Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-342).

Over the past century, the widespread popularity of Western art music, in particular that of the standard operatic repertoire, has gradually expanded the development of opera in China. In order to bolster a broad range of classical music genres and help promote the development of Chinese opera, opera houses and opera companies have been built in several major Chinese cities. Moreover, a series of first-rate international vocal competitions have been established to promote original Chinese operas and art songs. Nonetheless, performing this modern repertoire can represent a novel and demanding experience for both Chinese and non-Chinese speaking singers. This dissertation examines eight representative works of Chinese music: four arias and four art songs for soprano. These pieces challenge the singer both in terms of their musical style and their singing techniques. The purpose of this study is therefore to provide a detailed performance guide for sopranos that can assist them to successfully perform these works. In addition, this research will supply relevant background information on the selected compositions, an overview of their historical significance, the origin of the source poem or drama, and acquaint the reader with the key features of the main characters. Furthermore, to better understand the original Chinese Pin Yin characters, the International Phonetic Alphabet is provided, as well as the corresponding English translation and transliteration in the musical scores. The dissertation also incorporates stylistic analyses, as well as an assessment of the vocal demands and singing techniques that appear in all eight pieces. This information has the purpose of helping the performer attain a more accurate rendition of these works. In turn, this study may be used as a research model for future studies of Chinese vocal art music.

The concept of style fusion for visual storytelling is introduced and applied in this research. Style fusion is the process of identifying two distinct styles as sources, which are from different artists or culture backgrounds, and applying features and visual symbols from both to develop a new style. As a proof of concept, the source performance styles selected for fusion are traditional Chinese Beijing opera and hip hop. A set of guidelines for this style fusion are developed after an analysis of the visual symbols of each source style. A character and an environment design fusion are done based on these guidelines. Finally, the style fusion is visualized using 3D models.

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This study sought to discover the principles of characterization governing the Sheng and the Dan roles in the Chinese opera. Seven Dan role divisions and three Sheng role divisions were studied. It was discovered that throughout its long history the Chinese opera had adhered to its original singing and dancing styles; that the creative activities involved in the opera's staging were subordinated to singing and dancing styles; that the actors in the Chinese opera perform only one role category in their career; that years of rigid training were required before the actors were allowed to perform on stage; that each role division had its peculiar method of characterization that was shown through their performances, their costumes, and their acting techniques.

Li Yu¡¦s Theory of Chinese Opera Abstract Li Yu (1611-1680) is a renowned Chinese opera writer in the early Qing dynasty. His work ¡§Ten Operas¡¨ features surprising plots and easy-to-understand scripts, criticized as ¡§intended to make common¡¨ and ¡§simple to comprehend¡¨, reflecting his writing attitude and style in developing popular and entertainment culture. This deviates himself from the literary direction of drama (chuanqi) writing since the mid-Ming dynasty. In addition, Li Yu is also a Chinese opera critic. The ¡§script¡¨ and ¡§play act¡¨ sections in his ¡§Xian Qing Ou Ji ¡¨(Journal of Leisure Time) discussed mainly the writing and performing of Chinese operas. The journal was written after the publication of the ¡§Ten Operas¡¨, which can be regarded as a summary of Li Yu¡¦s seasoned experience in writing Chinese operas. The journal is also a main research subject of this study. Literature on Chinese operas in Ming and Qing dynasties is rich. On the format, some focused their discussions in a specific book while some discussions were found scattered in anthologies and critics¡¦ notes. On the content, some examined the stories from historical perspectives, some centered on the wording as well as on tones and singing skills; or some were precise investigations on the development of Chinese opera history. The literature is documented with quite a few unique perceptions on the presentations of Chinese operas. These critiques, even as specific works, only present checklist style discussions. Some greater volumes manage to categorize various works but yet to conclude a coherent theory on Chinese opera. The results are usually unsystematic. Li Yu¡¦s theory is distinguished as having a subjective intension to establish a critique system on Chinese operas. In other words, he intended to construct the foundation and writing principles that ¡§others can follow¡¨ and clearly control the essence and development of Chinese operas. His emphasis of ¡§structure¡¨ in making critiques is the result of fully understanding the ¡§dramatic characteristics¡¨ in Chinese operas. Li Yu presented his theory mainly in the ¡§Xian Qing Ou Ji¡¨ with the ¡§script¡¨ and ¡§play act¡¨ sections, the ¡§script¡¨ section stressed on the writing theory while the ¡§play act¡¨ on the presentation. ¡§Dramatic presentation¡¨ is related to the professionalism of actors, not judged by writers¡¦ imagination, thus there are not many discussions on the performance. Li Yu doubled himself as writer and director and developed a system of perception and opinions of his own towards performing Chinese operas. Comparing his writing and presenting Chinese operas, the latter is weaker in depth than the former. Some of the discussions on presentation focus on how to handle scripts on stage and can be regarded as the extension of script writing. Therefore this study is led to focus on Li Yu¡¦s writing. Although Li Yu intended to establish a theory and principle of Chinese opera writing in the ¡§Script section of the Xian Qing Ou Ji¡¨, he only managed to reinforce the importance of the ¡§structure-first¡¨ principle and categorized rhetoric system, tonal pattern, rhyme scheme, conversation and humorous acts with the supplementary discussions of Chinese operas¡¦ ¡§forms¡¨. His categorization seems yet to reach a literature theory defined by modern literary norms. Actually Li Yu produced versatile discussions on Chinese operas. Some of his discussions are related to the fundamental definition, characteristics and functions of Chinese operas. Some belong to the construct of literary principles of Chinese opera. Some are the exploration of the principles and practical skills of Chinese opera writing. Furthermore, there is some comment on some specific works, as well as the discussion of different presentation styles in terms of the development in literary history. Li Yu made a clear intension in constructing the theory of Chinese opera, yet there is quite some space for adjustment in certain areas. Thus this study tries to integrate and summarize Li Yu¡¦s theory on Chinese opera, in a hope of re-constructing and re-translating from modern literary perspectives for eliciting more meaningful implications. During the process, the most important task is to analyze and formulate a theory structure on Li Yu¡¦s perspectives as three major aspects: fundamental theory of Chinese opera, theory of writing Chinese opera and theory of presenting Chinese opera. Fundamental theory of Chinese opera discusses the basic features of Chinese opera as the fundamental basis to construct theories on writing and presentation. These theories also project that his emphasis on the special formulation of Chinese operas and stagecraft. These distinguish him from other theories on Chinese opera in his contemporary era. This study develops as the following structure: Chapter one ¡§Introduction¡¨ states the research motives, scope, methodology and thesis summary in addition to the description of Li Yu¡¦s life and his literary achievements. Chapter two ¡§General Discussion¡¨ explores Li Yu¡¦s fundamental theory of Chinese opera, including the discussions on the artistic characteristics, position of Chinese operas in literature, the essence of Chinese operas, core values in appreciating Chinese operas and functions of Chinese operas ¡Ketc. Chapters three to seven are on theory of Chinese opera writing. Principles and standards in writing Chinese operas are discussed in terms of specific elements that compose Chinese operas. Chapter three ¡§Plot¡¨ redefines viewpoints on the structure in Li Yu¡¦s theory of Chinese opera. Chapter four ¡§Format¡¨ describes the regular formation of traditional Chinese opera presentation after the discussion on structure because set formation results in certain impact on the presentation. Chapter five ¡§Characters¡¨ is on the roles in Chinese opera. Li Yu embedded character formation in the design of plot structure, without independent character theory. The chapter is limited to the relationship among the language of characters, character descriptions and roles. Chapter six ¡§Language¡¨ discusses the common features of opera languages: rhymes and scripts, including the characteristics of representatives in Chinese operas and the standard the opera language should have. Chapter seven ¡§Rules of Tones and Rhymes¡¨ is divided as rhyme scheme and tone patterns with rhyme scheme as the main theme for discussion. The chapter also establishes the common principles of ¡§rule abiding¡¨ and proposed concrete suggestions on handling the rhymes and tones. Finally the thesis discusses Li Yu¡¦s theory of Chinese operas presentation in terms of scripts processing before performance, actor training and guiding and stage presentation. These concluded chapter eight ¡§Performance¡¨. It is hoped, through this thesis, to establish a specific theory structure of Li Yu¡¦s works on Chinese opera.

abstract: Our world has become smaller due to globalization and frequent cultural exchange between different countries. As a result, classical music is becoming increasingly global. There are a significant number of Chinese composers, including Tan Dun, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, and Bright Sheng, who have gained international attention. For a modern performer, familiarity with music outside of the Western canon is increasingly important. Bright Sheng is an internationally renowned Chinese-American composer who blends the heritage of traditional Chinese musical elements, traditional instruments, Chinese Opera and folk melodies with Western musical techniques. He infuses Chinese character into his works and introduces Chinese music to the Western classical music world. In this paper, I discuss two of Bright Sheng’s pieces: A Night at the Chinese Opera and Three Fantasies. Both works were composed in 2005 and are the only two compositions he wrote for violin and piano. Most pianists are not familiar with how to transfer or imitate the sounds of traditional Chinese instruments on Western musical instruments. The paper examines traditional Chinese techniques for Western instruments from A Night in Chinese Opera. Three Fantasies contains three distinct musical characters related to different musical elements from different regions of China. I explore the traditional musical forms from Three Fantasies and offer practical suggestions for performance practice. This document provides Bright Sheng’s biography, educational background, influences, and compositional style. It also features the inspirations for both pieces, a detailed analysis of both scores including a structural outline, discussion of compositional style, usage of rhythm and timbre and explanation of special techniques. This document also serves as an interpretative guide to each composition, including story outlines, suggestions for practice strategies, aesthetic considerations, rehearsal techniques and performance considerations. The research for this paper is based on personal interview and coaching with Bright Sheng and analysis from the published scores for A Night at the Chinese Opera and Three Fantasies by G. Schirmer, Inc. I hope that this document will be a comprehensive performers’ guide to both works and serve as an explanation and promotion of Chinese classical music to a larger audience. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

abstract: Lu Pei (b. 1956) is a celebrated Chinese American composer who currently serves as a composition professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. His work is known for its varied use of Chinese folk tunes. He lived in the United States a long time, which cultivated within him abundant Western musical influences. The sound of multi-ethnic elements is greatly reflected in his own music. Writing an opera has always been his ultimate dream as a composer, and after many years of work, the opera The Third of March was completed and premiered in 2018 in Guangxi. It has received wide acclaim and has been a favorite of younger listeners. Lu Pei aims to bring young people to modern music and the Chinese opera, not only using traditional Chinese musical elements, but also adopts “reinvented” modern Western musical styles, giving a new identity to the Chinese opera is the main foci of The Third of March. To prepare for my performer’s guide to The Third of March, I will discuss Lu Pei’s inspirations from the Guangxi Song Fairs, and the music and culture of the Zhuang people surrounding the date in the Chinese lunar calendar, March Third. For Westerners unfamiliar with Lu Pei’s music, I will briefly introduce the compositional blending of Western and Chinese musical styles with a section about Chinese composers active in the United States, Chen Yi (b. 1953), and Tan Dun (b. 1957). I will also include a brief outline of the history of Chinese opera development, and Lu Pei’s compositional concepts and the background of the opera The Third of March will be discussed. My performer’s guide, the primary focus of this project, will begin by stressing Lu Pei’s adoption of different Chinese folk songs and Western compositional elements. These techniques clearly gave the piece a unique stylistic identity. I will give a brief overview of the Chinese language diction in International Phonetic Alphabet. Finally, the qualities of the main arias in the opera, and some of the Chinese operatic techniques for singers, and their special effects, will be explored. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2020

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The purpose of this document is to chronicle and describe the historical developments of saxophone performance in mainland China. Arguing against other published research, this document presents proof of the uninterrupted, large-scale use of the saxophone from its first introduction into Shanghai's nineteenth century amateur musical societies, continuously through to present day. In order to better describe the performance scene for saxophonists in China, each chapter presents historical and political context. Also described in this document is the changing importance of the saxophone in China's musical development and musical culture since its introduction in the nineteenth century. The nature of the saxophone as a symbol of modernity, western ideologies, political duality, progress, and freedom and the effects of those realities in the lives of musicians and audiences in China are briefly discussed in each chapter. These topics are included to contribute to a better, more thorough understanding of the performance history of saxophonists, both native and foreign, in China.