Tibetan Opera Music.pdf

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Tibetan Opera Music and Dance from Lhasa: An Interview with Dacidan Duoji and XiaozhaxiCirenAuthor(s): Kathy Foley, M. Joshua Karter, Dacidan Duoji and Xiaozhaxi CirenSource: TDR (1988-), Vol. 32, No. 3 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 131-140Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1145911 .

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T i b e t a n O p e r a M u s ic a n dD a n c e f r o m L h a s a

An interview with Dacidan Duojiand Xiaozhaxi Ciren

KathyFoleyandM.JoshuaKarter

AcheLhamo,the Tibetan Opera tradition, is said to have evolved from aBuddhist storytelling genre in which a lama manis, a ballad singer, pre-sented tales by unrolling picture scrolls that depicted popular narratives.Pointing with an iron rod, the singer would highlight charactersin turn.Stories were based onjataka tales about the Buddha in his previous lives oron indigenous Tibetan stories relating to Buddhist holypersons. Thesestories were written down and eventually presentedin more dramaticformby several actors who sang individual roles while retaining narrative sec-tions to link the scenes. This innovation is attributed to Thantog Gyalpo, aBuddhist monk who lived circa I385, and the introduction to one tradi-tional Tibetan opera text claims that the monk "spread marvelous songsand dances like a canopy over the people of all tribes and influenced theirminds with holy religious teachings and the biographies of great men"(Yao 1986:7). Contemporary performances are dedicated to Thantog Gy-alpo, and are presented as popular entertainments and as offerings to thespirits to ensure a full harvest.Lhamo literally means "goddess" and, although the genre was tradi-tionally performed by all-male troupes, Wang Yao links it to pantomimicdances performed by female masked dancers(1986:8). Many of the Maha-yana Buddhist stories that form the Lhamo repertoirecorrespond to talestold in Manora theatre, the oldest dance-drama genre of Thailand. As inthe Manora tale in which a bird-woman is captured by a clown-hunter butlater flies back to her spirit home, many Lhamo stories involve a femaleescaping by flight to the heavens and include clowning by characterscalledhunters or fishermen. Flying scenes are traditionallyportrayed by an actorjumping off of a chair while waving a white cloth; such images may beconsidered metaphors for trance experiences.This pattern-female spirit-medium-dancer who flies off to spiritrealmsand male shaman-clown who guides her trance while simultaneously en-tertaining the gathered viewers-is frequently found in neighboring

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132 KarterandFoley

1. A sceneromUnpadun,oneof two standardprologsused n Ache Lhamo.Here,thestage s blessedbyJialu,the directorf thetroupe(center); hemaskedUnpa,fishermenorhunterswhocleanthefloorfor theper-formance; ndtheLhamo,thefairieswhosinganddance.(PhotobyJack Var-toogian)

Southeast Asian countries such as Burma and Thailand where tranceme-dium genres are now considered to be the origin of contemporary folkperformance. As in Tibet, Burmese and Thai troupes were comprised ofmale actors, not trance mediums. But it is possible that all three traditionsbelong to a pan-Buddhist performancecomplex that harks back to femalespirit-medium practicesjoined with narrative recitative traditions.By the period of the fifth Dalai Lama (1617-82) the genre performed

today had emerged. Tales arepresentedin the form of narrationand sceneswhich highlight high-register singing produced by the use of the full torsoand head resonances. The offstage actorsjoin the onstage performers'songon the last phrase or stanza, creating an impressive echo effect for thesemusical interludes. Melodies have specific emotional or structural pur-poses; one tune might indicate grief, anotherjoy, and a third might beappropriatefor narration. The movement of the actors is accompanied bypercussioninstruments (drum and cymbals) which accentuatethe steps andhelp to clarify their emotional tenor. Steady beats may indicatecontinuity,which is interrupted by a frenzied clang of cymbals when a distraughtcharacterenters. The dance featuresstep-hops and turns executed with oneleg lifted and crooked in front, and fluid rotations of the wrists. Thesepostures have much in common with the Korean mask and farmer's dancestyles. The martial dance sequencesof the Ache Lhamo, which may climaxwith a characterexecuting a series of barrel turns along a circular path



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Tibetan Opera 133while tilting the body at a 60 degree angle to the floor, closely resemblemartial dances seen throughout the Buddhist world. Performers use styl-ized gestures and pantomime to clarify their characters.Most human characters-except for hunters/fishermen and older peo-ple-are unmasked. Hunters and gods wear masks that are two-dimensional and highly stylized, while animal and demon visages appearmore three-dimensional. The rich, brocaded costumes arethe prime meansof dressing the stage in Ache Lhamo, which was traditionally presentedinvillage squareswith the audience gatheredon all sides. Props aresimple: acouple of strips of cloth sewn together at the two ends can become a boatwhen two actors take their places at the prow and stern.

Traditionally, Ache Lhamo has been performed during the Zholstonfestival period (the seventh and eighth months of the Tibetan calendar)inan annual celebration held in Norbuglingkha, Lhasa. Troupe membersincluded in the I987 Asia Society tour of the United States noted thatLhamo remains popular while other Chinese traditionalgenres may findtheir audiences dwindling.The following interview was conducted with Dacidan Duoji, the direc-tor of the touring company, and Xiaozhaxi Ciren, an actor, with theassistance of translator Peter Rushton, prior to their appearanceat theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz, 4 April 1987.

KARTER: We are wondering how you came to be performers in yourtroupe. Were you invited to join?2. TheZashishebaMaskDance, a cham ortempledance.(PhotobyJack Var-toogian)



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DUOJI: I used to enjoy watching the performances of Tibetan Opera.KARTER: Did you see many of these performances as a child?DUOJI: I didn't see many as a very young child, but by the time I was 13or 14, I started to watch them and became very fond of them. As perform-ers, we studied formally for 5 years in the [government supported] school.Then after graduation, students are invited to join the troupe.KARTER: What is the name of the school?DUOJI: The Lhasa Art School or Art Academy.KARTER: How many students are there at the school?DUOJI: The number of students varies from year to year according to thenumber accepted. At the school there is a dance program, an opera pro-gram, and a dramaprogram that does spoken drama. The dramaprogram,in contrast to the opera and dance school, has both traditionaland modernperformance training.KARTER: Do all the students become professional performers?DUOJI: They all become performers.FOLEY: Is there a family tradition in which people from artist familiesbecome performers?DUOJI: No, there isn't a strict family tradition-most of the parents arefarmers, but they are fond of theatre as well.KARTER: Are these farmers from many different villages?DUOJI: There are students from Lhasa, from agricultural villages, andeven from the pastoral regions.KARTER: And how often do the performances come to each village? Doperformances tour?DUOJI: It is a regular routine, touring the villages with these perfor-mances.KARTER: Are all troupes professional-that is, professionally trained-or are there also amateur troupes?DUOJI: Several amateur groups are quite active.KARTER: How many professional groups tour at one time, and how bigis each company that tours?DUOJI: There is only one professional rank group at a time. The dancegroup has 200 performers, and there are about 5o in the drama and operatroupes.KARTER: But surely all 200 don't go on each tour to a village?DUOJI: No, of course not; it depends on the need and the play.KARTER: Are all the performers that aretouring the U.S. from the operaschool or are there some from dance?DUOJI: All the people who came are members of the opera company.KARTER: Could you say a little about your five years of training?Whatcourses do you take and what do you learn?DUOJI: We learn basic movement. Basic movement is split into several

TibetanOpera 1353. A fishermaniom Unpa-dun. His mask s blueandsymbolizes hesea; theropesaroundhis skirtrepresenthenets usedto catchfish, andthe stickhe holdssymbolizeshisspear.(PhotobyJackVartoogian)



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136 KarterandFoleycategories, including Western ballet, Tibetan folk dance, and classical Chi-nese opera dance. Then there is the basic movement for Tibetan opera,which is distinct from folk dance. Western ballet, classical Chinese operatraining, folk dance, and Tibetan opera training-that is the dance. Thenthere is the voice training.

The number of students who go in for voice training is very small. Thetraining is very special and quite distinct from Western voice training.We've adopted some techniques from Chinese opera. But we have ourown indigenous voice training and approach to song. [. . .] The vocalrange is typically quite high for one thing. [. . .] For this training we haveto rely on the older traditional artists of this genre. We have several in thetroupe and they are outstanding singers. The young people study withthem. One of the ways of studying is to go by a mountain stream, awaterfall. The sound of your voice has to exceed the sound of the waterfall.It sounds rustic, folksy, even laughable, but it produces the results.KARTER: Are there places in the body that you try to make soundsbounce off of to create the notes?CIREN: When we sing it comes up from the back and through. [Hegestures from the base of the spine, up along the back, over the top of theskull, and down into the nasal region. He runs his hand back up and overagain to indicate that the total resonating areaincluding the full width ofthe back must be available to the singer in this technique.]FOLEY: You learn the technique only by copying the master?CIREN: It is an oral tradition, you must study with the old masters;it is alllearned in copying the master. There is no written music; it comes byimitating the sounds of the masters.FOLEY: Is the training different for women and men?DUOJI: It is basically the same, but the teachers aresplit. There is a maleteacher for males and a female teacher for females.FOLEY: Has the form always had women singing female roles?DUOJI: Before 1949, women were not permitted to perform.FOLEY: Are there some roles that could be played by either sex?DUOJI: Now women take female roles and men take male parts;however,some of the dances can be done by either men or women, like the maskdances. Still, the more energetic, martial mask dances will be given tomen.KARTER: What do you think about when you perform?Do you focus onthe words, the dance, the music, or what?CIREN: When singing, you concentrate on the emotion [of the song].When you are not singing, you keep in mind the general nature of thesituation.KARTER: When you areexpressing emotions do you remember incidentsfrom your own life, or what is the source of these emotions?DUOJI: In preparing a performance, we go over the entire text with thecast in detail. We read through it, do analysis and explanation. We studythe text, indicating what is expected of the individual characters. Then



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Tibetan Opera 1374. A sceneom Dadar-zugba (The MarriageAr-row). King Zajin (playedby Gesang Ciwang) choosesa wifefor his son. ActorXiaozhaxi Ciren is thebentfigurein thebackground.(PhotobyJack Vartoogian)

actors are given a period of time to think about how they would performthese feelings and emotions.KARTER: Do you say this characterhas to be angry and therefore I willshow anger, or this character is angry and therefore I will feel anger?Doyou think of times you were angry to feel it?DUOJI: We don't take from our own experience. There is the angerof thecharacterin the role and then there is your personal anger, and these aretwo differentthings. So it's not suitable. You've got to become thatpersonand your own anger is a separateissue; you've got to become that personthen and [share] that person's concerns.



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I38 KarterandFoley



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Tibetan Opera 139

KARTER: What kinds of audiencesdo you have, and is there such a thingas a typical audience?DUOJI: The stage requirements of the opera are minimal; it can be per-formed in an open square or a theatre, so we are not limited by that. Wehave big audiences. If we go into a village, everybody shows up. Typi-cally, we'll do a performancein the morning, then everybody will breaktolunch and rest, and then we'll do another performancein the afternoon.KARTER: How many pieces do you have in your repertoire?DUOJI: We have nine in our repertoirenow, and we are collecting mate-rial for three more.KARTER: And each is how long?DUOJI: A featureof Tibetan operais that pieces areflexible in length. Wecan take a story and run it from eight in the morning until six in theevening, or we can compress it into two hours or less, depending on howwe choose to do it.FOLEY: Are these stories that everybody in a village will know beforethey go to a performance?DUOJI: Yes, these arefamiliarstories. Audiences alreadyknow the plots,and want to see them again.FOLEY: Are scripts set or improvised?

6. A comical cenefromDoasammo in whichaherdsman(troupedirectorDacidanDuoji) andhis wife(Sangdon)havechurnedndmadeyak butter. PhotobyJack Vartoogian)

5. In theoperaDoasammo, SangdonasQueenHajiang(standing)andYanglaas thequeen'smaidservantssume olesthatwere,until 1949, takenbymen. (PhotobyJackVartoogian)



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I40 KarterandFoleyDUOJI: The nine [that we perform] areset. All the spoken and all the sungparts are written down, but there are no musical scores.KARTER: How do audiences react during a performance?DUOJI: The audiences cry and laugh. [.. .] It is very much like the PekingOpera.KARTER: Can you anticipate where the audiencewill laugh and cry, anddo you build that into the show?DUOJI: Yes, we have a pretty good idea.KARTER: With the way you sing, does the audience still follow all thewords?DUOJI: Yes, they understand because they are familiar with the story.They practicallyknow the stories by heart;they know what is coming up.FOLEY: What is the source of the stories?DUOJI: They come from the oral storytelling tradition. Storytellers gointo the villages and illustrate these stories with pictures. This is an oldstorytelling tradition with written texts.KARTER: If a piece is done by an amateur and a professional companywould it be done in the same way?DUOJI: The way of presenting it would be somewhat different becausethe amateur troupe doesn't have the same experience and doesn't usuallyperform on a stage but is more accustomed to having the audience on foursides.

ReferenceYao, Wang,ed.I986 TalesromTibetanOpera.Beijing:New WorldPress.

Kathy Foley is an AssistantProfessorof Theatre Arts at the University ofCalifornia,SantaCruz, and doesresearch n IndonesianTheatre.She is authorofthe Southeast Asian sectionof theforthcomingCambridge Guide to WorldTheatre andSoutheastAsian editorof Asian TheatreJournal.M. Joshua Karter is a Lecturert the Universityof California,SantaCruz, andArtistic Directorof Route One Productions, theatrecompanybased n the SanFranciscoBay Area.Peter Rushton is a Lecturern Chineseat the University of California,SantaCruz.

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