Changsha, January 5, China Daily- One of the 7th Hunan Arts Festivals, the Qi opera high-cavity modern drama "Seed Ark", was performed at the Hunan Opera Performance Center on January 4. The drama is based on the deeds of Zhong Yang, china's 2018 annual figure and "model of the times" who moved China, and tells the story of Zhong Yang overcoming the cold and dangerous natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and traveling 500,000 kilometers over 16 years to collect seeds.
"Seed Ark" is created and produced by the Qi Opera Protection and Inheritance Center of Hunan Province, with National First-class Screenwriter Feng Zhi and National First-class Director He Xijuan as screenwriters and directors respectively, and Xiao Xiaobo, a national first-class actor and winner of the Drama Plum Blossom Award, starring Xiao Xiaobo. The drama is divided into five scenes: "Entering Tibet", "Exploring camp", "Distress", "Rupture" and "Heavenly Road". In 2021, "Seed Ark" was included in the "2020 Large-scale Stage Drama and Works Creation Funding Project" by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Stills from the Qi opera "Seed Ark". Photo by Chen Yigui
Zhong Yang, a native of Xinning County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, was a cadre aiding Tibet before his death, and was the dean of the Graduate School of Fudan University, but in 2017, he was in a car accident while teaching ethnic cadres in Inner Mongolia and unfortunately passed away. The reporter learned that in order to create and arrange the Qi opera "Seed Ark", the crew members successively went to Tibet, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xinning and other places to collect styles, organized and held a symposium on Zhong Yang's advanced deeds, a meeting with relatives, and organized experts to discuss and revise on many occasions.
Qi opera is a traditional local drama genre in Hunan Province, which was gradually formed after it was introduced to Qiyang County in Hunan Province in the early Ming Dynasty and integrated with local art and evolved over a long period of time. According to the different sound cavities, the repertoire of Qi opera can be roughly divided into three categories: high cavity, Kun cavity and bullet cavity. Among them, the high cavity is the oldest and most distinctive sound cavity in the Qi opera performance. When singing, the drum is used to beat the beat, and the cavity is accompanied by gongs and drums and sighs to render the atmosphere. In 2008, Qi opera was approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Bai Yun, a former colleague who plays Zhong Yang in the play, and Xiao Xiaobo, director of the Qi Opera Conservation and Inheritance Center in Hunan Province, introduced that "Seed Ark" has done a lot of exploration in Shouzheng innovation, such as avalanches, rolling dragons and other scenes using mulian drama, which not only integrates the traditional performance skills of Qi opera, integrates the classical beauty of Qi opera with the beauty of modern life, and can be said to be a relatively successful innovation in rhythm, singing and stage presentation.
The 93-year-old Yin Bokang, a native of Shaodong, worked at the Hunan Provincial Academy of Arts before retirement and studied Qi opera for many years. After watching the play, Yin Bokang said, "This play is well written, the actors perform very well, zhong Yang encounters difficulties but does not flinch, adhere to the road of educating people, the road of scientific expeditions, and the road of aiding Tibet in front of the audience, giving people a strong upward force." ”
Yuan Ye, a young actor at the Xiang Theater in Hunan Province, said that Qi opera is an ancient drama genre, while "Seed Ark" is a modern drama that has been improved and innovated in the form of expression, which has opened his eyes. (Photo report by Sun Mingwei)