Taiwanese Opera

Taiwanese Opera

Taiwanese (folk) opera (Chinese: 歌仔戲; pinyin: gēzǎixì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: koa-á-hì; literally "song-drama") is the only form of traditional drama known to have originated in Taiwan. The language used is a stylized combination of both literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese. Its earliest form adopted elements of folk songs from Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. The story elements are traditionally based on folk tales of the Hokkien (Minnan) region, though in recent years stories are increasingly set in Taiwan locales.

Taiwanese opera was later exported to other Min Nan-speaking areas.

In the early 1980s Taiwanese opera was brought to the television audience, with Yang Li-hua (Hokkien transliteration as Iûⁿ Lē-hoa ; 楊麗花) as its popular face. The artistic elements remained largely traditional, however. Taiwanese opera, like other forms of Chinese opera and theater around the world, often traditionally uses cross-dressed performers (反串; fǎnchùan; hóan-chhòan), specifically women portraying men's roles in the case of Taiwanese opera.

Modern and experimental forms show some propensity for syncretism. Western instruments such as the saxophone and guitar have been used in some performances. Loose Western adaptations have included Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector. Perhaps due to the influence of the Taiwanese localization movement, stories set in Taiwan, as well as aboriginal characters and stories, have been developed in recent years. Taiwanese forms of the Hakka tea-picking opera show some influence. Fans of the opera attribute its continuing relevance to a willingness of performers to adapt to modern times in terms of style and artistic diversity.