A night at the opera

Tonight, we went into the 'Du for a night at the Sichuan opera. We got their an hour and a half before the show, so we had time to walk around the house and the mall it was attached to. Rachel tried her best to imitate the famous masks -


Do you think she nailed it?

We walked through a hallway with recreated scenes from old Chengdu carved into the walls. The detailing was quite amazing.


At the end of the hallway, we heard some loud honking - there was a small artificial pool and 2 big ugly geese. I didn't linger long enough to find out if the restaurant had fois gras on its menu.

We walked around for a bit - Rachel looked at shoes, but still no luck in finding anything worthwhile. What girl needs brown shoes, anyway?

Finally, it was time for the show. There is a connection between the opera and tea, so we sat at tables and sipped jasmine tea all evening. The tea is a show itself - the waiters serve tea from long-spouted pots so that they can perfectly aim the water from far distances. It is clearly important to the teahouse culture - take a look at this statue:

No, that's not a sword or a kung fu pose; it is a waiter serving tea.

So how was the show? From what I understand, Sichuan opera is unique from Beijing opera (which is known for its high-pitched, atonal singing). Though we did only see a shortened sample of an opera, it clearly was different. What we saw was more of a variety show - with music, dancing, and comedy. In all, it was quite enjoyable (and a good cultural experience!)

Here's a video of some of the ladies doing a dance - notice how they work that huge feather on their head!



There was also an amazing hand puppet show, where 2 women mimicked cats, dogs, songbirds, geese, rabbits, and people at various points. Words can't really do justice - but just imagine trying to use your hands to recreate 2 dogs chasing a rabbit, catching it, fighting each other for it, and the then eventualy devouring it whole.

But the most famous element of Sichuan opera is face changing - a lightning fast, on-stage swap of masks that display different colors and designs. I'm sure there is some deeper meaning to it, but I couldn't tell you what it was all about.

So despite being of a different culture and language, I enjoyed the night. It is worth going back for!

-alan