Huang Mei sang the original heart in the tune

Sing a song of yellow plum, hold a heart, lofty ideals and the blood of youth flutter in the sky in 2021. "Life always has to have ideals, and only in a life that is needed by people can there be light, and I am willing to take root in the field and sow hope with youth and blood." On December 15th, the original large-scale Huangmei opera "Chu Xin", created and rehearsed by the Propaganda Department of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Anhui Province, the Organ of the Supervision Commission of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Chuzhou City, and the Propaganda Department of the Chuzhou Municipal Party Committee, and created and rehearsed by Chuzhou Performing Arts Group, ended in the warm applause of the audience of Anhui Communications Vocational and Technical College, which also represented the successful conclusion of the offline tour of "Chu Xin" in 2021.

On April 21 this year, the premiere of "Chu Xin" at the Chuzhou Grand Theatre was successful, with a warm atmosphere and applause. After absorbing suggestions and opinions and making improvements, "Chu Xin" is ready to go out of Chuzhou with the cultural blood of Chuzhou and go to the whole country. On the evening of June 10, "Chu Xin" participated in the anhui provincial celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at the Anhui Grand Theater, and the whole performance was unanimously praised by the audience. On the evening of September 28th, "Chu Xin" was invited to participate in the 9th China (Anqing) Huangmei Opera Art Festival newly created excellent repertoire exhibition, China Huangmei Opera Art Festival is a cultural feast of the national brand, and this performance is the first time that "Chu Xin" participates in the "National Character" art exhibition. Since then, "Chu Xin" has participated in a series of touring activities such as "2021 Campus Stage Emblem Wind And Anhui Rhyme into Colleges and Universities", entered 5 performances in Universities such as Anhui Police Officer Vocational College, and toured more than 10 provincial, municipal, county and municipal units.

In the 18 performances in 2021, nearly one million online and offline audiences of "Chu Xin" were moved by the ups and downs and gripping stories, and were even more moved by the spirit of Communist Party members practicing the mission of the original heart and the courage to take responsibility, and the scene resounded with thunderous applause from time to time. It is reported that more than 20 news media, such as the Study power APP, China Culture Daily, China Art News, Cultural Tourism China, Anhui News Network, and Anhui Daily, competed to publicize and report on the Huangmei opera "Chu Xin", giving full play to the role of the state-owned literary and art academies as the main channel for carrying forward the main melody and spreading positive energy, showing the artistic charm of Huangmei opera, interpreting the spiritual outlook of communist party members, and also publicizing the beautiful image of Chuzhou. Netizens have left messages, praise is overwhelming, and it has won high praise from experts inside and outside the province, causing strong repercussions in the whole society.

Stills from "The Initial Heart". Courtesy of Chuzhou Performing Arts Group

Huang Mei composed a new song

Huangmei opera is the main local opera drama in Anhui Province, and is also one of the five major opera genres in China, and classic songs such as "Tianxian Match", "Female Pony", "Peach Blossom Fan" have long flown into the homes of ordinary people, are deeply loved by the majority of audiences, and enjoy a high reputation at home and abroad. As the most representative cultural and artistic brand in Anhui Province, Huangmei Opera, as a treasure of national culture, how to let Huangmei Opera art be inherited and developed in the new era is a long-term proposition.

In line with the mission of inheriting and developing traditional art, "Chu Xin" strives to innovate in content and form, compose a new song that reflects the times, and inject fresh blood into Huangmei Opera. In terms of content, "Chu Xin" is based on modern life, adapted from real people and real events, and based on Li Xia, a model of the times, a good man in China, and an outstanding representative of grass-roots youth discipline inspection and supervision cadres, telling the story of Li Xia, who worked in Chang'an Town, Jixi County, after graduating from university, because of the deep friendship with the villagers, persuaded his mother and wife to resolutely give up the opportunity to transfer to the county town to work, and chose to dedicate his youth in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. He was assigned to Gaoyang Village in Jixi County as an instructor to help the party branch change the ideological outlook of party members, and actively helped poor households, trying to help them embark on the road of getting rid of poverty and getting rich, and winning the trust and respect of village cadres and villagers with his true feelings. After he was transferred to the secretary of the Jingzhou Township Discipline Inspection Committee in Jixi County, he patiently and meticulously talked with the punished personnel and convinced the other party. When Typhoon Lichma hit Jixi County in 2019, Li Xia was unfortunately engulfed by mudslides to help displace villagers, and he was only 33 years old. Li Xia is a model of grassroots party members and cadres who are loyal and clean, and an excellent representative of young discipline inspection and supervision cadres in the new era. Choosing Li Xia as the prototype allows the audience to think rationally while appreciating it emotionally, thinking about the glorious image of Li Xia interpreting responsibility with his life and practicing his mission with his original heart, as well as the noble qualities of Communist Party members behind it.

In terms of form, the play adopts an artistic style that combines virtual and real, so that realism and freehand blend with each other, while blending various elements and art forms such as drama and dance. Although the script is based on real people and real events, the stage performance boldly uses scientific and technological means to create a stage mood of storms, lightning and thunder, or snowflakes flying and breathing into ice, so that various media, sound and light can play their specialties, fully mobilize the audience's senses, and let the audience get immersive audiovisual satisfaction in the process of watching the play. In addition, the play also draws on the stage performance method of the drama, and creatively uses the orchestra pits on both sides of the stage, effectively broadening the performance space of the stage, allowing the actors to naturally walk in front of the audience when performing, interacting closely with the audience, and bringing the audience an "immersive" artistic experience.

While bringing artistic appreciation to the audience, good works of art can also play a role in purifying the soul. After watching "Initial Heart", a grassroots cadre in Dingyuan sighed: "This play resonated with my experience, which touched me so much that I cried several times. I also came to Dingyuan from Liaoning for work, and I couldn't be reunited with my daughter. Such an excellent repertoire should be given to more party members and grassroots cadres to take a good look at and learn from them. "This is the powerful appeal created by "Chu Xin" under the joint action of the glorious image of Li Xia's model in this era and the art form of Huangmei Opera.

The initial heart warms the hearts of the people

"The original intention is not changed by the long road, and the mission is not forgotten because of the ups and downs of the wind and rain." Behind the success of the performance of "Initial Heart", from the writing of the script to the rehearsal of the actors, there are many little-known stories. In order to be able to write a high-quality script, from August last year to April this year, the "Initial Heart" script symposium was held many times, and more than 20 times were polished. In order to better understand and interpret the glorious image of Li Xia, during the creation and rehearsal process of "Chu Xin", the cast and crew learned about Li Xia's advanced deeds before his death, went to Jixi to collect wind on the ground, and communicated with Li Xia's poverty alleviation targets at zero distance, and the main actors were stationed in the village to experience the work and life of grass-roots discipline inspection cadres, watched the "Born like Summer" video and related books, and repeatedly studied the script, so that their souls were first purified, and then brought full of emotions into the script. In order to ensure that the performance can be presented to the audience with high quality, some actors have not been able to see the last side of their relatives; some actors have just completed major illness surgery and took the initiative to return to the stage; some actors have been injured due to rehearsals, but in order not to drag their legs, they still insist on completing every dance movement... They strive to be literary and art workers in the new era with faith, affection, and responsibility, pursue the preservation of righteousness for history, promote virtue for the people of the world, and strive to win the love and welcome of the audience with excellent works of noble professional ethics, good social image, and literary quality and beauty.

Jiang Dewu, secretary of the party committee and chairman of Chuzhou Performing Arts Group, said: "Don't forget the original intention to act a good play, keep in mind the mission to produce fine products." At the important moment when the whole country was celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party, we used the strength of the whole regiment to rehearse "Chu Xin" with all our strength, which is our glorious mission and a specific measure for the whole regiment to practice the mission of the original heart. ”

Chuzhou Performing Arts Group is a literary and artistic team with a glorious history, and the vast number of literary and art workers of the group take root in the people, put the people's warmth and happiness in their hearts, pour the people's joys and sorrows into literary and artistic works, and write about the people, depict the people, and sing the people with heart and soul.

Huang Mei's play "Chu Xin" is precisely adhering to this fine tradition, at the important moment of celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party throughout the country, at the time of carrying out party history study and education throughout the city, Li Xia, a grassroots cadre, was selected as the realistic material, worked hard, and went into the mind, from the selection of grassroots cadres' themes, the determination of artistic expressions, the repeated deliberation and revision of the script, the crew's on-the-spot style feelings, the elaborate design of the stage effects, and finally the prototype was put on the stage, and the whole process of creative inspiration relied on taking root in the people and taking root in life. The drama shows the Chinese Communist Party members practicing their original mission and the spirit of courage to take responsibility, but also shows the life of modern rural Areas in China and the living conditions of farmers, so that the poverty alleviation story is credible, the model of the times is amiable, the outstanding Party members are respectable, and the quality is considerable.

Huang Mei is easy to sing, the original heart is rare; life is easy to grow old, and the mission will always stay. In the new year, Chuzhou Performing Arts Group will adhere to artistic enthusiasm, keep up with the pace of the times, tell good stories with affection, and create more excellent works worthy of the times and the people. (Gu Feifei)