Research...

FAIRYTALES-

- They were originally classified under the category of fantasy before the word Fairy tale was coined by Madame D'Aulnoy who translated it from french.

- There is no definate history or date to indicate when fairy tales began to be told. It is a subclass of folklore which can go as far back as the Indian Panchatantra, which was told and pass on by mouth from generations to generations until they were finally recorded.

- It is not necessary for there to be fairies in the story for it to be classified a fairy tale. However, there has to be a fantasy and unrealistic element to it like talking animals, a location as well as a time that is imaginary (Hence most fairy tales start with - Once upon a time in a land far far away).

- Each literary fairy tale draws on folk traditions, if only in parody. This makes it impossible to trace forms of transmission of a fairy tale. Oral story-tellers have been known to read literary fairy tales to increase their own stock of stories and treatments.

- The first collectors to attempt to preserve not only the plot and characters of the tale, but also the style in which they were preserved, were the Brothers Grimm, collecting German fairy tales; ironically enough, this meant although their first edition remains a treasure for folklorists, they rewrote the tales in later editions to make them more acceptable, which ensured their sales and the later popularity of their work.

- Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures. In the case of the fairytale Cinderella, the characters are clearly divided into the good and the bad. The Abuser and the abused. There is a happy ending. The persecuted rises above the persicutor eventually.

- Originally, fairytales were meant for the young and the old. But in the 19th and the 20th century, it began to evolve into something that was meant for children. Older versions of fairytales were changed to meet the needs of this new young audience and even the Brothers Grimm wrote new, happier, cleaner versions of old tales. This was done because they were always based on the fcat that good triumphs over evil in the end, a value that parents wanted to tecah children., The best way to do so was proven through be through story telling. And so it was done.

- Now a days, the classic fairy tale is being twisted around and made to spread the messgae on issues thgat the world is facing today. One of the main problems that have arisen is the 'damsel in distress' situations that always occur, that had feminist fuming.

- There are many ways to interpret a fairy tale and many messages that can be extracted. Perrault concluded his versions with one, although not always completely moral: Cinderella concludes with the observation that her beauty and character would have been useless without her godmother, reflecting the importance of social connections, but could symbolize a spiritual meaning. OTHERS say that the main message was the fact that one has to be at the right place at the right time. SOME say that it shows that truth and kindness will triumph over evil.

MOST information was taken from this website-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale

THe dark tale(original) can be found on -
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/grimm/bl-grimm-cinderella.htm

BEIJING OPERA-
(Justification for this type of Opera stated in last post)

- Beijing opera was born when the "Four Great Anhui Troupes" came to Beijing in 1790. Beijing opera was originally staged for the court and came into the public later.

- It was not a new art form in itself, but because it evolved so late, it was actually a combination of various historical art and Opera forms.

- But new elements were also added. It wasnt as singing based, there was more acrobatics intorduced and the roles of charcaters was also changed, makeup was different fro the sake of the audience, high pitch singing was stopped and the plays were kept shorter.

- It is mainly based on stories told of China's history and has become increasingly contemporary dealing with issues in society.

- Due to a decrease in audience numbers as well as restraints from the government, the art form has been revised continually. These reforms, which include improving performance quality, adapting new performance elements, and performing new and original plays.

- They usually have three kinds of speech
i) Monologues, Duologues and short prose usually added in for humour.
ii) Quotations of famous Chinese proverbs and tecahings.
iii) conventionalized stage speech- introductory speeches given by characters.

-The oldest and most generally used system is to sort plays into civil and martial types. Civil plays focus on the relationships between characters, and feature personal, domestic, and romantic situations. The element of singing is frequently used to express emotion in this type of play. Martial plays feature a greater emphasis on action and combat skill. The two types of play also feature different arrays of performers.

- Now a days to attract more crowds, Beijing Opera has been adapting Shakespear scripts and plays into its traditional forms.