| Shanghai opera | |
|---|---|
 Shanghai opera in 2013 | |
| Native name | Huju (沪剧) |
| Etymology | Hu, the abbreviation of Shanghai |
| Other names | Shenqu (申曲) |
| Origin | Qing dynasty (19th century) |
| Major region | Shanghai |
| Typical instruments | |
| Topolect | Shanghainese |
| Tune system | Tanhuang |
| Shanghai opera | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 滬劇 | ||
| Simplified Chinese | 沪剧 | ||
| |||
Shanghai opera (Chinese: 沪剧; pinyin: huju), formerly known as Shenqu (Chinese: 申曲; pinyin: shēnqǔ), is a variety of Chinese opera from Shanghai typically sung in Shanghainese. It is unique in Chinese opera in that virtually all dramas in its repertoire today are set in the modern era (20th and 21st centuries). This arose from Yue opera's dominance in Shanghai in the 1940s.[1]
Huju is particularly popular in Baihe, the oldest town in the Qingpu District of Shanghai.[2] There are eight to ten huju ensembles in the Baihe, and many local residents hire these ensembles to perform for weddings and funerals.[3]
Huju is accompanied by traditional Chinese instruments, including dizi (transverse bamboo flute), erhu (two-stringed fiddle), pipa (pear-shaped lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), and percussion. The instrumentation and style are closely related to the instrumental genre of Jiangnan sizhu.
The well-known Chinese composition "Purple Bamboo Melody" (紫竹调; 紫竹調) has been adapted and used for huju.
- ^ Fu Jin (2021). A History of Chinese Theatre in the 20th Century II. Translated by Zhang Qiang. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-138-33066-5.
- ^ "Opera lover protects art form in Qingpu". Eastday/Shanghai Daily. 17 January 2005.
- ^ "2005-01-17 Opera lover protects art form in Qingpu". Qingpu Shanghai Web Portal. Shanghai Qingpu Government. 6 June 2005.
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