Wayang Kulit Traditional Asian Theater Music Quiz

Traditional Asian Theater Music

Wayang Kulit (Indonesia)

• Wayang means "theater" in Indonesian and Malay, and can refer to the puppet itself in puppet theater.
• Kulit means "skin", referring to the leather construction of the puppets, which are carefully cut and supported with buffalo horn handles and control rods.
• The dalang prepares all materials used, including cloth and light, for the shadow puppet performance.
• Wayang kulit performances are accompanied by a gamelan ensemble, a traditional Indonesian percussion orchestra.

Peking Opera (China)

• The goal of Peking opera artists is to make every performance exceptionally beautiful in every movement.
• Distinct make-up faces of Peking Opera actors and actresses show their outstanding roles in the play, differing in color to represent an artist's role symbolically.
• There are four main roles in Peking Opera:
  • Sheng: the main male role.
  • Dan: any female role.
  • Jing: a painted face male role, playing primary or secondary roles, requiring a strong voice and ability to exaggerate gestures.
  • Chou: a male clown role, playing secondary roles, meaning "ugly" in Chinese.
• Types of music in Peking Opera include:
  • Aria: a solo accompaniment portraying a character.
  • Qupai: a fixed-tuned melody.
  • Percussion pattern: providing context to the music according to the character's rank and personality.

Kabuki (Japan)

• Kabuki means "song" (ka), "dance" (bu), and "act" (ki).
• One of the onstage segments of Kabuki is called Debayasi, divided into two song (nagauta and joruri) or a chant with highly dramatic recitation with the accompaniment of shamisen.
• Nagauta is a popular shamisen music, with songs like "Sakura" being widely performed in Kabuki, Japan.