Ou Opera—Wenzhou's Opera
Ou Opera is a precious intangible cultural heritage in Wenzhou area. The masterpieces of Ou Opera include "The Story of Gaoji and Wu Sanchun" and "The King of East Ou".
Ou Opera, an ancient opera in Wenzhou region of southern Zhejiang Province, formed in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty and was originally named "Wenzhou Luantan Opera". As Wenzhou was known as East Ou in the ancient times, this type of opera was officially renamed Ou Opera in 1959. Performed in Wenzhou dialect, this type of opera is good at military plays. Its singing is mostly simple, fluent, straightforward and fine. In Ou Opera, there are three major categories and 16 roles, which are: the "Sheng" roles: young male, middle-aged male, old male, military male, and four white-faces; "Sheng" usually refers to middle-aged and young males; "Dan" roles: apprentice female, middle-aged female, young female, old female, third female, and wedding female; "Dan" often refers to leading female characters; and "Hua" roles: primary painted face, secondary painted face, fourth painted face, painted clown, and military painted-face; often "Hua" roles are supporting players other than leading male and female characters.
Ou Opera is a precious intangible cultural heritage in Wenzhou area. The masterpieces of Ou Opera include "The Story of Gaoji and Wu Sanchun" and "The King of East Ou".
"The Story of Gaoji and Wu Sanchun" is a Wenzhou version of "Butterfly Love" (The Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai): Gao Ji, the silk weaver from Pingyang, and Wu Sanchun, daughter of the silk factory owner, fell in love with each other. However, Wu Sanchun’s father insisted on marrying her to the son of a rich merchant. Gao Ji and Wu Sanchun eloped, however they were taken back by Wu’s father. Wu Sanchun was forced to attend the wedding. On the wedding day, she escaped by accident and found Gao Ji. When she saw Gao Ji became mad after hearing about her wedding, she was heart wrenched and killed herself with a pair of scissors. Both of the pair died for their fond love.
"The Story of Gaoji and Wu Sanchun" is a Wenzhou version of "Butterfly Love" (The Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai): Gao Ji, the silk weaver from Pingyang, and Wu Sanchun, daughter of the silk factory owner, fell in love with each other. However, Wu Sanchun’s father insisted on marrying her to the son of a rich merchant. Gao Ji and Wu Sanchun eloped, however they were taken back by Wu’s father. Wu Sanchun was forced to attend the wedding. On the wedding day, she escaped by accident and found Gao Ji. When she saw Gao Ji became mad after hearing about her wedding, she was heart wrenched and killed herself with a pair of scissors. Both of the pair died for their fond love.
"The King of East Ou" tells of the history of Wenzhou City. The King of East Ou was a "perfect man in Wenzhou" over 2,000 years ago. In the Western Han Dynasty, during the Rebellion of the Seven States led by Liu Bi, the King of Wu Kingdom, East Ou people were facing a disaster. However, the King of East Ou saved the East Ou region with his remarkable wisdom and military accomplishments. While the larger kingdoms were struck down one after another, the tiny East Ou survived this catastrophe.
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