On Saturday evening, I had the chance to go back stage before a performance of the famous Beijing Opera.  Although this performance was not professional- all the actors were very enthusiastic retirees.  The oldest performer was a 70 year old woman and she sang beautifully!

We saw them applying the brightly colored make-up and costumes.

The Beijing Opera is nothing like a western opera.  It is a very long story so most performances pick a few scenes to act out.  We watched for 2.5 hours before we had to leave and they weren’t even finished!  The “orchestra” was a group of older gentlemen who played drums as well as other string instruments I didn’t recognize.  They choreographed their playing to the words and dances of the actors without referring to any sheet music.

Just like western operas, Beijing Opera is not for everyone.  The style of singing and music can get a little…numbing at times.  However, if you’d like to see what the make-up and costumes look like as well as hear some of the music- below is a short video you can glace at.  The people in the video are all professionals though.

I’m very excited I got to see the Beijing Opera and cross that off my bucket list!