Suzhou Kun Opera's Kun opera "Red Bride" participated in the 8th China Kun Opera Arts Festival, and famous actors took the stage and cheered. "Red Lady" is based on "The Tale of the West Chamber" or "The Legend of the Warbler", and the storyline in the play is slightly different, but the main plot remains unchanged. Zhang Jue met Cui Yingying by chance, the two fell in love at first sight, and then Zhang Jue saved his sweetheart by chance, but Cui Mu did not agree to the marriage of the two people, with the help of The Red Niang intentionally or unintentionally, the two of them privately decided for life, the wood has become a boat, Cui Mu tortured the Red Niang to know the reason, so she agreed to the two of them to get married, but zhang Jung asked for a meritorious name. On the occasion of parting, the Red Lady sent a "family law" to persuade Zhang Jue not to have a negative Cui Yingying.
The story of "Red Lady" is familiar, but the emphasis and angle presented are different from those of "West Chamber". Originally, this story has changed many times and the pen of different authors.
Kunqu opera "Red Lady" is already a very mature stage work, from the recitation to the lyrics, it is very exquisite. The work has a very high literary value, the words are flowing, and at the same time, it is cleverly modified and retains some of the classic passages in the "West Chamber". For example, when Zhang Cui and the two people parted, they sang together, "The blue clouds are yellow and the flowers are yellow, the west wind is tight and the north geese fly south, who dyes the frost forest when xiao comes, and the many pipes are the tears of others", and this singing lyric is slightly modified according to the classic singing section in Wang Shifu's "Farewell to the Long Pavilion" in Wang Shifu's "West Chamber".
The selection of roles and the performance skills of the actors are the biggest attractions in the Kun opera "Red Lady", and every action and every look is fascinating. Cui Yingying's eyes fluttered, and the image of Xiangguo Qianjin was full of longing for love, but he also thought about the identity of everyone's bridesmaid, and finally broke through the shackles of etiquette and religion to love. Zhang Jue glanced at the obsession of ten thousand years, asked for beauty and could not, acacia became ill, the pain in the eyes of the illness, and the eagerness to see Cui Yingying were all performed very well. The Red Lady is the most important character in this work, and her banter, playfulness and rebellion are even more effective through her every move. The Red Lady is just a lady of the country, and all the rebellious actions showed in her seem more reasonable.
"Red Lady" has distinct characteristics of traditional opera works, and is also quite exquisite in the dramatic conflict, with sudden coincidences and twists and turns, and the contradictions are concentrated. Cui Zhang and Zhang fell in love at first sight, but Sun Feihu interjected a bar, Cui Yingying was in distress, but also provided An opportunity for Zhang Jue, Zhang Jue withdrew from the enemy with the help of his friends, but Cui Fei's mother rebelled and blocked the marriage between the two. The plot is tense and tight, full of tension and setting.
In the traditional theme works, the ideological consciousness of rebellion is added, which is the most valuable place of this Kun opera. The most concentrated manifestation of the sense of rebellion is reflected in the role of the red bride. At first, Red Niang was just a figure who threaded the needle, and in the back of Cui Zhang's private meeting, Red Niang was both a witness and a participant and an instigator. Red Niang helped Cui Zhang and the two people to pass on letters, and at a private meeting under the moon, Cui Mu knew through the mouth of Red Niang that the two had been privately decided for life. In the end, the red lady also undertook the role function of educating Zhang Jue, originally the husband went out, many times ding, do not stay in the Qinglou, can not climb high and forget the old, these words should be said by Cui Yingying, but here it was changed to be said by the red lady, the role value of the red lady has been sublimated.
The Red Lady never puts herself in the position of a squire, but is more like a leader, not following the rules, not following the etiquette, boldly pursuing, and educating others. Seeing the two people who missed each other, they reached out to help, took a chess piece in the garden to cover Zhang Jue, and quietly took them to see Cui Yingying. But she also teased Zhang Jue, when passing on the letter, let Zhang Jue jokingly call herself "Mother", let Zhang Jue drill the dog hole over the courtyard wall to see Cui Yingying, these actions are of subversive significance, is a subversion of the orthodoxy at that time, a rebellion against feudal etiquette.
The reason why "Red Lady" can be loved by so many audiences is inseparable from the fact that the creators and performers have given the characters a sense of modernity, which meets the judging standards of current values and expresses the audience's inner desire for the world. That is, to throw away all the complicated shackles of the human world, to meet the audience's pursuit of love, the yearning for freedom, happiness, and romance, and the attachment to all beautiful things. And the Red Lady is rebelling with a conciliatory attitude, not blindly recklessly, her rebellion is for a better future.
The most valuable thing about a work of art is that it can bring people to think, and "Red Lady" is such a work. In the low chanting and shallow singing of Kun opera, the love and beauty in the audience's heart are awakened. Every audience member may be Cui Yingying, Zhang Jue, or even Cui Mu or Sun Feihu, but who doesn't long for a red lady in their hearts? Correspondent Gu Yu
Source: Purple Cow News