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Dress-up of Cantonese opera Makeup At early stage, performers liked to wear a great deal of makeup, but they used very simple cosmetics. The main five colors—red, black, white, blue and yellow—symbolized loyalty, honesty, cattiness, arrogance and capability, respectively. Different roles might wear different types of make-up in order to match the role. However, in the 1920s performers preferred to wear light makeup, and the most common makeup was “red-white face.”

Headwear There is a variety of headwear used in Cantonese opera, such as headgear, chignon and accessories. Different types of headwear have their own characteristics, so they must each be used and protected in a different way. In general, females have more headwear than males. But male performers do have some headwear, such as Taizi (Chinese prince) helmets. What Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions wears is a Taizi helmet, which is often worn by princes or young generals.

Costume In the beginning, Cantonese opera costumes reflected the clothing style of the Ming Dynasty. Later, as Peking opera became increasingly popular, it was strongly influenced by Peking opera costumes. Costumes were made of cloth and later some accessories were added. Today embroidered costumes are the order of the day.

Different roles require different costumes. For example, an actor playing the Xiaosheng, a very gentle role, wears a costume with long sleeves, while the Xiaowu, an acting role, demands a costume with short sleeves so as to act easily.

Performing skills Generally, Cantonese opera performers have to master four skills: singing, acting/movement, delivery of speeches, and martial/gymnastic skills.

Different roles conform to different requirements and are each sung in their own way. Males often sing falsetto to act as females. Until the 20th century, all female roles were performed by males. Acting refers to body language, including gestures and particular styles of walking on the stage. Performers deliver speeches to inform the audience of the opera’s plot and the characters’ emotions.