Yue opera

Yue opera (越剧), also called Shaoxing opera, is a major Chinese opera form, second only to Peking opera in national popularity. It began in 1906 in Shengzhou, a county in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. A distinctive feature is that women perform male roles, and the style emphasizes femininity in singing, acting, and stage design. Though it started in the countryside, Yue opera found a thriving second home in Shanghai, China’s wealthiest city, where it surpassed both Peking opera and the local Shanghai opera in popularity. The opera is sung in a Wu dialect, so it is most common in Wu-speaking regions like southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. A notable audience also exists in Hong Kong, thanks to Shanghainese migrants who moved there. The fan base is mostly women, which has shaped the repertoire: love stories dominate, and acrobatic fighting scenes are rare.

Before 1906, Yue opera’s roots were in story-singing, a pastime for people in Sheng County. The lyrics often came from conversations overheard among farmers at work, and audiences liked them for their vivid, everyday details. The Second Opium War hurt the local economy in the Jiangnan area near Shanghai, so farmers in Sheng County began using this folk art as a second income. Over time, the lyrics built up a foundation for Yue opera, and the folk music developed its own character. Performers added simple acting and instruments, and the art became known in Sheng County and nearby areas.

According to oral tradition among Yue opera practitioners, the opera officially started in 1906. At the end of the first lunar month (Zhengyue) that year, artists gathered at the home of Chen Wanyuan. They usually performed in pairs or trios and had never worked together before, but Chen and other locals urged them to stage one joint show instead of several separate ones. That first performance was a hit, and people were eager to talk about it. Soon, more counties invited the troupe to perform. Because the music’s tones resembled those of Shange (mountain songs), people called the art “Small Tunes and Songs Troupes.” The word “small” highlighted its folk origins, contrasting with the “large” formal operas of the area. Performances were basic: actors were often peasants who worked between harvests, wore no costumes (or rented simple ones from larger troupes), and used few props. The only accompaniment was a pair of drums and a wooden clapper played offstage, making the troupes highly mobile. The plain, everyday language made the opera accessible and popular locally.

As the “Small Tunes and Songs Troupes” grew, they entered Shanghai theaters. Their unique, soft, elegant singing stood out from more political or spectacular shows, and they found an audience. In 1916, the name changed to Shaoxing Civil Opera to better reflect the art as a regional cultural expression. But the singing style and banhu fiddle accompaniment were seen as underdeveloped and crude compared to more refined opera genres in Shanghai, so the opera lost prestige and popularity there. Returning to Sheng County, performers like Wang Jinshui (1879–1944) worked hard to improve. They absorbed elements from other opera styles, including Peking opera they had seen in Shanghai. This blending produced the “Four Gong Pitch,” a musical innovation that solved the awkwardness of women playing male roles. The Shaoxing Civil Operatic Troupe also developed systematic training in singing and sound practice, using erhu and other huqin instruments as alternatives to adjust the music.

Impressed by Shanghai’s lively arts scene, Wang Jinshui saw a business opportunity in founding an all-female opera. In February 1923, he opened a girls’ opera class—an organization where members worked and studied together—spending heavily to attract and reward young women. But the first class lasted only six years, turning into the first professional women’s troupe at the end of the girls’ apprenticeship. In the 1920s, women and performers (called Xizi) had low social status, and governments thought women’s opera cheapened the art. Under pressure and with a limited market, the first wave of female artists left after six years to marry. Still, their progress was notable. As the opera’s influence grew, more female classes appeared. By the early 1930s, Zhejiang Province had about two hundred such classes and two thousand students.