Speaking of the "hard work" spirit that everyone remembers in Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe, it is inseparable from Gu Yuezhen, a famous Shanghai opera artist who was once one of the four famous dans of Shanghai opera. The Shanghai Opera Troupe founded by Gu Yuezhen is the predecessor of the Shanghai Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe, and now it is Gu Yuezhen who often performs the family drama "Zhao Yiman", which is also sung by Gu Yuezhen. Tomorrow night, the "Years and Years - Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of The Famous Shanghai Opera Artist Mr. Gu Yuezhen" will gather the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe and many famous opera and opera artists, and will meet the audience through online live broadcast.
Pictured: Show poster
Leave the classics behind
Gu Yuezhen's creation of "anti-yin and yang" is one of the main tunes of Shanghai opera, but because she died earlier, many Shanghai opera lovers did not know much about her. Shanghai opera "Zhao Yiman" is one of the most classic stage images created by Gu Yuezhen before her death, and a series of good plays such as "Good Daughter-in-Law", "Mother and Son", "Cuigang Red Flag", "Fiancée of the Volunteer Army" have become the representative plays of the Shanghai Opera Troupe.
Pictured: Stills of Gu Yuezhen's "Zhao Yiman"
"Zhao Yiman", which debuted on the stage in September 1953, became the first communist image created on the stage of Shanghai opera. In September 1954, "Zhao Yiman" starring Gu Yuezhen participated in the opera observation performance in East China and won the first prize for actor. In 2015, the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe brought "Zhao Yiman" to Beijing to participate in the "Double 70" National Excellent Repertoire Exhibition, and the righteousness of the revolutionary hero interpreted by the troupe leader Chen Suping won the praise of the audience in the capital.
Become featured
Rehearsing modern dramas and singing the praises of revolutionary heroes and models of the times in The sound of Shanghai opera has always been the characteristic of the Shanghai Opera Troupe and the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe. In 1979, after the resumption of the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe, according to the excellent deeds of the characters around it, it has rehearsed "new classics" such as "Teacher WenHong" and "Alley Premier", as well as many originals such as "Grievance Trilogy", "Red Trilogy", "Famous Trilogy" and "Legendary Trilogy". Among them, "Teacher Wenhong" is based on the deeds of Teacher Cha Wenhong's poverty alleviation and teaching support, and is filmed by CCTV as a 6-episode opera series and broadcast on CCTV. In July 2019, "Alley Premier" was staged at the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater in Beijing, and the audience responded enthusiastically in July 2019 as the only stage play representing Shanghai to participate in the Performance of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Pictured: Stills of Chen Suping's "Alley Premier"
Showcasing heritage
The concert of "Years and Years" is not only to introduce Gu Yuezhen's artistic achievements to the audience, but also to advocate her "hard work" spirit. Chen Suping said: "From Teacher Gu's version of "Zhao Yiman" to the new version of "Zhao Yiman", from hard work to Changning, from Gu Yuezhen to Chen Suping, this road is the continuation of the spirit of stage creation, and it is the original heart of Shanghai opera people for seventy years, taking dreams as horses, living up to youth and Shaohua. ”
The whole performance is divided into three chapters: "Classic Forever Passed on", "Walking with the Times" and "Rooted in the People", and the old, middle-aged and young actors of the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe will show the classic works created by Gu Yuezhen "Zhao Yiman", "Eight Years of Chaos", "Yang Naiwu and the Little Cabbage" and so on for Shanghai opera lovers in the form of symphonic concerts. The newly created plays of Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe in recent years, such as the excellent works of realistic themes "Teacher Wenhong", "Alley Premier", "Famous Trilogy", "Under the Eaves of Shanghai", "Wilderness" and so on, will also be fully displayed.
Shanghai opera performance artists Han Yumin and Gu Yuezhen will also come to the concert site to recall the stories related to Gu Yuezhen. Li Enlai, a descendant of the Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe, Qian Cheng, a famous actor in burlesque opera, Zhao Zhigang, a famous actor in Yue opera, and Gao Bowen, a famous actor in Pingtan, will express their respect for their predecessors with a shanghai opera joint singing.
Hosted by the Changning District Culture and Tourism Bureau, co-hosted by China Shanghai International Arts Festival Center, Changning Shanghai Opera Troupe and Hongqiao Art Center, the concert will be broadcast live at 19:15 on February 10 at the Oriental Grand Theatre, CCTV, Today's Headlines, Watermelon Video, Bilibili Website, Yi Live, Changning Cultural Cloud and other platforms. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhao Yue)