Yuju Opera

Yuju, or Henan Opera, is a traditional opera originating in Henan Province with wide popularity. It is also called Henan bangzi because the performance is accompanied with bangzi ("clappers") made of jujube wood. With a history of more than 100 years, it is one of the five major opera schools in China together with Peking Opera, Yueju Opera, Pingju Opera, and Huangmei Opera.

Yuju Opera was a highly influential genre during Emperor Qianlong's reign (1736-1795) in the Qing Dynasty. As it developed, it took in the elements of many other opera schools and extensively absorbed the folk music, singing art, and short lyrics popular in Henan, growing into a distinct local opera featuring straightforward plain expressions, a rich variety of topics and contents, and fine and nuanced sentiments.

Immersed in the Central Plains culture, especially the Yellow River culture, the opera gives off a unique Henan style in its repertoire, performance, characterization, expression, and melody. Unconstrained, cadent, and articulate, this enchantingly expressive art form makes a valuable asset and a crown jewel in China's large pool of local operas for its large number of troupes and programs, vast audience base, and great economic benefits. In May 2006, Yuju Opera was placed on China's first list of national intangible cultural heritage.

豫劇

豫劇是發(fā)源于河南省、流傳于全國(guó)各地的傳統(tǒng)戲劇，因?yàn)槠湟魳?lè)伴奏用棗木梆子打拍，故又名“河南梆子”，已有上百年的傳承歷史，與京劇、越劇、評(píng)劇、黃梅戲并稱(chēng)為“中國(guó)五大戲曲劇種”。

豫劇早在清朝乾隆年間就已成為中國(guó)極具影響力的戲曲劇種之一。豫劇在生成和發(fā)展時(shí)期，汲取了多種戲曲劇種的藝術(shù)因素，廣泛吸收河南民間流行的音樂(lè)、曲藝說(shuō)唱和俗曲小令，形成了樸直淳厚、豐富細(xì)膩、富于鄉(xiāng)土氣息的劇種特色。

豫劇藝術(shù)長(zhǎng)期受中原文化特別是黃河流域地域文化影響，在演出劇目、舞臺(tái)表演、人物塑造、表述方式、音樂(lè)唱腔等方面形成了獨(dú)特的河南地方風(fēng)格，唱腔鏗鏘大氣、抑揚(yáng)有度，行腔酣暢、吐字清晰，善于表達(dá)人物內(nèi)心情感，散發(fā)著無(wú)窮的藝術(shù)魅力，是中國(guó)戲曲寶庫(kù)中的珍貴財(cái)富。豫劇在劇目生產(chǎn)、劇團(tuán)數(shù)量、觀眾人數(shù)、市場(chǎng)效益等方面，為當(dāng)代地方戲之翹楚。2006年5月，豫劇被列入第一批國(guó)家級(jí)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄。