Acoustic Analyses of the Singing Vibrato in Traditional Peking Opera

SummaryChina's traditional Peking Opera has four standard categories of roles: Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou, the singing vibrato of each displaying a different auditory effect. The audio and respiratory signals were recorded for two performers of the Qing Yi role, one of the Jing role, one of the Chou role, one of the Lao Sheng role, one of the Xiao Sheng role, and one of the Lao Dan role. The recordings gained eventually consisted of 24 representative songs from six roles. The rates and extents of vibrato, fundamental frequency, and rib cage signals were analyzed. Two findings were obtained: (1) the classical opera singing vibratos of China and Western countries are acoustically different from each other; and (2) in Peking Opera, the singing vibratos of different roles show significant acoustic differences.