About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
Chinese Opera looks at Chinese society through an exciting series of photographs of operatic performances from many regions of the country. The book introduces the reader to this unique theatrical form and tells the traditional stories that are its narrative foundation. Siu Wang-Ngai's extraordinary images, taken in natural light during performances, lovingly reveal the visual excitement of Chinese opera and point to the differences in costuming and presentation that distinguish each regional style and character type.
Contributor Notes
Siu Wang-Ngai is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britian and Chair of the Federation of Hong Kong-Macau Photographic Association. He lives in Hong Kong, where he practices law. Peter Lovrick has taught the History of Performing Arts in China at the University of Toronto's East Asian Studies department for the past several years. He also teaches full time at George Brown College's English and Liberal Studies Department.
Awards
- Short-listed, George Freedley Memorial Award, Theatre Library Association
- Short-listed, Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, Pacific Rim Voices Project
- Short-listed, "Required Reading", Globe & Mail
Editorial Reviews
This is the ideal coffee-table book; gorgeous pictures with pithy text, providing an insight into not only the art, but the history, folklore and traditions of China.
— Globe & Mail
The photographs ... are extraordinary theatrical records by any standards.... Siu has managed to capture the drama, colour and humanity of this theatre form. ... a remarkable book on Chinese opera... as well as being interesting to the converted, will also be an invaluable aide to newcomers to the theatre form ... laudably-straightforward language.
— The Review (Hong Kong), Sept. 6, 1997
Lovrick and Hong Kong-based photographer Siu Wang Ngai effectively lift the curtain on the mysteries of this ancient and venerable artform in a lavishly-produced overview of its many conventions and styles.
— Vancouver Sun
