Eine Einführung in die tibetische Oper gibt die site: zt.tibet.cn/tibetzt/zangxi/english/en_index.htm.

Anhand von Bildern und Texten wird von chinesischer Seite eine kurze Einführung in folgende Themen gegeben:

Geschichte, die vier Schulen, die acht klassischen Richtungen, der Ablauf, die Kostüme

-History of Tibetan Opera –

1 Pluralistic Origins of tibetan opera
1)Tibetan folk singing and dancing and acrobatics
2)religious arts
3)narrating and singing

2 Development of tibetan opera
1)Pregnancy and Formation of Tibetan Opera
2)Maturity and Development of Tibetan Opera
a Thongdong Gyalpo Period
b Fifth Dalai Lama period

-School of Tibet opera –

1 The Goinba School
Tibetan opera has four schools today. The Goinba School, originating in Ngamring and Lhaze counties, features high-pitched and sonorous singing, mixed with singing and dancing from the Doi area, and traditional acrobatics.
2 The Gyanggar School
The Gyanggar School is popular in Rinbung, Gyangze and Xigaze. It is characterized by an ancient, rugged and solemn style derived from Lamaism.
3 The Xangba School
The Xangba School from western Tibet shows the influence of local folklore and of the Gyanggar School.
4 The Gyormolung School
The Gyormolung School from the Shannan and Lhasa areas was the most recent school to be formed. Creative in singing, choreography, stunts and comic effects, it is the most developed among the four schools, and has formed a jubilant style with rich and colorful singing and dancing. It is the most influential and most popular of the four schools. Today Gyormolung troupes are active in different parts of Tibet. They are even popular in Sichuan’s Garze region, India and Bhutan.

–Tibet Eight Great Classical Operas –
1.Prince Nor-bzang
This opera has been adapted from a folk myth. Under the title “Nor-bzang’s Romance,” the story was first recorded in the book “Fabulous Tree Capable of Responding to Every Wish.” It had virtually the same episodes.
2.Maiden Vgro-ba-bzang-mo
The play was adapted from the Tibetan IotA story “ELder Sister and Brother”; even today it circulates in the form of a ballad, among the people. The titles of most of the other operas based on this tale have used the name of the heroine of this opera as their title.
3.Brothers Don-yod and Don-grub
The basic content of this opera is contained in the book “An Endless Story.”
4.Prince Dri-med-Kun-idan
This opera is drawn from a story in the Buddhist scriptures. Its former title was “Crown Prince Sudana Sutra,” contained in a section of “Vaipulya of Tripitaka.” Its plot is virtually the same as that of the opera.
5.Princess Wenchen
Based on a folk legend, this drama is still popular in Tibet. A written record of its has been found in the literature of the 14th century.
6.Gzugs-kyi-nyi-ma
This script was translated from a lithographic edition, which had many printing errors. A number of corrections were made in the course of translation.
7.Pad-ma-vod-vba
This opera was written at Saskya in south central Tibet in the summer of 1960, following an oral account of the legend.
8.Maiden Shang-sa
The opera was adapted ITom a story believed to be true. Judging by the preface to the manuscript, ballad singers first adapted it to be narrated and sung before it was transplanted it into the Tibetan opera for performance.

–Performing Art of Tibetan Opera –
1.Three-part stage format
　　Over the centuries, Tibetan opera has formed a three-part stage format.
1) The prelude–”Wenbadun
In the prelude, known as “Wenbadun,” Wenba men in blue masks, two Jialu men and several fairies take the stage, performing religious rituals, and songs and dances, introducing the actors and actresses, and explaining the story line of the opera that is to follow. The second part is the opera itself.
2)The second part
The second part,known as “xiong” is the opera itself.
3)The third part
The third part known as “zhaxi”is an epilogue which features a blessing ceremony and is also an occasion for the presentation of hada (silk ritual greeting scarves) and donations from the audience.

2.Tibet opera roles:
Young man role, secondary role, Old man role, Old woman role, Young woman role, Negative protagonists clown Queen Ha-cang in “Maiden Vgro-ba-bzang-mo”, Negative Clown, Clown, positive Clown

3.Performance Characteristic
Tibetan operas call for skills in singing, dancing, elocution and martial arts. The singing is sonorous and marked by drawls at the end. Frequent use of ensembles and choruses both on-and off-stage adds more impact to the singing. The dance movements are exaggerated and very energetic. Scenes that occur in everyday life, such as when two persons meet or when they bid farewell to each other, are also projected in a dancing style. The primitive simplicity and vigor demonstrated in the singing and dancing is effectively set off by typical Tibetan land scapes on the backdrop.
Dancing movements in Tibetan opera go well with the lyrics and melodies and are linked to the development of the plot. In general, they are drawn from movements in everyday life but are refined and exaggerated, giving the audience an aesthetic sense of harmony and vigor. Some movements, such as bowing with hands clasped, and salutation, show traces of the religious rites of the early period. The dancing movements may be classified into the following six types according to postures and rhythms:
Name Of dance Style Content presented
don-vdar from slow to quick On entering the stage
tempo; moving up
and down
phye-ling turning in half circles, In marching orward
first to the right, then
to the left
phyag-vbul Raising hand to salute, in salutation
bowing with hands clasped
gar-che turning in whole circles; treading on a long journey
moving in a ring
dal-gtong slow steps with all musical instruments at a standstill
fot an intermission
vphar-chen Turning large circles, martial skills; acrobatics
Spinning with arms
Extended at an angle
of 60 degress to the ground
At least twenty melodies have been found in scripts read by the author. They expressed the ideas and feelings of men, women, old and young: joy, sorow, grief and ecstasy. The following table shows four of them:
Melody Mood presented in operas
gdang-ring joy, ease of mind
skyo-glu sorrow, grief
gdang-thung narration in general
gdang-log emotional change, undulating moods
During performances, actors often change the melodies, varying them with the development of the plot, which subtly express the emotions of the characters and portray the thoughts deep in their hearts. For instance, in “Maiden Snang-sa,” the heroine uses several different melodies to express changes in her surroundings and diverse moods. In the opera “Prince Nor-bzang,” the melody sung in his going out to battle differs from that sung on his return to the palace.

Masks Facial Makeup, headress, Costumes and Adornments and Properties Used in Tibetan Opera
1.masks
In the old days, Tibetan opera was mainly performed in public squares except for the area of Bla-brang (Xiahe) in southern Gansu Province, where the performances are presented on stages due to the influeoce from Han operatic forms. The actors use simple make-up and masks so the audience can distinguish whether the characters are good, bad, loyal or vicious from the shape and color of the masks.
2.facial make up(makeup modeling)
3.costumes
4.ornaments, headpieces, shoes and boots
5.properties

Customs in performing
Yoghurt festival
Beginning in the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in the 17th century, troupes from across Tibet gathered at the Zhaibung Monastery to present their best performances in the seventh month by the Tibetan calendar every year. In the reign of the seventh Dalai Lama, the venue moved to Norbu Lingka. On the occasion, whole families and even entire villages come to the site to watch the performances day and night. Meanwhile, they also enjoy themselves by singing and dancing. This festive season is known today as the Shoton Festival, and lasts for about a month and a half.