Peking Opera "the Drunken Beauty" Singing Studies

During its long time development, Peking Opera has accumulated its unique systematic tunes and styles through combining various types of arts, and has once been the centre of all genres of dramas in China. So it is safe to say that Peking Opera is a most typical example of Chinese traditional dramas (especially of the Banqiang-style traditional opera). The Drunken Beauty, occupies an extraordinary position in the development of Peking Opera and is of milestone significance especially to the melody of the Mei Lanfang School. This opera presents the distinctive artistic charm of the Mei Lanfang School melody and also reflects its remarkable influence on the art of Peking Opera and its melodies.Through various methods, such as making analyses and comparisons, this article selects one of the classic opera pieces of the Mei Lanfang School—the Drunken Beauty as its object of study and takes the melody of Mei Lanfang as its reference. On the analysis of the feature of Mei Lanfang's melody, this article compares the Mei Lanfang School with other schools (the Shang Xiaoyun School and the Cheng Yanqian School, etc), and try to sort out the application and innovation of the Drunken Beauty's melody in the process of cultural development, hoping to explore its reference value in musical culture as well as its prospects. In Chapter 1, by taking the Drunken Beauty performed by Mei Lanfang as our object, we sort out and analyze the melody designation and structures, as well as its musical features.In Chapter 2, on the basis of the research in chapter 1, we take notes of the respective melodies of some representative artists both from the Mei Lanfang School and other schools. In Chapter3, according to the development of the times as well as the change and development of the artistic form of the burgeoning music, we analyze the application of the Drunken Beauty from different perspectives.Through the comprehensive analyses and research of the Drunken Beauty, we draw the conclusion that it has been occupying a crucial position in the development of Chinese traditional Peking Opera; seeing from the transformation it has presented with the changes of the times, we also understand that not only through inheriting the pith and marrow of tradition, but also by holding an open and innovative spirit, can Peking Opera, as one of the most typical Chinese traditional artistic forms, develop and expand itself against the multicultural backdrop.