In the event of major historical events, literary and artistic works around the theme have sprung up like mushrooms, and the opera garden is full of flowers.
2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. Although due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the creation and rehearsal of opera art have been disturbed to varying degrees, it is gratifying that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has led the "Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China Stage Art Creation Project" and "Chinese National Opera Inheritance and Development Project" key repertoire support work has achieved remarkable results, and overall its quantity and quality have set a new record. The 24 outstanding works of the Fourth China Opera Festival were originally scheduled to be performed in 48 performances in 7 cities in Shandong, and the on-site performance effect of 12 works in the early stage from October 13 to November 28 was ideal, and the 12 plays in the later stage were widely displayed and broadcast on the cloud, which strongly proved that the more pursued and standard the works with red themes and carrying forward the main theme in art, the more ideal results can be obtained in the ideological spirit and indoctrination, and it is expected to become a red classic and artistic masterpiece that can truly be retained and spread.
The new version of the classic is new
Selected by experts organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the "100 Years and 100 Works" traditional boutique rearrangement plan focuses on supporting 16 opera works such as the Chinese Opera and Dance Theater "White Haired Girl" and "Little Two Black Marriage", the National Centre for the Performing Arts "Long March", and the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra "Concentric Knot". The new version of the performance is particularly praiseworthy for "The Party's Daughter", "Sister Jiang", and "Marco Polo".
Stills from "Daughter of the Party"
The latest production of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, starring Lei Jia, Liao Changyong, Xue Haoyan, Wang Jing and other leading actors, Li Xincao and the opera performers of the Grand Theatre, choir, orchestra and the Central Chinese Orchestra, "Daughter of the Party", the first round of six performances from July 13 to 18, 2021 is unprecedented, and it is difficult to find a ticket. In view of the social repercussions and audience appeals, from October 28 to 31, the play opened a second round of four re-performances, although the last two had to be suspended due to the new round of epidemic restrictions, but it did not affect the new version of the classic performance as a cultural event that aroused great concern. An opera is performed twice in three months, which is also rare in the history of Chinese opera performance, which shows the good reputation and popularity of the work. Among the works of art of similar themes, this national opera can be called an example of the perfect combination of artistry and ideology, because its literary language is simple, the music melody is beautiful, and it is deeply touching to the ear. From the premiere of the first edition in 1991 to the premiere of the new edition in 2021, on the basis of hundreds of performances, all texts and all the scores were rearranged, revised and proofread by the Production Department of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and the most convincing textbook banner was set up for "Shouzheng Innovation" with faithful inheritance and positive practice, and in a certain dimension, it also reflected the artistic development of Chinese national vocal music and Chinese national opera.
The frequency of "Sister Jiang" and the refurbished version can be called the leading work. In May 2021, the Shanghai version of the Shanghai Opera House went to Beijing to perform in Beijing to warm up the capital, and in August, the new version was a military-local cooperation project between the China Opera and Dance Theater and the former Air Politics Song and Dance Troupe. Wang Xiaoying led the director team to give the work a new aesthetic style, and the freehand poetic presentation of the stage effectively amplified the expression of dramatic emotions. The biggest "subversion" lies in allowing the invisible song team behind the scenes to appear on the stage in a behavioral and character-oriented manner, and effectively changing the original musical relationship and sound field space in terms of interactive induction, strengthening support and other dramatic functions. Drawing on the behind-the-scenes accompaniment of traditional opera, it is actually the original feature of the opera "Sister Jiang", which completely dissolves this feature, so that its lead singing, heavy singing, and chorus are close to and similar to other forms of national opera, so that the handling method has caused controversy and inspired thinking. In the large sections of the play, there are frequent slow singing in the arias, and the large sections of emotional music are hidden in the open and wide, and the conductor Xu Zhijun cooperated with this band for the first time, and basically did not appear in the situation of instrumental "sound wall" blocking or crushing vocal music. Worthy of praise are brass, folk music, percussion, in the grand stream of music to play freely should be the sense of color and light. The quality of the overall artistic presentation requires the degree and height of "one dish", which is very rare and valuable. Regardless of the protagonist or the supporting role, unity and cooperation are quite exquisite. Qiao Peijuan, a senior opera artist, sincerely praised: "The new version of "Sister Jiang" presents the charm and style that a classic should have. ”
The Central Opera House "Marco Polo" has presented gifts for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and won a series of honors such as the "Wenhua Award"; 30 years later, it has been selected to celebrate the founding of the Party", which is worthy of its name, and "Marco Polo" has made gratifying achievements of great exploration significance in how to write narratives in Chinese, how to expand the stage space with music, and how to make music and drama compatible with each other. The author agrees with the late composer Mr. Shifu's view that an opera that has achieved a high degree of professionalism in vocal art should definitely not be judged by whether there are one or two solo songs that everyone can sing. Chinese and foreign classic works are the same, "White Haired Girl" "North Wind Blowing" is more popular than "hate like mountains and hatred like the sea", "Sister Jiang" "Red Meizan" is also more popular than "the people of the five continents laugh together", who can say that the artistic value of the latter is not as good as the former? The Sauron arias of Marco Polo have long been used in music school textbooks and vocal repertoire. With a high degree of professionalism and popularity, why set absolute standards, and how can ordinary audiences "like to listen" and "sing casually" be confused?
The original works are meticulously carved
Stills from "Zhang Fuqing"
The key support works of the "100 Years and 100 Works" creation plan include 19 works such as "Zhang Fuqing" of China Opera and Dance Theater, "Angel Diary" of Hubei Provincial Song and Dance Theater, and "Yanling Team" of Hebei Provincial Art Center. Works closely related to the centenary of the founding of the party with the theme of "red" include "Red Boat" by Zhejiang Performing Arts Group and Zhejiang Provincial Song and Dance Theater, "Red Stream Surging" by the Southern Song and Dance Troupe, "Half a Red Army Quilt" by Changsha Song and Dance Theater, "Five-Star Red Flag" by Wenzhou University, and "Zhang Fuqing" by China Opera and Dance Theater, "Yimeng Mountain" by Shandong Provincial Song and Dance Theater, "Guojia" by Qingdao Song and Dance Theater, and "Under the Ginkgo Tree" by Henan Provincial Song and Dance Theater of Henan Performing Arts Group. Another type of poverty alleviation theme includes Jiangxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater "Camellia Blossoms", Liangshan Cultural Tourism Group's "Hearing Soma", Baise City National Culture Heritage Center and Oriental Performing Arts Group's "Poverty Alleviation Road", and Chongqing Opera House's environmental protection theme of "A River of Clear Water Flows East". The live performances can focus on changsha song and dance theater "Half a Red Army Quilt", China Opera and Dance Theater "Zhang Fuqing", central opera house "Road".
As one of the key support plays of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's 2020-2021 "Chinese National Opera Inheritance and Development Project" and the key support repertoire of the "100-year 100" Creation Plan, the large-scale national opera "Half a Red Army Quilt" was unveiled at the Meixi Grand Theater in Changsha from July 9 to 10, 2021. General director Huang Dingshan, screenwriter Ren Weixin, composer Du Ming, conductor Wang Yan. "What is called the Communist Party, the Communist Party is the one who has a quilt of its own, and it also has to cut off half of it for the people." Xu Xiexiu, a yaoshan woman, has repeatedly recited the words for decades, simple and simple but profound, and the spirit of the Communist Party's banner of treating the people's cold, warm and happiness above all else has been highly artistically highlighted. Writing red-themed musical works, Du Ming has rich experience and unique experience, and he has his persistent and clear pursuit of nationality and audibility. It can be used to extract musical materials such as flower drum plays, silk string minor keys, mountain songs and folk songs in Xiangyue border areas, and compose colorful arias, narrative tones and theme songs, instrumental songs, etc. according to the identity and personality of different characters and the atmosphere of different environmental scenes. There are 55 vocal songs in the whole play, including gentle love songs, as well as firm battle songs, and simple praise songs. It is believed that the play will move forward with the sincerity and warmth of all the creators in the future, and warm the whole of China with music and singing.
The opera stage is presented in a musical version of "Zhang Fuqing", and the actual performance effect is even more fascinating than some stage versions of the opera, and the scene is very amazing. The whole drama is interspersed with some flashback pictures to tell the protagonist's life in his hometown in southern Shaanxi when he was a child, with his mother and friends, and at the same time, most of his work experience is related to the western Hubei region, the musical materials integrate the styles of the north and the south, and the spiritual temperament of the soldiers is infiltrated by the machine. The general director Zhu Yalin is impressive, his stage scheduling is very smooth and natural, and the visual aesthetic is quite clean and comfortable. Whether it is text or music, the degree of restoration is satisfactory, and I believe that composer Fang Shi and playwright Wen Xingguo will also score correspondingly high scores when they come to the scene.
Looking at the Chinese and foreign opera stages, the character stories mostly involve historical heroes and love legends, but industrial themes are scarce. Zhu Hai, screenwriter of the Central Opera House "Road", used the real deeds of Weichai's real people as the "original mine" to create a miracle of creating the dream of an industrial power with the leading state-owned enterprises in Qilu, which is really rare. The author has watched the premiere of the first version of the play, and after two years and five rounds of revision, the "Road" that was rehearsed in 2021 feels that it has been reborn, showing the quality and quality that the artistic production of the national academy group should have. The large-scale lyrics have become more condensed and wonderful after repeated deliberations by the playwrights. From the overture to the epilogue, from the narration tune to the aria, from the repetition to the chorus, the music has established and applied the operable three-dimensional multi-dimensional creation concept and professional technology in an all-round way, and the language has both regional style and humanistic color. In the sincere cooperation between yang yang and the orchestra, the actors on the stage sang comfortably and acted comfortably. A group of opera and artistic images bring enlightenment and shock to the audience's soul.
The final work of Chinese opera at the end of 2021 should be "Luanfeng Bridge" (composed by Zhang Shaotong) performed at the Fujian Grand Theater on December 23, co-created and produced by the Ningde She's Song and Dance Troupe and the Fujian Provincial Song and Dance Theater, and directed by Chen Wei. They hope that through this work on the theme of poverty alleviation, they will tell the story of Ningde and China well, and highlight the responsibility and responsibility of cultural self-confidence. Some experts believe that the foundation of the play is good, after fine workmanship, I believe that the future will shine on the opera stage.
The main force of the team can play super
The 2021 opera stage western classics continue to be absent. Within the scope of the author's vision, from September 3 to 5, the Shanghai Opera House and the Shanghai Grand Theatre 2021-2022 performance season opened with a concert version of the opera "Country Knight" and "Harlequin", the world-famous soprano singer He Hui played the heroines of the two operas, Santuza and Neda, young tenor singers Xue Haoyu, Han Peng and the "international big names" partner played the two male protagonists, baritone singer Sun Yan and mezzo-soprano singer Dong Fang were invited to join the wonderful presentation. The 4th China Opera Festival features the Central Opera House's La Traviata.
Chinese opera has never been as dominant as it was in 2021. Feng Baiming, Feng Bilie, Wang Xiaoling, Wang Yong, You Weizhi, Li Ting and other playwrights followed the rules of opera text writing and achieved remarkable results. Meng Weidong, Du Ming, Tang Jianping composers, in terms of language, more consciously pursue the balance and unity of individuality and commonality, nation and world, technology and emotion. Luan Kai, Laozai, Zhang Chao, etc. have advanced into the field of opera music, are both "new sharp" and "elite", neither conformist nor too fanciful, and dare to be better at constantly accepting new challenges. In the 24 works of the 4th Opera Festival, director Huang Dingshan monopolized 5 masterpieces, and Liao Xianghong also had 3 works. The new generation of directors is struggling to rise, and Shen Liang, Zhu Yalin and other "back waves" roll up the waves and clap on the shore, and will surely become the backbone backbone. Zhang Guoyong, former president of the Shanghai Opera House, Xu Zhong, the current president, and Xu Zhijun, the former central opera house, are "generals" in opera conducting, and the younger generation such as Wang Yan, Yang Yang, Zhu Man, Huang Yi, etc. have solid skills and talents, and the bands they lead can glow with the taste and style of opera music.
The good news is that Chinese opera performers are full of talents, and Chinese faces have never been so confident as today to support the Chinese opera stage. The Central Opera House originally took the main attack on Western classics as its mission, and the princes and princesses, ministers and celebrities are now transformed into new works. Young tenor Li Shuang, young soprano Chen Yingfang and other characters in "The Road" performed kindly and simply, basically jumping out of the "remnants" of Western opera characters, they are the plump and vivid Weichai people on the opera stage. In the 24 plays of the opera festival, the young tenor Wu Pan alone won 6 major plays, played the 3 classics of "White Haired Girl", "Little Erhei Marriage" and "Sister Jiang", and the new work "Zhang Fuqing" (concert version) also performed quite well, from the revolutionary martyr Peng Pan to the national leader Zhou Enlai, the seamless docking is refreshing. Young soprano singers Wang Yifeng and Jiang Ning respectively partnered with Wu Pan to lead the female number one, and Chunlan Qiuju had its own advantages in character shaping. "Concentric Knot" online live broadcast, Jiang Ning's role of Park Soon-hee's beautiful and moving people left a deep impression, netizens have praised and praised. Gao Peng and Wang Yang performed well in the "Sister Jiang" of the Academy, and also helped lead the Liangshan Cultural Tourism Group's "Hearing Soma", which exuded the due style of the starring role of the National Academy of Arts.
Stills from "The Dust Settles"
Wang Hongwei, vice president of The Tianjin Conservatory of Music and tenor singer, played three male protagonists of different eras, different personalities and different nationalities in the three dramas of "Half a Red Army Quilt", "Dust Settled" and "Concentric Knot", and the voice was convincing and admirable. Young tenors such as Xue Haoyu, Wang Chuanliang, and Wang Zenan have also added brilliance to their respective roles in dramas such as "The Party's Daughter", "Yimeng Mountain" and "Red Boat". Yang Xiaoyong can be described as a leading figure of Chinese baritone singers and opera singers, portraying characters such as Sun Jiulong in "Yimeng Mountain" and Li Dazhao in "Red Boat". Young mezzo-soprano singers Zhang Zhuo and Li Siqi played important roles in "Yimeng Mountain" and "The Dust Settled", which won unanimous praise from everyone. Liu Guang, a young baritone singer who is the vice president of the Chongqing Opera House, has made great progress in his business, Maggie Toast for "The Dust Has Settled", and environmental defender of "A River of Clear Water Flows Eastward", etc. to maintain excellent singing voice and vivid performances. Hubei's Mayaqin not only listed "Honghu" Han Ying, but also starred in "Angel" Lan Zhinian, maintaining a level of free switching. Du Huan, a young tenor of Jiangxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater, is both a "boss" and a "top card", and he starred in "Camellia Blossom" like a "dark horse" to kill the heavy circle. Young actors who deserve praise and encouragement include sopranos Xu Xiaoying, Wang Lida, Wang Li, Yi Hongyuan, as well as Zheng Peiqin, Liu Huanjun, Gao Shuqin and so on.
Opera can best reflect the peculiar charm of stage art. We look forward to the early easing of the epidemic, more ordinary audiences to enter the scene to become the confidants of national opera, and look forward to the Spring Festival of the Chinese Opera Stage.
(The author is a director of the Music Critics Association of China)