Since its return from the opening stage in June this year, the Wanping Theatre, known as the "Fan of Shanghai", is expected to undertake 126 performances and activities by the end of this year, of which 106 opera performances will be performed. 600 meters away from the Wanping Theater, the new site of the Shanghai Yue Theater, which is close to the Xuhui Riverside, also started construction this year and is expected to be put into use in 2024, becoming a new comprehensive interpretation space in Shanghai.
At the moment when Shanghai is building the "Performing Arts Capital of Asia", behind the brand-new theaters and theaters, is the prosperity of the market, or is the performing arts market rising again under the epidemic? On December 11, at the new "Hui Forum" in Xuhui District held at the Wanping Theater, several "big names" in the industry gave their answers.
From the background space, the operator's determination and perseverance are seen
The new Wanping Theater, which took nearly five years to build, was officially unveiled at the end of June this year. The new theater is like a slowly opening play zigzag fan, with a total construction area of 29,000 square meters, with a 1,000-seat coliseum, a 264-seat small theater, a multi-functional performance hall with 209 retractable seats, a 40-seat audio-visual experience center, as well as a professional rehearsal hall, a display interactive space, an art exchange space and a public service space, which can be called a comprehensive center for opera art.
Wanping Theatre
Last month, Li Jun, a famous veteran actor at the Shanghai Peking Opera House, starred in the new version of the Peking Opera "Tang Guifei" with Shi Yihong, Anping, Xi Zhonglu and other famous artists, which was also the first time That Li Jun performed on stage at the new Wanping Theater. The fan-shaped architectural style shocked the famous Peking Opera actor, and immediately tasted the design meaning - fan is scattered, the theater has a gathering, and there must be a time to disperse. "Every night after the performance, the crowd dispersed, from the inner ring elevated can still see the performance advertisement on the electronic screen outside the theater, the next day night falls, it is another night of good drama to open, this is the happiest moment for opera people." Li Jun said.
In the summer of 2016, he became the general manager of Wanping Theatre, and the first important task he took over was the renovation and expansion of the theatre. As a result, this "construction layman" who claims to have "not understood" even the decoration of the home is now not only the "big housekeeper" of the theater, but also familiar with the details of every large and small stage and every sound and photoelectric device. "The normal standard for the audience in the last row of the Thousand People Theater to see the stage entrance is 20-30 meters, while ours is only 22 meters, because the closer the audience is, the more they can feel the delicate performance of the stage actors."
New Version of Peking Opera "Tang Dynasty Noble Concubine"
For people who grew up in Xuhui District, Wanping Theater is an off-campus "punch point" that must be visited during the student period, and almost every "Xuhui Xiaoyuan" has seen movies at Wanping Theater or participated in school art performances. As a result, the new Wanping Theater not only retains a 40-seat Dolby Panorama multi-channel cinema, but also has a total area of 2,000 square meters of shared space, where you can punch in the scenes of the Yue opera "Dream of the Red Chamber", attend lectures and cultural activities.
In addition to preparing a comfortable and advanced viewing space for the audience, the opera performers also felt an unprecedented sense of belonging at the new Wanping Theatre. "The big and small dressing rooms from the stage and the backstage are arranged very reasonably, and the actors feel very warm here." Li Jun said. Having performed nationally and around the world, he knows that a good theater is not only a magnificent appearance, but also a backstage detail that makes the cast feel "respected". This just highlights the determination of designers, operators and managers to do a good job in theater space.
From the "bench depth" to see the endurance of the resident performance
Before the return of Wanping Theatre, an operation plan was submitted in the summer, and it was planned to reach 300 performances per year in four years. This is a rather positive and robust plan for new theaters, which generally require a "warm-up period" of 3-5 years. More than 100 opera performances were completed in the six months after the opening, which made Summer and her colleagues feel "bottom in their hearts".
Xuhui District, where Wanping Theater is located, is one of the most resource-rich areas for theaters and theaters in Shanghai, and the Drama Art Center on Anfu Road is now one of the highest-grossing theaters in the country. "But many people still remember that in the 1990s, there were more actors on the stage than in the audience on the Shanghai drama stage, and the actors cried in the background after the show." In the view of Rong Guangrun, former dean of the Shanghai Theater Academy and a famous theater theorist, the situation of "crying bitterly" has now been replaced by the "hot" box office, behind which is the market accumulated by a group of people working hard to make the cake bigger, and the people pay for the performance one ticket and one ticket.
Guofeng Music Scene "Sea Folk Music"
Since the completion of the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 1998, to the present, all districts in Shanghai have landmark theater facilities, including Fengxian "Nine Trees", Jing'an Daning Theater, Jiading Poly Theater, etc. The construction of the market is inseparable from the joint efforts of the troupe, theater and audience, as well as the level of economic development and the construction of the "Performing Arts Capital".
Among them, the resident performances that Shanghai has vigorously developed since this year have cultivated a number of "resident performance IP" such as the dance drama "The Eternal Electric Wave" and "Crested Ibis", the Guofeng Music Scene "Sea Folk Music", and the Yue opera "Dream of the Red Chamber". From the second half of this year to next year, the six major troupes under the Shanghai Xiqu Art Center also launched the "Oriental Rhyme" 2021-2022 performance season, and performed 450 opera performances such as Yue opera, Peking Opera, Kunqu opera and Pingtan in professional theaters in the shanghai Tiantou Yifu Stage and Wanping Theater in the performing arts world area.
"It's not easy for an entertaining group to perform on a permanent basis." Rong Guangrun said. Maintaining a year of continuous performance means that the quality of the performance, the schedule arrangement, the strength of the cast, the economic situation of the audience, the traffic situation around the theater and other aspects are very important.
Yue opera "Dream of the Red Chamber"
The first resident performance at wanping theater this year was the classic play "Dream of the Red Chamber" from Shanghai Yue Theatre. Liang Hongjun, director of the Shanghai Yue Theatre, revealed that from the idea in February this year to the official opening of the performance at the end of September, the preparation period for the resident performance was as long as seven months, "which also included a lot of struggles and arguments." "The reason for choosing "Dream of the Red Chamber" is the confidence brought by traditional Chinese culture and classic literature. However, after the opening of the resident performance, it is a comprehensive consideration of the "depth of the bench" of the theater.
Dance Drama "The Eternal Wave"
"Interpreting the Dream of the Red Chamber is very physically demanding, most actors have to sing from beginning to end, physical exertion is no less than running a half marathon, and often the clothes are wet after the performance." At present, the resident performance has put forward higher requirements for the troupe's rich talent reserve and talent echelon, and the actor team of Shanghai Yue Theater has iterated to the tenth generation, and the Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe's "ace" dance drama "The Eternal Electric Wave" that also opened the resident performance also has 4 sets of team rotation performances.
From the "parking index" to see the richness of cultural consumption
"The theater is so important, it's a cultural icon of a city." Li Jun was impressed by more than 40 theaters in the core area of Broadway in New York. "The more theaters illustrate the more plays, and it is very rare to have such a 'high concentration' theater group on the world-famous Fifth Avenue."
Such phenomena have also begun to appear in Shanghai. More and more people dragging suitcases into the theater and playing "flying" to shanghai to watch the play show show the attraction of Shanghai's construction of "Asia's performing arts capital" and the creation of a big world of performing arts.
Where does this attraction come from? Rong Guangrun believes that on the one hand, Shanghai's culture has always been diverse and inclusive, with dance drama brands such as "The Eternal Radio Wave", acrobatic drama "Battle Shanghai", and "imported" immersive drama "Sleepless Nights" that have been stationed for many years, and the variety is called the top in the country.
On the other hand, various cultural theaters in Shanghai have gradually formed a variety of styles, Wanping Theater focuses on local opera, this year there is Yue opera "Dream of the Red Chamber", next year's Yue opera "West Chamber" and "Liang Zhu" are also about to start. Shanghai Culture Square is dominated by musicals, the Shanghai Grand Theatre focuses on symphony, ballet and opera, and the Drama Art Center has become a "paradise" for drama fans and musical theater fans across the country, as well as various high-standard performing arts facilities such as the Shangyin Opera House and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.
Renderings of Shanghai Yue Opera Performing Arts Center
Among them, the "parking index" outside the theater is also becoming more and more clear. "The opera audience is mainly middle-aged and elderly, and most of the theaters are small and young, and the parking demand is much greater; whenever the grand theater performs ballet, symphony, and opera, the parking of vehicles at night will also increase." Rong Guangrun said that judging what kind of drama will be staged in the theater tonight through the amount of parking, it shows the diversity of Shanghai's cultural choices and the performance content suitable for different aesthetic needs.
Shanghai has put forward the goal of building a "Performing Arts Capital of Asia" and has a broader vision. "The world's well-known cities and cultural performance markets are very prosperous." Rong Guangrun takes New York Broadway as an example, in addition to more than 40 commercial theaters in the core area, there are also "Off-Broadway" (Off-Broadway) that focuses on classic plays and "Outer Broadway" that focuses on experimental drama. "'Phantom of the Theatre' has been on Broadway for more than 30 years from 1987 to the present, maintaining a weekly density of 8 performances before the epidemic, often full."
Only good works and good audiences in the widest range can achieve a classic repertoire that will last forever and bring endless cultural connotations to the city.