清朝乾隆五十五年(公元1790年)，来自中国南方的四大徽班陆续进入北京。第一个进京的徽班是以唱“二黄”声腔为主的“三庆”，由于其声腔及剧目都很丰富，逐渐压倒了当时盛行于北京的秦腔。许多秦腔班演员转入徽班，形成徽秦两腔的融合。随后，另外三个徽班：“四喜”、“春台”和“和春”也来到北京，使盛行多年的昆剧逐渐衰落，昆剧演员也多转入徽班。到了清朝道光年间湖北演员进京，带来了楚调(汉调、西皮调)，在京师与徽班造成了西皮与二黄合流，形成所谓的“皮黄戏”。此时在京师里形成的皮黄戏，受到北京语音与腔调的影响，有了“京音”的特色。后来由于他们经常到上海演出，上海人就把这种带有北京特点的皮黄戏叫做“京戏”，也叫“京剧”。又由于京剧在京师的迅速发展，使其艺术水平在中国戏曲中名列前茅，后来在全中国流行，所以也被称为“国剧”。HistoryofPekingOperaWithitsfascinatingandartisticaccompanyingmusic,singingandcostumes,thePekingOperaisChina'snationalopera.FullofChineseculturalfacts,theoperapresentstheaudiencewithanencyclopediaofChineseculture,aswellasunfoldingstories,beautifulpaintings,exquisitecostumes,graceulgesturesandmartialarts.SincePekingOperaenjoysahigherreputationthanotherlocaloperas,almosteveryprovinceinChinahasmorethanonePekingOperatroupe.OperaissopopularamongChinesepeople,especiallyseniors,thateven"PekingOperaMonth"hasbeendeclared.
PekingOperahasa200-year-longhistory.ItsmainmelodiesoriginatedfromXipiandErhuanginAnhuiandHubeirespectivelyand,overtime,techniquesfrommanyotherlocaloperaswereincorporatedintoPekingOpera.
ItisbelievedthatPekingOperagraduallycameintobeingafter1790whenthefamousfourAnhuioperatroupescametoBeijing.PekingOperaunderwentfastdevelopmentduringthereignofEmperorQianlongandthenotoriousEmpressDowagerCixiundertheimperialpatron,eventuallybecomingmoreaccessibletothecommonpeople.Inancienttimes,PekingOperawasperformedmostlyonstageintheopenair,teahousesortemplecourtyards.Sincetheorchestraplayedloudly,theperformersdevelopedapiercingstyleofsongthatcouldbeheardbyeveryone.Thecostumeswereagarishcollectionofsharplycontrastingcolorstostandoutonthedimstageilluminatedonlybyoillamps.PekingOperaisaharmoniouscombinationoftheGrandOpera,balletandacrobatics,consistingofdance,dialogue,monologues,martialartsandmime.ThePekingOperabandmainlyconsistsofanorchestraandpercussionband.Theformerfrequentlyaccompaniespeacefulsceneswhilethelatterprovidestherightatmosphereforbattlescenes.Thecommonlyusedpercussioninstrumentsincludecastanets,drums,bellsandcymbals.Onepersonusuallyplaysthecastanetsanddrumsimultaneously,whichconducttheentireband.TheorchestralinstrumentsincludetheErhu,Huqin,Yueqin,Sheng(reedpipe),Pipa(lute)andotherinstruments.Thebandusuallysitsontheleftsideofthestage.
