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f you want to watch a music performance that combines song, dance, and striking design, just forget about the latest pop video. Take a look at a truly original style of musical performance: Chinese opera. Last month was on a trip in Shanghai I was staying with my Chinese friend Mai-Li. She insisted that we go to the Chinese opera and I have to admit the experience was amazing from beginning to end.

Opera has a long history in China. In ancient times, actors performed the operas on the streets on temporary stages with only hanging lanterns for lighting. It's funny to think that such grand art started out like that!

We arrived at the theatre just before the lights went down. As the curtain rose, the actors came on stage in their beautiful costumes, the fiery reds and ribbons of gold and silver were like a kaleidoscope of colour! The costumes go all the way 15 back to the street show days, when the actors used to wear bright colours to stand out in the dark.

The singing was quite strange - very sharp and high-pitched. Just like the costumes, the singing style was really ancient. The street performers used to sing that way so that their 20 voices could carry over the crowds who gathered to watch.

The opera we saw was 'Lady White Snake'; a classic Chinese folk tale. A white snake changes into a beautiful girl, and then falls in love with a human. But the actors didn't only tell the story through song, the dancing and acrobatics were 25 fantastic, too. The actors used not only their faces but also their whole bodies to act out the story and show their emotions. These actors train very hard at opera schools for years from about the age of 7 or 8. There weren't a lot of stage props or scenery because the actors use a lot of symbols 30 to help tell the story. An actor galloping with a whip, for example, means they are riding a horse. Doing somersaults from a table or a pile of chairs means they are running down a mountain.

The actors' make-up was incredible. Each colour has a special 35 meaning and reveals something about their character; red means loyalty and bravery, black shows a warrior or a wild character, blue means cruelty and gold and silver means mystery. At the finale, it was breathtaking to see them all on stage together in their bright costumes and make-up. I 40 didn't think that opera was for me, but I can't believe how much I enjoyed it. You must all see a Chinese opera one day