Stylish Elements in a Traditional Opera Genre: Quanzhou Liyuan Opera

Quanzhou's Liyuan opera may be one of the oldest existing form of Chinese opera in China, but it doesn't mean that they are so traditional to the point they become old-fashion. At least not in terms of character makeup (costume and hairdo). Instead of spotting regular "datou" on female roles as in more traditional opera genres like Peking opera and Cantonese opera, Liyuan opera had gone through a fair bit of "cosmetic surgery" to inject some modern elements in their character portrayal. Below  are some pictures taken during Fujian Liyuan Opera Experimental Troupe's performance at Taiwan earlier this year. The troupe performed an excerpt from "Li Yaxian" for the opening of Koxinga Festival.

Actually, the "datou" system of hairdo has not been completely removed from Liyuan opera, but their style of "datou" is very different from other opera genre; some featured sharp pointed fringes, some had slanted gelled fringes, and typical the actors do not decorate their hair as elaborate as other opera genres, hence creating a more minimalist and elegant look. Here are some other character portrayals from other shows by the same troupe.