Buddhism under the influence of his mother, Princess Jincheng of the Tang Dynasty. He invited the Lotus-Born Monk from India to spread Buddhism throughout Tibet and built the Samye Monastery. At the inauguration ceremony, a pantomimic dance show based on the deity worship ritual of the Bon religion (a native religion of Tibet) and Tibetan folk dances were staged.

During the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in the 17th century, this performing art was separated from religious rituals and became an independent dramatic form. What started off as pantomime evolved into a structured art of song, dance, chants and narration, accompanied by flamboyant masks. Story lines included the nation's history, ancient legends of heroes and Gods and satires on current events. The tradition was passed down from one generation to the next, developing into Tibetan opera, which was popularized throughout the region.

"As the opera matured it became increasingly complex in structure, containing many literary strands," said Zhaxi, director of the Tibetan Opera Troupe of the Tibetan Autonomous Region . "The stories depicted are very beautiful. It also has absorbed many local dances and other art forms and there is always a light-hearted humor in it that appeals to audiences."
 Lavish, flamboyant and over the top

Traditionally, the Tibetan Opera theater was an open circular space sheltered by a canopy, with the stage defined by a magical circle and central altar .

Over the centuries, the opera has formed a three-part stage process. In the prelude, known as "Wenbadun," Wenba men in blue masks, two Jialu men and several fairies take the stage to perform religious rituals and songs and dances, and introduce the actors and actresses. Next, a narrator explains the plot, section by section, as the opera is being performed, episode by episode. In the absence of a realistic setting and props, the narrator's words must conjure up the stage effects in the audience's imagination. Two musicians -- a drummer and a cymbalist -- sit on the side of the stage. An idiosyncratic drumbeat, accompanied by a specific dance step, identifies each character. The performance ends with a blessing ritual that features a blessing ceremony and is also an occasion to present hada and donations from the audience members.

Tibetan Opera costumes are very lavish, with rich brocades and a striking variety of masks and animal motifs. The musical score is created entirely by the drum and cymbals that punctuate every movement, and by the singing actors. The rapidly chanted narration alternates with the sung dialogues repeated in the chorus. The dance movements are refined, exaggerated and vigorous.

The highlight of Tibetan Opera is the mask. Located on the front of the mask is usually a motif, such as the sun or moon. The role of the actor can be identified from the type of mask he or she is wearing. For example, a red mask represents the king; a green, the queen; a yellow, Lamas and deities, etc.

Tibetan Opera call for skills in singing, dancing, elocution and the martial arts. Historical pageantry, myth and magic are woven together with earthly humor and scenes from the daily lives of ordinary people. The primitive simplicity and vigor demonstrated in the singing and dancing is effectively reflected in the typical Tibetan landscape backdrops.
Today, changes have taken place in the structure, singing, dancing, masks and stage format of Tibetan Opera; an orchestra, backdrop, lighting and make-up have also been added. Tibetan opera is now also performed both in the open air and indoors.

Tibetan opera has many schools. Only in Garze Prefecture there are the following Kangding Tibetan opera, Batang Tibetan opera, Dege Tibetan opera. They have a lot of subject matters in common, but they differ a lot in artistic performance styles. They are performed when it is time for grand festivals and celebrations, usually in the open air like the grassland and courtyard, often for many hours a time. Among them, Sertar Tibetan Opera House is the most outstanding. They have found a new way to develop Tibetan opera by moving the opera onto the stage from open air, shortening the opera within two hours and assisting the performance with modern lighting and art design. Tibetan opera about King Gesaer is warmly welcomed not only by local people, but also by the whole Tibet and Qinghai Province

Over the centuries, Tibetan opera has formed a three-part stage format. In the prelude, known as "Wenbadun," Wenba men in blue masks, two Jialu men and several fairies take the stage, performing religious rituals, and songs and dances, introducing the actors and actresses, and explaining the story line of the opera that is to follow. The second part is the opera itself. The third part is an epilogue which features a blessing ceremony and is also an occasion for the presentation of hada (silk ritual greeting scarves) and donations from the audience.　　

Tibetan Opera performances follow fixed procedures. Every performance begins with a fete of purifying the stage, a blessing to the God and a narrator singing the summary of the story in verse. Then in the main part of the opera, a narrator will expansively introduce the story, the characters and the libretto in rapid repetitive rhythm. Following that all the players enter and start singing and dancing. The performance ends with a ritual of blessing, also with all players participating. The highlight of the performance is its masks, through which the role of the players can be identified. The masks have various colors and motifs, each indicating a certain meaning. For example, the red mask refers to the king, the green the queen, while the yellow the lamas.

Today, changes have taken place in the structure, singing, dancing,masks and stage format of Tibetan opera, and an orchestra, backdrop, lighting and make-up have been added. Besides being performed in the open air, Tibetan operas are also performed on indoor stages. The stage format can be either traditional or modern. In the traditional format, a narrator explains the plot of the opera section by section as the opera is being performed episode by episode. The performance of an opera can take a whole day, or even two or three days. The modern format divides an opera into several acts and the total length of the performance is kept within three hours. Both modern make-up and traditional masks are used.

In the past, Tibetan Opera was only held outdoors, and each player only had one costume throughout the performance. Since the 1960s, Tibetan Opera has been performed indoors with lighting, backdrop, set, orchestral obbligato and a number of modern themes added. In addition, it has developed into a higher level with connections with Beijing Opera. The play Princess Wencheng, which was put on not long ago, is a masterpiece of the combination of Tibetan Opera and Beijing Opera. It is a visual feast boasting spectacular scenes, vivid characters and an excellent performance.

Today, Tibetan opera has benefited from modern media advances. The first Tibetan opera VCD, The Envoy of the Tibetan King, has been issued in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province. The opera, created and staged by the Qinghai Province Tibetan Opera Troupe, won the Peacock Prize for script writing at the Third China Ethnic Minority Theatrical Works Evaluatioin and the nomination prize at the first Cao Yu Theatrical Literature Evaluation. The Xining Ethnic Audio-Visual Publishing House is issuing the VCD at the lowest price possible in order to promote Tibetan opera.