NÔ is Japan's classical stage art which combines elements of dance, drama, music and poetry into one highly stylistic and aesthetic performance. It developed into its present form during the 14th and 15th centuries and has since been passed down among professional performers, mainly male and largely among traditional families. Though it was originally performed outdoors, today it is usually performed in indoor
NÔ theaters (nohgakudo) in Japan's major cities. There is also a wide following of both male and female amateurs who practice and perform its chant, dance and instruments.
A performance of
NÔ consists of one or more individual plays including both the serious
NÔ plays which might last from 45 minutes to two hours as well as shorter comic plays known as kyogen which last from 15 to 45 minutes. While the serious
NÔ is musical in nature and will have a chorus and instrumental ensemble along with a main character and several secondary characters, kyogen emphasizes humorous dialogue and usually has only two, three or four characters, and only rarely has a chorus and/or instrumental accompaniment.
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NÔ and kyogen are usually performed alternately on a day's program. Weekday performances often take place in the evening and might consist of only one kyogen play and one
NÔ play. On weekends, performances usually take place during the day and often consist of two or three
NÔ plays with one or two kyogen plays in between. Short abbreviated dance selections from other plays in the
NÔ repertoire will often fill out a full day's performance.
Although
NÔ and kyogen have their own separate repertoires, kyogen actors will also appear in narrative interlude roles in
NÔ plays, while the NÔ instrumentalists will also sometimes appear in special kyogen plays. The two thus share a common tradition and history as well as training methods.
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