Excellent theatrical works that reflect the history of China's red color have touched generations of people for a long time. They write the common memory of the whole nation, inherit the revolutionary spirit, and continue the spiritual blood of the communists. 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and a large number of red-themed opera works have become the best gifts and spiritual food offered by literary and art workers to the party and the people.
▲ Stills of "Proud Yang Love"
In Shaanxi Province, a large province of red cultural resources, many red opera works, including bowls and bowls "Proud Yang's Love", Qin Cavity's "Daughter of the Party", "Past Events in Northern Shaanxi", "Zhang Fuqing 1948", Yu Opera "To the North, To the North", "Indelible Medal", etc., have emerged, a number of new red character images have been vividly presented on the stage, and the red stories have been re-told in a way with a sense of the times, stirring up touching ripples in the hearts of the masses.
Combing through these new works, the author found that getting rid of the grand narrative, cutting from small aspects, peeking at and showing the big historical background with ordinary people's life experiences, and depicting the choices and struggles under the torrent of the times, seems to have become the unanimous choice of all the creators. In fact, in order to let the red tradition and revolutionary spirit continue to be passed on in the hearts of generations of Chinese sons and daughters, rather than staying in documents or slogans to circulate and re-read, it is very important to let the tradition and spirit "live", use emotional depiction, and integrate feelings and impressions into the blood.
From this point of view, while we are cheering the birth of many red opera works, we must also affirm this creative method of seeing the small and bringing the grand history closer to the audience.
▲ Stills of the Modern Qin Opera "Past events in Northern Shaanxi" photographed by Qin Yi
For example, the Qin-style modern drama "Past Events in Northern Shaanxi", created and performed by the Xi'an Sanyi Society, tells the story of the two husbands and sons of Ruzi, the sister-in-law of Northern Shaanxi, who sacrificed their lives for the revolution. The play does not directly depict the glorious course, merits and basic experience of the Party Central Committee in Yan'an in the form of a large narrative, but starts from the objective description of specific historical figures and events, highlights the portrayal of typical cases, and receives the effect of small and large.
In this regard, many people who watched the drama said that watching "The Past of Northern Shaanxi" is like interpreting the story of their own family and relatives and friends: so-and-so went to the battlefield, leaving orphans and widows, and everyone is sacrificing and struggling for great goals... This kind of interpretation of reviewing the major revolutionary process through the life course of the little people, coupled with the direct singing of the opera, sings the struggle between ordinary people and fate, the country's direction and the contest between the old forces, and it is easy to impress the audience.
▲ Stills of the modern Yu opera drama "To the North and To the North"
For another example, the modern Yu opera drama "To the North and North" created by the Xi'an Yu Opera Troupe tells the story of the Long March from a new perspective, and carries out an artistic treatment of the long march story from a humanized perspective. There are only five main characters in the whole play, which adopts the unique linear structure of the opera, and the scenes are tightly connected and seamless, in one go. Seeing the big from the small expresses the grand theme of the Red Revolution, and at the same time, highlights the practical significance of always listening to the party and always following the party.
In addition, although it was selected for the list of "stage art masterpieces to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China" by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the modern drama "Proud Yang's Love", which was created and performed by the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Opera, although it directly depicted such a big figure as the founding leader Mao Zedong's beloved wife and comrade-in-arms Yang Kaihui, it broke through the previous attachment to Mao Zedong to express it, reduced Yang Kaihui to "this one", and focused on portraying different personality aspects such as heroes, mothers, and women. Through independent growth and self-realization and storytelling, it shows humanity and emotions and touches many audiences.
The value of red works lies in the inheritance of the spirit, and the inheritance is indispensable to the people's hearts and inspiration. It is worth affirming that in the past year, although many red opera works are works dedicated to the centenary of the founding of the party, they have consciously diluted the "propaganda" mentality, and can start more from aesthetic needs, through the in-depth portrayal of specific characters, bring the audience back to the historical scene of war and smoke, and hold high the banner to advance together.
Of course, these works also have various imperfections, which need to be constantly polished and improved. For example, in the process of grasping the overall intention of seeing the big and knowing the small, it is necessary to strive for excellence in the subtleties, and if the audience frequently "plays" due to flaws in character clothing, dialogue, etc., it is not conducive to the continuous flow of emotions.
In addition, the service object of the work is the contemporary audience, especially the majority of young audiences, which requires our main creators to firmly grasp the theoretical direction based on their duties and sense of mission, and in the process of creation, they can more effectively and deeply dig into the contemporary meaning and spiritual connotation of the red story, so that the red theme works can gather more of the power of the times, rather than just being satisfied with telling a good story.
Although the time node of the centenary has passed, the pace of inheriting the red spirit will not slow down, and the creative method of realizing the spiritual quality and the pulse of the times will not become obsolete. I hope that more and better red opera works can continue to be born, continue history, and shine in the future.
January 27, 2022 China Culture Daily
The 3rd edition featured a special report
"Let the red light be both bright and moving"
Editor-in-charge: Chen Xiaoyue