Ou Opera

Ou opera is a traditional regional theatre of the Wenzhou area, taking shape in the Ming and Qing dynasties, centred on luantan singing and embracing other styles such as gaoqiang, kunqiang and pihuang, with a rich repertoire. It entered the second national ICH list in 2008.

Ou opera centres on the "correct" and "inverted" luantan tunes while absorbing other vocal styles; its acting prizes stage action and excels in martial scenes, using Wenzhou mandarin and dialect speech, its painted faces and costumes steeped in distinctly Ou-Yue local colour.

Ou opera represents Wenzhou's regional theatre, blending several vocal styles with the local Ou-Yue dialect and carrying the folk dramatic tradition of southern Zhejiang, of significant value for studying how the province's local opera forms arose and evolved.