The Faces of Grief

Grief is portrayed here by a Kun opera artist over the demise of her lover. The Kun opera or kunju is one of the oldest forms of Chinese folkloric music. It is characterised by a series of melodic and lyrical songs that comprise a larger part of the program, in contrast with the more popular Beiing opera which utilizes a lot of vocal arias through out. The Kun was developed during the Ming dynasty, during the 13th through the 16th century in southern China particularly around the Suzhou area.