"Opera" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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重头戏 zhòng tóu xì opera (or role) involving much singing and action / (fig.) highlight / main feature / major activity
剧本 jù běn script for play, opera, movie etc / screenplay / scenario
大王 dài wang robber baron (in opera, old stories) / magnate
武术 wǔ shù military skill or technique (in former times) / all kinds of martial art sports (some claiming spiritual development) / self-defense / tradition of choreographed fights from opera and film (recent usage) / also called kungfu 功夫 / CL:種|种[zhong3]
巨星 jù xīng (astronomy) giant star / (fig.) superstar (of opera, basketball etc)
京剧 Jīng jù Beijing opera / CL:場|场[chang3],齣|出[chu1]
青衣 qīng yī black clothes / servant (old) / young woman role in Chinese opera, also called 正旦[zheng4 dan4]
变脸 biàn liǎn to turn hostile suddenly / face changing, a device of Sichuan Opera, a dramatic change of attitude expressing fright, anger etc
戏曲 xì qǔ Chinese opera
歌剧 gē jù Western opera / CL:場|场[chang3],齣|出[chu1]
封神榜 Fēng shén Bǎng Investiture of the Gods, major Ming dynasty vernacular novel of mythology and fantasy, very loosely based on King Wu of Zhou's 周武王[Zhou1 Wu3 wang2] overthrow of the Shang, subsequent material for opera, film, TV series, computer games etc
叫板 jiào bǎn to signal the musicians (in Chinese opera, by prolonging a spoken word before attacking a song) / (coll.) to challenge
维特 Wéi tè Werther, opera by Jules Massenet / Werther, German masculine given name
武打 wǔ dǎ acrobatic fighting in Chinese opera or dance
歌剧院 gē jù yuàn opera house
过门 guò mén to pass through a doorway / (of a woman) to marry / orchestral music interlude in an opera
卡门 Kǎ mén Carmen (name) / Carmen, 1875 opera by Georges Bizet 比才 / based on novel by Prosper Mérimée 梅里美[Mei2 li3 mei3]
花旦 huā dàn role of vivacious young female in Chinese opera
越剧 Yuè jù Shaoxing opera
唱戏 chàng xì to perform in opera
套数 tào shù song cycle in Chinese opera / (fig.) a series of tricks / polite remarks / number of (things that are counted in 套[tao4], like houses)
戏子 xì zi (derog.) opera singer / actor
清唱 qīng chàng to sing opera arias without staging, costume or makeup / to sing a cappella
昆曲 Kūn qǔ Kunqu opera, influential musical theater originating in Kunshan, Jiangsu province in Yuan times
沙家浜 Shā jiā bāng "Sha Family's Creek", a Beijing opera classified as model theater 樣板戲|样板戏[yang4 ban3 xi4]
肥皂剧 féi zào jù soap opera (loanword)
白脸 bái liǎn white face / face painting in Beijing opera etc
粤剧 Yuè jù Cantonese opera
豫剧 Yù jù Henan opera
秦腔 Qín qiāng Qinqiang, an opera style popular in northwest China, possibly originating in Ming dynasty folk music / Shaanxi opera
三岔口 Sān chà kǒu At the Crossroads, famous opera, based on a story from 水滸傳|水浒传[Shui3 hu3 Zhuan4]
川剧 Chuān jù Sichuan opera
封神演义 Fēng shén Yǎn yì Investiture of the Gods, major Ming dynasty vernacular novel of mythology and fantasy, very loosely based on King Wu of Zhou's 周武王[Zhou1 Wu3 wang2] overthrow of the Shang, subsequent material for opera, film, TV series, computer games etc
黄梅戏 Huáng méi xì Huangmei opera (local opera of Anhui)
丑角 chǒu jué clown role in opera / clown / buffoon
龙套 lóng tào costume of minor characters in opera, featuring dragon designs / walk-on
红色娘子军 hóng sè niáng zi jūn Red Detachment of Women, revolutionary opera that premiered in 1964
武生 wǔ shēng male military role in a Chinese opera
三弦 sān xián sanxian, large family of 3-stringed plucked musical instruments, with snakeskin covered wooden soundbox and long neck, used in folk music, opera and Chinese orchestra
白 bái white / snowy / pure / bright / empty / blank / plain / clear / to make clear / in vain / gratuitous / free of charge / reactionary / anti-communist / funeral / to stare coldly / to write wrong character / to state / to explain / vernacular / spoken lines in opera
京戏 Jīng xì Beijing opera / CL:齣|出[chu1]
插科打诨 chā kē dǎ hùn to include impromptu comic material in opera performance (idiom) / to jest / buffoonery
西皮 xī pí one of the two chief types of music in Chinese opera / see also 二黃|二黄[er4 huang2]
听戏 tīng xì to attend an opera / to see an opera
地方戏 dì fāng xì local Chinese opera, such as Shaoxing opera 越劇|越剧[Yue4 ju4], Sichuan opera 川劇|川剧[Chuan1 ju4], Henan opera 豫劇|豫剧[Yu4 ju4] etc
旦角 dàn jiǎo Dan, female roles in Chinese opera (played by specialized male actors)
旦角 dàn jué dan, female roles in Chinese opera (traditionally played by specialized male actors)
花腔 huā qiāng florid ornamentation in opera / coloratura
沪剧 Hù jù Shanghai opera
京胡 jīng hú jinghu, a smaller, higher-pitched erhu 二胡 / (two-stringed fiddle) used to accompany Chinese opera / also called 京二胡
二黄 èr huáng one of the two chief types of music in Chinese opera / Peking opera / also written 二簧[er4 huang2] / see also 西皮[xi1 pi2]
老旦 lǎo dàn old woman role in Chinese opera
正旦 zhèng dàn starring female role in a Chinese opera
花鼓戏 huā gǔ xì opera form popular along Changjiang
唱本 chàng běn opera libretto
剧 jù theatrical work (play, opera, TV series etc) / dramatic (change, increase etc) / acute / severe
票 piào ticket / ballot / banknote / CL:張|张[zhang1] / person held for ransom / amateur performance of Chinese opera / classifier for groups, batches, business transactions
末 mò tip / end / final stage / latter part / inessential detail / powder / dust / opera role of old man
旦 dàn dawn / morning / daybreak / day / dan, female roles in Chinese opera (traditionally played by specialized male actors)
五鬼闹判 wǔ guǐ nào pàn Five ghosts mock the judge, or Five ghosts resist judgment (title of folk opera, idiom) / important personage mobbed by a crowd of ne'er-do-wells
梨园子弟 lí yuán zǐ dì Chinese opera performers
河北梆子 Hé běi bāng zǐ Hebei opera
开台锣鼓 kāi tái luó gǔ opening gong / gong strokes announcing start of opera performance
霸王别姬 bà wáng bié jī The Conqueror Bids Farewell to His Favorite Concubine (tragic opera by Mei Lanfang 梅蘭芳|梅兰芳[Mei2 Lan2 fang1]) / Farewell My Concubine (1993 film by Chen Kaige)
道白 dào bái spoken lines in opera
二进宫 èr jìn gōng name of a famous opera / (slang) to go to jail for a second offense
柴科夫斯基 Chái kē fū sī jī Piotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky (1840-1893), Russian composer, composer of 6 symphonies and the opera Eugene Onegin
贵妃醉酒 Guì fēi Zuì jiǔ The Drunken Beauty, Qing Dynasty Beijing opera
梅兰芳 Méi Lán fāng Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), famous master of Beijing opera, specialist in female roles
京二胡 jīng èr hú jing'erhu, a two-stringed fiddle intermediate in size and pitch between the jinghu 京胡 / and erhu 二胡, used to accompany Chinese opera / also called 京胡
侗剧 Dòng jù Dong opera
倒仓 dǎo cāng to transfer grain from a store (e.g. to sun it) / voice breaking (of male opera singer in puberty)
做派 zuò pài way of doing sth / behavior / to act in an affected manner / mannerism / gestures in opera
傩戏 nuó xì Anhui local opera
剧坛 jù tán the world of Chinese opera / theatrical circles
口白 kǒu bái narrator / spoken parts in an opera
古诺 Gǔ nuò Gounod (name) / Charles Gounod (1818-1893), French musician and opera composer
周传瑛 Zhōu Chuán yīng Zhou Chuanying (1912-1988), Kunqu 崑曲|昆曲[Kun1 qu3] opera actor
哭腔 kū qiāng sobbing tone / sob / dirge / opera tune portraying mourning
四大须生 sì dà xū shēng Four great beards of Beijing opera, namely: Ma Lianliang 馬連良|马连良, Tan Fuying 譚富英|谭富英, Yang Baosen 楊寶森|杨宝森, Xi Xiaobo 奚嘯伯|奚啸伯
奚啸伯 Xī Xiào bó Xi Xiaobo (1910-1977), Beijing opera star, one of the Four great beards 四大鬚生|四大须生
娃娃生 wá wa shēng infant's part in opera, usually played by child actor
定场白 dìng chǎng bái first soliloquy (introducing opera character)
定场诗 dìng chǎng shī first soliloquy text (introducing opera character)
彝剧 Yí jù Yi opera
徽剧 Huī jù Anhui opera
徽调 Huī diào Anhui opera
折子戏 zhé zi xì opera highlights performed as independent pieces
采珠人 cǎi zhū rén The Pearl Fishers, 1863 opera by Georges Bizet 比才[Bi4 cai2]
散板 sǎn bǎn to fall apart / opera section in free rhythm
敌档 dí dàng rival productions (of the same opera in neighboring theaters)
李娃传 Lǐ Wá Zhuàn Tale of Courtesan Li Wa, novel by Tang writer Bai Xingjian 白行簡|白行简[Bai2 Xing2 jian3] along the lines of La Traviata, favorite opera plot
柳子戏 liǔ zi xì Shandong opera
梁辰鱼 Liáng Chén yú Liang Chenyu (1521-1594), Ming dramatist of the Kunshan opera school
梅里美 Méi lǐ měi Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870), French scholar and writer, author of novel Carmen on which Bizet based his opera
杨宝森 Yáng Bǎo sēn Yang Baosen (1909-1958), Beijing opera star, one of the Four great beards 四大鬚生|四大须生
歌仔戏 gē zǎi xì type of opera from Taiwan and Fujian
歌剧院魅影 Gē jù yuàn mèi yǐng The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber
正生 zhèng shēng starring male role in a Chinese opera
武旦 wǔ dàn female military role in a Chinese opera
Chinese Tones