DVD explaining Chinese Opera?

[character]

Is there such a thing? I found a pretty good book (Stagecraft of Peking Opera) but it's hard to visualize the information. Ideally a DVD on the subject would have Chinese/English subs and name and show costumes, face paint styles, jumping/fighting techniques, etc. I realize there are many subgenres, so I wouldn't expect the DVD to cover all the regional variations.

[leeyah]

Hmmm, yes, there should be. If you are in China, you should invest a bit more time looking thru DVD stores and I'm sure you can find something.

I remember browsing through kiddie edition opera DVDs, and they seem to offer basic intro on regional variations, masks, costumes etc. Not sure there'd be any such stuff available with English subtitles, though.

Anyway, perhaps you can get some basic ideas from 服装 & 视频.

京剧 also links to other major 国剧 sites.

[JenniferW]

If you're in Beijing I'd recommend going to the Chinese Opera theatre on Jianguomen Nei Dajie - the one with the great big opera mask outside on the forecourt that you can see from the bus.

Inside, in the ground floor foyer, there's a specialist bookshop with a vast amount of DVDs - and helpful staff. They have books in English as well as Chinese, so you could show them the type of thing you're looking for. But watching DVDs of key operas is also going to show you a lot, and it seemed to me they knew their stock inside out.