Jinghu leads the way

Peking Opera isn't only about its trademark singing, choreography and painted faces. The secret to the art lies in its small orchestra where jinghu (a Chinese bowed string instrument) is the lead. It conducts, improvises and has a beauty of its own.

Now, a show looking back at the history of this instrument is combining some of the best Peking Opera arias. The show doubles as a lesson about the 200-year-old art of Peking Opera, and will be staged at the Oriental Theater on Oct 15.

The performance, organized by the Beijing Jinghu Research Center in Beijing, will open with jinghu and Peking Opera in its nascent, simple form from the early 19th century, followed by the orchestra's gradual growth in variety and expressiveness in the past century. It will present Peking Opera's nine most famous arias and close with a rearranged chapter of the art in a most grandiose form, by partnering with the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra.