This dissertation investigates the cultural, vocal, and performative characteristics of the Western countertenor and the Peking Opera male dan (男旦), presenting a comparative inquiry into two voice types that share surface similarities yet originat...
This dissertation investigates the cultural, vocal, and performative characteristics of the Western countertenor and the Peking Opera male dan (男旦), presenting a comparative inquiry into two voice types that share surface similarities yet originate from fundamentally different traditions. The theoretical background is organized into three parts. First, it traces the historical development of the countertenor and categorizes its principal types, noting their vocal ranges, timbral traits, and stage functions. Second, it outlines the role system of Peking Opera and the evolution of the male dan, with attention to role classifications, codified movement vocabulary, and costume semiotics. Third, it establishes an analytical frame consisting of three axes—historical–cultural context, artistic techniques, and contemporary development—which guides the subsequent chapters.
A focused discussion on voice production follows. This section explains vocal-fold vibration and breath management, and compares resonance strategies and vowel shaping in each tradition. The thesis then presents two pairs of close readings. The first examines Oberon’s arias, “I know a bank” and “Flower of this purple dye,” from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, analyzing musical architecture, diction and language clarity, technical practice approaches for fast or ornamented passages, and the construction of Oberon as an otherworldly, gender-ambivalent figure. The second pair studies two classic scenes from Guifei zuijiu (《贵妃醉酒》): “Haidao binglun chuzhuan teng” and “Erbian xiang you tingde jiadao baihuating.” It considers phrase design and tempo, the principle that “the word leads the tune,” the execution of tuoqiang (拖腔), and the coding of gender transformation through gesture, movement, makeup, and costume.
The final part examines the modern stage. In Western opera, it surveys works inspired by mythic or distant worlds, operas associated with Philip Glass, and compositions from the early twenty-first century onward. In Asia, it documents recent operatic activity in Korea, Japan, and China, showing how the countertenor—an originally Western vocal type—has been reinterpreted through Asian aesthetic sensibilities. Developments in contemporary Peking Opera are likewise categorized into three directions: adaptations that integrate operatic methods, new productions of “modern Peking Opera,” and selective incorporation of popular music and media art.
The findings reveal that the countertenor and the male dan, though culturally distinct, share a reliance on falsetto and employ sound, movement, makeup, and costume to construct recognizable gendered images. On modern stages, both voice types are expanding in expressive scope. The study argues that careful mutual learning and collaboration can enrich performance practice and pedagogy while preserving the integrity of each tradition’s artistic values.