A Guide to Puccini's Ugly-Cry Opera (No Spoilers!)

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@Larindarr Жыл бұрын

As some one who is very well acquainted with Japanese history and the role of Geisha I will make a slight correction but actually a very important one. During the era of isolation in Japan this was called EDO. The era where the feudal warlord system was changing to imperialism was called Bakumatsu period. The era where Japan had more western influences was Meiji. Primarily Women were not allowed to perform on stage UNLESS Geisha. geisha in Japanese means moving art. They were not courtesans. NOT. They were in their own right artists. They were scouted from a very early age, trained and then they performed. They were taken in and recruited by the Ochiya (tea house) they belonged to. And if they were successful enough they could pay back the tea house all expenses to train them and be free. Many opened their own tea house training school etc or married or not. This model is still used in Japan in the entertainment business, where any artist at all from ANY discipline must belong to a talent agency. The talent agency polishes or trains the artists depending on skill and preferably trains them to span many areas of entertainment and gain capital. In Japan at the time there were two types of Geisha: Maiko, in training or young, which wore brighter colours and long sleeves. And Geiko, the veteran mature and older women who wore more elegant and modest clothing as well as shorter sleeves. Some retired Geisha even became instrumental accompanists. The Geisha were respected artists in their own standing on par with kabuki actors in prestige and socio political influence as the samurai. They had to choose, based on their aptitudes the atmosphere they would represent: from kimono design, "stage" (the area they would perform with wooden carvings and imagery in the back) to ornaments and accessories, instruments, music (they would even write the music) to the dishes presented and drinks and colour of the room. Making them a provider of income to all those who made these. This was the only avenue aside from marriage servitude, slavery and prostitution women in Japan at the time had. Then there were the Orian. The Orian were actual prostitutes who mimicked the Geisha attire and dressed more loosely (revealing neck nape and the kimono being more loose to imply such activities) The Orian would get a very visible procession to a client's destination vs the Geisha who would only take a small carriage. This was to differentiate them. The Orioan jumped on the popularity of the Geisha but never had a pounce of the education or skill they did. No arts skills or education in anything. Never the less to still hire an Orian a customer had to be a regular, for which the had to pay a fee, and would not be allowed to even get close to her. A series of various meetings would have to be paid for making them "regular" and until and if she agreed. During the Bakumatsu era when Japan turned imperial, to prevent it from being at war with itself and therefore not vulnerable to the pressures of Western nations who threatened to invade unless they traded with them (U.S) and having learned form how China and India were divided that way and colonized, Japan united itself by force under imperial rule. The samurai and Geisha were hubs where influential ppl transited and they had information. To prevent another rising faction which would make them truly weak and prone to being conquered by a foreign entity, these two points and to be placated. And it is then why in the Meiji era there were "rurouni" (masterless or wandering Samurai) who no longer had the authority they once had and were shunned by society, and the Geisha were demoted and forced to join the Orian. Many quit, many stayed as accompanists and to train and refine the Orian. Many had to start over, or married etc. Diaries of a Geisha has been condemned in Japan and by the former real life person it is based on for not being accurate and misconstruing things. Sorry I thought this was important for ppl to know. To better understand it.

@clairetaylor7989 Жыл бұрын

I am teaching a class in Italian opera and will use these guides-- both accurate and fun! Thank you for being so precise and taking your time to make a quality video!