Edit on 15/08/2025: updated to add details on male leads in Western opera.
Takarazuka:
See here for my beginner's guide to Takarazuka
The official Takarazuka channel on Youtube has lots of well-shot performance clips to check out, and there are even more if you know where to search
Cantonese opera:
For a taste of how deliciously dramatic Cantonese opera can get, check out this short clip of a scene from The Butterfly Lovers, in which the two main characters (played by Joyce Koi/ 蓋鳴暉 and Ng Mei Ying/ 吳美英) struggle to come to terms with the female lead being forced into an arranged marriage
See here for my post on Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙), the aforementioned "iconic pair" who dominated the Cantonese opera world
Many Cantonese opera films can be watched in full, in pretty decent quality, on Youtube, and English translations for much of the core repertory for Cantonese opera can be found with a quick Googling. For example, Yam-Pak's Legend of the Purple Hairpin (紫釵記) can be watched here, together with the English translation of the script here.
You can also take a look at my other posts on Cantonese opera here!
Yue opera:
Click here for a clip of Chen Lijun performing a modernised arrangement of a song from the hit Yue opera adaptation New Dragon Gate Inn (新龍門客棧). Basically can be described as "Yue opera and wuxia meet idol aesthetics"
For something more substantial, watch this pro-shot excerpt of the ending of Dream of the Red Chambers, which fuses traditional singing with modern staging. Alternatively, there are plenty of bootlegs of full shows on Youtube, so take your pick!
Trousers roles in Western opera:
Please also check out the "mezzosexual" tag :)
There are definitely some notable cases where the male lead is a trousers role, such as in Der Rosenkavalier, I Capuleti e i Montecchi (a.k.a. Romeo and Juliet), and Orlando Furioso. Also, as @siridealphosphorus kindly pointed out, it's much more common in Baroque operas, such as in Alcina, Ariodante, Giulio Cesare, Serse, and Orfeo ed Euridice.
I highly recommend the queer opera blog Queer Lorgnette, which reviews opera productions with humour, wit, and a distinctly queer and feminist eye
Korean musicals:
See here for my video on Korean musicals, which includes clips from several shows with genderblind casting
I just got back from a month-long vacation in Europe, only to realize that I never posted the full Sifu opera series! So here it is! :D The poster at the top was inspired by Sifu's marketing poster; I just adjusted MC's stance to look more like an opera pose loll
If you’re ever in Foshan, I’d really recommend checking out the Cantonese Opera Museum. I went recently and it was such an interesting stop. The costumes, stage sets, and history behind Cantonese opera were fascinating, even if you’re not an expert. It’s an easy place to wander through and learn something new.
I'm back with the 2nd part about the main types of Chinese Opera's, and this post will feature the Cantonese Opera, Sichuan Opera, and the Yu Opera!
Cantonese Opera 粤剧 (Yuèjù)
This is a popular form of opera origination from Guangdong, and especially popular in Hong Kong, Macau and other regions.
Cantonese opera shares quite a few similarities with other types of opera, and includes music, aerobatics, acting and other common feautures, with many stories being based on Chinese classics and historical events. The 4 main character roles remain the same (生, 旦, 净,丑), but their cantonese names are slightly different. ()
There are 2 types of Cantonese Opera plays, martial arts 武 which primarily feature war and conflict, with the main characters being warriors. The 2nd type is "culture" 文, which are calmer and slower plays, with more emotional aspects.
Of course, there are quite a few specifics that set it apart, one of them being the speech element. Cantonese Opera uses Mandarin but also the 中州 (Zhōngzhōu) dialect, which was a cross-regional dialect that was situated between Nanjing, Zhongyuan, Jianghuai, Huguang, and Sichuan in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Currently it's not really in use anymore other than in some Chinese operas as it was abandoned in the 1930s.
Cantonese Opera plays can also be classified into theatrical or singing performances, as the theatrical style is either western music or Chinese music, whereas the singing style is always western style.
Quite a lot of Cantonese Opera's were made into tv shows/series, musicals and movies, especially 唐涤生 Tang Ti-sheng, a famous Cantonese opera playwright. Some of his works include:
牡丹亭惊梦/The Peony Pavilion (Mǔdān tíng jīng mèng)
红楼梦/Dream of the Red Chamber(Hónglóumèng)
穿金宝扇/Wearing a Gold Fan (Chuān jīnbǎo shàn)
蝶影红梨记/ The story of the Butterfly and the Red Pear (Dié yǐng hóng lí jì)
Sichuan Opera 川剧 (Chuānjù)
The Sichuan Opera originates from 1700s Sichuan province, with 5 distinct styles. This is the opera famous for the quick mask change/face change, known as Bian Lian 变脸 (Biànliǎn) which you may have seen as there have been quite a few videos of this fascinating technique.
It is said that over 100 plays are performed in the Sichuan opera, with classic stories being particularly popular, some ranging all the way back to the Song dynasty. Currently both ancient and modern stories are performed, but the old stories still remain constant.
The Sichuan Opera has quite a unique music style, strong with a clear rhythm, and with the wind and percussion instruments being the most significant part of the music ensemble. Sichuan Opera is known for being the most similar to an actual play than any other Chinese Opera, being well-known for it's more free form and singing.
However, Sichuan Opera has 5 distinct styles:
1.Gaoqiang 高腔 (Gāoqiāng)
This is the oldest form of Sichuan Opera, known for high-pitched singing and very little if no musical accompaniment, with just the drums, gongs and a clapper. The singing style is folk, with the Sichuan dialect and other local colloquial expressions.
2. Huqin 胡琴 (Húqín)
This style became known during Qing dynasty, developing from the Hui and Han tunes, but it still has its own distinct features such as being performed using the Sichuan dialect. It's name is particularly interesting as Huqins name comes from the Huqin, a traditional Chinese instrument which also features in Sichuan Opera.
3. Danxi 弹戏 (Dàn xì) Danxi is actually a variation of Qingqiang, which was introduced later on after Qingqiang (More on this later!) first emerged in Sichuan. Danxi's origin story varies, but what is known is that the Shaanxi/Qingqiang opera slowly started to adopt Sichuan Opera's features and later on it combined with other Sichuan Opera styles to form Danxi. Danxi has two types of mysic, one of them being joy and happiness and the other being sadness and despair.
4. Kunqiang 昆腔 (Kūnqiāng)
If the name sounds oddly familiar, you may remember the previously mentioned Kunqu opera, which like it's name, developed from the original Kunqu opera and slowly drifted over from Jiangsu to Sichuan during the Ming Dynasty. The musical style underwent some changes, such as adopting the local Sichuan dialect and combined other vocal styles such as Gaoqiang, Huqing into the now known Kunqiang style.
5. Dengdiao 灯调 (Dēngdiào)
Dengdiao actually comes from the Lantern Festival, and incorporates the local Sichuan folk singing, dancing and customs. The music has a distinct rhythm and is quite short, with an upbeat vibe. The Huqin instrument is used in addition to string instruments as accompaniment.
Yu Opera 豫剧 (Yùjù)
The Yu Opera is said to have originated in the early Ming Dynasty, and later as it gained popularity it spread across the nation, with a strong presence in other regions such as Shandong, Hubei, Shanxi, Beijing and many other places. Despite the name, it's actually not confirmed as to whether the Yu opera is actually from Henan as there are many different and opposing theories. Nonetheless, it's still quite popular and has been included in China's national intangible cultural heritage.
Like many other opera types, the Yu opera also has the main roles of 生 (shēng), 旦 (dàn), 净 (Jìng), 丑 (chǒu) with their respective sub-types, and a noteable "四功五法" (Sì gōng wǔ fǎ) art form, translated as 4 Skills and 5 Methods. The skills include singing, reciting, acting, and fighting (dancing), with the 5 methods referring to the hand, eye, body, method, and step movements.
There are actually quite a few different Yu Opera genres with the main ones being:
陈派 / Chen School (Chénpài) - known for an elegant and smooth movement style and the 青衣 (Qīngyī) characters (virtuous female)
常派 / Chang School (Chángpài) - focuses on strong emotional performance and heroic characters such as Mulan
崔派 / Cui School (Cuīpài) - has a lighter and flowing tone, with a focus on elegance
马派 / Ma School (Mǎpài) - focuses on a calm and more mature style, with the main characters including 老旦 (Lǎodàn) and other more mature female characters
阎派 / Yan School (Yánpài) - includes dramatic and emotional styles with complicated characters
桑派 / Sang School (Sāngpài) - this is quite an interesting genre as it includes more sad and romantic performances in contrast to others
唐派 / Tang School (Tángpài) - in contrast, this genre has a more male focus, with many characters such as 老生 (Lǎoshēng) and other older male characters.
张派 / Zhang School (Zhāngpài) - known for strong and dynamic vocals and heroic characters
i just found out about esther eng (伍錦霞) the first chinese female filmmaker to make chinese language films in the us and hong kong.
her love for films started from watching cantonese operas!! she made many films in her lifetime, its such a shame most of the films she made are now lost films, except for two films: golden gate girls and murder in new york chinatown.
she was a butch lesbian and there was no controversy around that because in cantonese opera its normal for actors and actresses to crossdress. another fact that made me smile so much is that her grandparents came from toisan (台山)!!! literally punching the air rn bc im from toisan, i speak cantonese and im also a lesbian i am literally so happy.
i also loved how people called her by the nickname "霞哥" ("ha brother" in english)
i literally cannot express how much finding out about esther eng made my day
also if your interested this is the article i read
I am going to the museum today because there’s a cantonese opera exhibit I want to visit for my theatre project, but I also hope there’s a place for me to just sit and get some work done. I’m very excited.
I’m going alone (and surprisingly, looking forward to it), but my friend may be joining me after her band practice.
I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon :)
