Tibetan Opera is commonly known as Tibetan drama. Tibetan opera in Tibetan means “The Fairy Sisters”. According to legend, the earliest performers of Tibetan opera were seven sisters. Most opera content concerns Buddhist myths.
Tibetan opera originated from the cradle of the Tibetan people, namely the Yarlung Valley in Shannan. It has a very long history, and is one of few local opera of ethnic minorities in China. Tibetan opera first appeared in the 8th century, and proposed greatly in the form of singing (main form), chanting, dancing, and other skills. The singing style of Tibetan opera is very loud. The tune is basically personalized, and the cantor is echoed by others. Ancient Tibetan opera was formerly known as a kind of square opera. The musical instruments for it were primarily drums and cymbals. The modern Tibetan opera has scripts, dance performances, personalized music, different characteristics, costume and masks, band and vocal accompaniment. Eights classic Tibetan opera programs were gradually formed. They include Princess Wencheng, Prince Norsang, Cholwa Sangmo, Namsa Wenbang, Bema Wenba, Toinyu Toinzhol, Chilmei Genten and Sogyi Nyima.
The performance of Tibetan opera consists of three parts, namely “opening”, “body”, and “end”. The opening part has the significance of purifying the venue and praying for Buddha’s blessing. The performance style is ancient, rough, cheerful and mysterious. At the “body” stage, the traditional repertories are performed. They have a strong literary flavor and use poetic language. Most of the content is related to the Buddhist stories. Sometimes, Tibetan song and dance and folk art are also performed. At the “end” stage, the blessing ceremony will be held.
Tibetan opera is very complex and varied. Because of different natural conditions, customs, culture traditions, dialects and voices of Tibet, the opera has created different artistic genre and schools. Tibetan opera is the root of Tibetan opera art. Through the monks and pilgrims, it was spread to the Tibetan-inhabited areas of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, and developed into the Huangnan Tibetan opera of Qinghai, Gannan Tibetan opera of Gansu, Seda Tibetan opera of Sichuan, etc. Tibetan opera was also spread to some localties in India, Bhutan and other countries.