Source: Junction News Client
At the just-opened 24th Shanghai International Film Festival, a documentary about the revival of traditional opera, "Peony Returns the Soul - Bai Xianyong and the Revival of Kunqu Opera", was successfully selected, which attracted widespread attention. The play interviewed many Kunqu artists and scholars, telling that from 2004 to the present, Mr. Bai Xianyong has successively launched the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" with suzhou Kun Opera House with cultural talents on both sides of the strait, and jointly launched the campus version of "Peony Pavilion" with Peking University and other universities, so that Kunqu opera at a low point can be "reborn", and it has triggered a boom in Kunqu culture around the world. On June 12th, the symposium "Peony Returns the Soul - Bai Xianyong and the Revival of Kunqu Opera" was held at the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Transmission Institute, where the lead actors, Kunqu opera scholars and Kunqu opera lovers gathered together to recall the past of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" from creation and arrangement to global tour, and to discuss the path and direction of the future development of Kunqu opera.
In the film, Bai Xianyong proposed that if a drama genre wants to be revived, the key lies in rejuvenation, not only to cultivate a group of young actors, but also to cultivate a group of young audiences. "Young actors interpret youth stories and harvest young audiences, which is a complete chain that is indispensable." Cai Shaohua, former president of Suzhou Kun Opera, deeply agrees with this. Yu Jiulin, secretary of the party branch and vice president of the Suzhou Kunqu Theater in Jiangsu Province, starring in the youth version of "Peony Pavilion", recalled that Mr. Bai Xianyong specially invited the older generation of Kunqu artists to train the young students of the "Little Orchid Class", and the teachers taught orally and personally demonstrated. "From the body to the stage to the lyrics, it took more than a year to correct the norms of the basic skills." Yu Jiulin admits that it was the most difficult period of his opera career, often feeling difficult because he could not meet the requirements of his teachers, and now in retrospect, it is also the period of his fastest growth.
"In order to attract young audiences, traditional opera must first respect the aesthetics of young people, which Mr. Bai Xianyong has long had." Wang Shiyu, the general director of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion", told reporters that Bai Xianyong has been implementing his "new aesthetics of Kunqu Opera" in the creation and rehearsal of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" - "follow the classical but not follow the classic; use the modern but not abuse the modern." "Authentic heritage and innovation don't conflict, and when they reach a certain equilibrium point, they explode with an amazing aesthetic impact." Weng Guosheng, president of Zhejiang Jingkun Theater, for example, in the past Kunqu costumes were thick and gorgeous, under the suggestion of Bai Xianyong, the youth version of the "Peony Pavilion" costume team revised more than 200 drafts before and after, diluting the color brightness of the actors' costumes, highlighting the characteristics of plain and elegant, while simplifying the actor's headdress. For another example, on the basis of the original "Peony Pavilion", the crew added more water sleeve intertwining actions to the actors to show the lingering feelings of the hero and heroine. "These styling and movement designs were well received by young audiences as soon as they were performed." Weng Guosheng introduced that in addition to catering to the aesthetics of young audiences in terms of styling details, the campus version of "Peony Pavilion" is boldly using college student actors, which further attracts young people, especially student groups, to appreciate kunqu opera art. "Kunqu opera itself is an art full of humanistic spirit, and it should be an open attitude that welcomes all means of expression that can promote aesthetics and attract more audiences." Weng Guosheng said.
In the view of Ye Changhai, a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy, why the "Peony Pavilion" from the youth version to the campus version is popular with the audience and has become the drama with the smallest average age and the highest cultural level in the current national opera, the fundamental reason is to present the most original "beauty" of Kunqu opera, "No matter in what era and place, people's pursuit of beauty and love are the same, and Kunqu opera is combining the two." Wang Shiyu recalled that the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" was almost full of performances in the United States, and some non-Chinese audiences also came to watch, "For a drama genre, it is an extremely happy state." Zhao Tianwei, secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Arts of Southeast University, believes that the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" has successfully revived the niche Kunqu art and harvested good communication effects at home and abroad, and its significance has not only revived Kunqu opera, but also boosted the cultural self-confidence of our nation. In the film, a scholar also commented: "We are used to admiring foreign roses, and when we look back, we find that the peonies in our backyard are so beautiful." ”
"People often ask, will the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" be the peak of modern Kunqu opera, and can it produce better works in the future? My answer is yes. Yu Jiulin said that the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" is a "comma", while the inheritance and development of Kunqu opera has no "period". "The success of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" is inseparable from Mr. Bai Xianyong's reverence for traditional culture, the spirit of daring to innovate and his keen grasp of the aesthetics of the times, and in the future creation of the repertoire, we will also inherit these excellent characters of Mr. Bai Xianyong and make more contributions to the inheritance, development and promotion of Kunqu opera." Yu Jiulin said.
Xinhua Daily and Intersection reporter Jin Yiwei
Images courtesy of respondents
Edit: Gao Liping
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