TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-Dressing and Gendered Voice Representation in Cantonese Opera
AU - Chan, Kar Yue
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The practice of “cross-dressing” is frequently seen in Cantonese operatic performances, whether in the physical attire worn by actors in on-stage shows or in the “virtual” disguises adopted in operatic song performances. Most instances of cross-dressing are cases of actresses disguising themselves to play male roles, owing to the innate constraints of male voices that make it difficult for most men to imitate female voices. Especially in pure singing scenarios, audiences frequently encounter female singers performing in a male voice, or actresses performing male gestures to act out the roles that they assume. The cross-dressing aspect of the role blurs the boundaries between the two genders. As cross-dressing performance has traditionally been a part of Chinese opera, it is worthwhile to analyze the gendered aspects of such cross-dressing practices by adopting a Western gender-studies perspective. In the case of the complicated physical and mental aspects of cross-dressing performance, accurately capturing a vocal representation of the opposite gender may involve displacement leading to a misapprehension of the performer‘s real-life gender. The combination and sublimation suggested by this `patchwork‘-style of role crossover is therefore worthy of in-depth discussion regarding the degree of gender-boundary confusion, flexibility and feasibility presented by these operatic performances.
AB - The practice of “cross-dressing” is frequently seen in Cantonese operatic performances, whether in the physical attire worn by actors in on-stage shows or in the “virtual” disguises adopted in operatic song performances. Most instances of cross-dressing are cases of actresses disguising themselves to play male roles, owing to the innate constraints of male voices that make it difficult for most men to imitate female voices. Especially in pure singing scenarios, audiences frequently encounter female singers performing in a male voice, or actresses performing male gestures to act out the roles that they assume. The cross-dressing aspect of the role blurs the boundaries between the two genders. As cross-dressing performance has traditionally been a part of Chinese opera, it is worthwhile to analyze the gendered aspects of such cross-dressing practices by adopting a Western gender-studies perspective. In the case of the complicated physical and mental aspects of cross-dressing performance, accurately capturing a vocal representation of the opposite gender may involve displacement leading to a misapprehension of the performer‘s real-life gender. The combination and sublimation suggested by this `patchwork‘-style of role crossover is therefore worthy of in-depth discussion regarding the degree of gender-boundary confusion, flexibility and feasibility presented by these operatic performances.
KW - Cantonese opera
KW - cross-dressing
KW - gendered voice
KW - impersonation
KW - queer culture
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111691461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/25723618.2019.1615727
DO - 10.1080/25723618.2019.1615727
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85111691461
VL - 3
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Comparative Literature: East and West
JF - Comparative Literature: East and West
IS - 1
ER -