History

Chinese Opera consists of song and dance, colorful costumes, make-up, acrobats, jesters, storytellers, acting, poetry and martial arts. The earliest known performance came from the Song Dynast. During the Yuan Dynasty Chinese opera had great changes that classified the period as the Golden age of the Classical Opera. In the 19th Century the Peking Opera came about. This opera featured colorful costumes, elaborate make up, facial expressions and spoken in the Mandarin dialect.

The Mongol conquerors patronized a northern form of opera called a "multi-act". This play is divided into four acts. In the southern area however, the main character sing lyric verses, using a single major rhyme scheme throughout the entire act.The other performers simply say their lines.