Suzhou, January 20 (Reporter Zheng Chuyu) The voice of the couple circumnavigates Kunshan, a dream reincarnated for 600 years - "The Master of a Hundred Plays" Kunqu, originated in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province; "The world rises and falls, and the pifu has the responsibility" - a generation of great Confucian Gu Yanwu, born in Kunshan, Jiangsu. On the evening of January 19th, invited by the "Meet in Beijing" Olympic Cultural Festival and the 22nd "Meet Beijing" International Arts Festival, as one of the fine performances of the "Meet Beijing• Meet Jiangnan" Suzhou Culture and Art Exhibition Week, the original Kunqu opera "Gu Yanwu" was staged at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater. The feelings of home and country of Gu Yanwu and the enduring charm of world-class intangible cultural kunqu, as two cultural "golden business cards" of Kunshan, "integration" bursts out of the majestic power and the rhyme of elegance, telling Chinese stories and showing Chinese style.
Original Kunqu opera "Gu Yanwu" poster (courtesy of the organizer)
The original Kunqu opera "Gu Yanwu" is jointly produced by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group and Kunshan Contemporary Kun Theater, which promotes culture and pays tribute to the sages by combining the two cultural golden business cards of "Kunqu Opera" and "Gu Yanwu". After the repertoire was created and launched in 2018, it has received attention from all walks of life, and has been performed in important festivals such as the 7th China Kunqu Opera Arts Festival, the 12th China Arts Festival, the 100 Operas (Kunshan) Festival, the 2nd Jiangsu Development Conference, and carried out national tours and cultural exchanges. Over the past three years, the repertoire has performed nearly 50 times, and won important awards such as the "Five Ones Project" Award for the Construction of Spiritual Civilization in Jiangsu Province, the Wenhua Excellent Repertoire Award in Jiangsu Province, the Zijin Award for Jingkun Art, the First Prize for Excellent Copyright Works in Jiangsu Province, and the Suzhou Wenhua Honorary Award.
The repertoire tells that in the twenty-first year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty (1682), Gu Yanwu, who was living in Shanxi, had the heart to return to his hometown, but when he set out, he fell off his horse because of his old age and infirmity, and when he was dying, he recalled his life: when the Southern Ming Fell, he faced his mother who was on hunger strike and made an oath of "oath not to be Clean"; he was trapped in the literal prison because of "anti-Qing restoration", but he did not dare to take his life lightly because of the failure of the "Book of The Disease of the Heavenly County" and "Zhaoyu Zhi"; although he insisted on being a ming dynasty relic, he sent his only disciple to the examination hall of the Qing Dynasty's "Erudite Hongruke" Until the last moment of his life, Gu Yanwu interpreted life to the young Kangxi and asked: "What is the subjugation of the country, what is the subjugation of the world?" ”......
As the first original Kunqu opera drama in the birthplace of Kunqu Opera, Kunqu Opera "Gu Yanwu" put forward a new model of "one opera and two versions" creation at the beginning of its creation, youth inheritance, and "one drama and two versions" with the old leading the new and the old promoting the new, on the one hand, it gathered young masters in domestic opera to create the "famous version" and set a stage benchmark, on the one hand, the outstanding young actors of kunshan contemporary Kunqu Theater simultaneously inherited the "youth version", so as to cultivate and train a new generation of Kunqu practitioners, and also laid the foundation for the regular performance of this play.
"Gu Yanwu" recommended test (central broadcasting network issued by the organizer of the photo)
The repertoire lineup that appeared in Beijing this time is the fusion of the two versions of "Famous Artists" and "Youth Edition", and it is also the achievement of talent inheritance and training in the birthplace of Kunqu Opera in recent years. Kunshan "plum blossom", national first-class actor Ke Jun starred in Gu Yanwu, performing a game of knife light and blood, showing the loyalty and integrity of the characters. He said: "To have the opportunity to meet the soul of Gu Yanwu, a Kunshan native more than 300 years ago, is a blessing for me, a contemporary Kunqu person, because he is not only a cultural symbol of Kunshan, but also a microcosm of the national feelings of Chinese literati." I hope that "Gu Yanwu" can become a classic in the new era and continue to act forever! National first-class actors Zhang Dahuan, Gong Yinlei and Qian Zhenrong helped the team, sharing the stage with cao Zhiwei, Huang Zhuyu and other outstanding young actors and students of Kunshan Contemporary Kunshan Opera, using literary and artistic methods to lead contemporary audiences to find the resonance of "the rise and fall of the world, the responsibility of the puppeteer".
On the one hand, Gu Yanwu Chaomai's sense of national distress, social responsibility and lifelong practice, on the other hand, two generations of Kunqu people inherit the mission of Kunqu art. A Kunqu opera "Gu Yanwu" shows the transmission of China's excellent traditional culture from generation to generation outside the play.
Kunshan Contemporary Kunqu Opera, as a professional theater group for the protection, inheritance and promotion of Kunqu culture in kunqu yuanxiang, has been officially established since October 12, 2015, with the purpose of "producing people and producing fine works", and has successively created and launched original Kunqu opera "Gu Yanwu", adapted Kunqu opera "Wutong Rain", original Kunqu opera "Depiction of Zhu Ji", anti-epidemic contemporary drama "Zhengrong", adapted Kunqu opera "Huan Sha Ji" and other plays. In 2022, we will continue to dig deep into the characteristics, keep the integrity and innovate, create fine products, and highlight the power of literature and art.
As an important part of the "Meet in Beijing" Olympic Cultural Festival and the 22nd "Meet in Beijing" International Arts Festival, the Suzhou Culture and Art Exhibition Week lasted from January 6 to January 20, bringing 11 performances of 7 plays and a special screening of the intangible cultural heritage documentary film "Tiangong Suzuo", with a total of more than 7,000 people. In accordance with the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, the attendance rate of each performance does not exceed 75%, and the average attendance rate of the participating plays has reached 72%. The essence of the Kunqu opera youth version of "Peony Pavilion" was sold out in two days after the ticket was issued, and at the request of the audience, an additional performance was performed, and the Suzhou commentary bomb special performance of "Guangqian Yuhou Wu Yun Liufang" was performed twice in a row, and the venue was full. Suzhou Nianwei Experience Week was held from January 6 to January 10 in the public space of Beijing Tianqiao Art Center, with a total of more than 10,000 participants.