Inscribing the Stage: The Textualisation of Peking Opera Performance

Recently, over the course of a month in Taipei, I took in twenty-five opera performances, each opening a window onto the vast and varied world of Chinese opera. 1 The performances were drawn from different genres: Peking opera (both canonical repertoire and new works), Taiwanese opera ( kua-á-hì , or gezaixi ), Hakka opera, Beiguan opera, Kunqu opera, Yu opera (Henan opera) and glove puppet opera ( pòo-tē-hì ). Although I was well aware of Taiwan’s vibrant operatic and theatrical scene – indeed, it was the very reason I pursued this residency – I was nonetheless surprised by the volume, variety and vitality of the performances I experienced. My visit coincided with one of the peak periods in the ritual calendar (the third lunar month), during which one could easily choose from more than ten outdoor opera performances each day, held at various temples throughout the greater Taipei area. In addition, meticulously crafted and lavishly mounted productions were featured at formal venues such as the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center and Dadaocheng Theater. The performing culture of Chinese opera in Taiwan nowadays remains vibrant, imaginative, colourful and remarkably robust.