Traditional stage art expressions are ushering in new development space in Shandong, thanks to the self-innovation of the concept of various literary and artistic creation units. Focusing on the development and change trend of the audience and the performance market in the new era, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province urges the provincial literary and art academies and troupes to adhere to the performance as the center, seek benefits from the market, and avoid the problems of stage art audience reduction and lack of creativity brought about by the inertia of traditional creative thinking. Wang Lei, secretary of the party group and director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province, introduced that an important idea of Shandong's artistic creation in 2022 is to innovate institutional mechanisms, strengthen support and guidance, and open up blockages and difficulties around the production of fine products, talents and benefits.
A lantern opera party "out of the circle"
▲ 2022 Shandong Lantern Opera Gala Scene Su Rui photo
Holding an opera evening party every year before and after the Lantern Festival is a "fixed action" of Shandong's cultural tourism system, but this year's evening party is somewhat different. In the words of Yang Shutian, a fan of Jinan opera, it is "refreshing, and the eyes are really bright."
On February 14, the 2022 Shandong Lantern Opera Gala was staged in the Opera Hall of the Shandong Provincial Capital Grand Theatre. The opening song "Jinan Jinan" breaks the mode of traditional opera evenings, with new forms and new interpretations, bringing a new viewing experience. The new folk music "Elephant King Xing" perfectly integrates the wildness of the electric guitar and the sonorous sound of the roar, giving the audience a unique audiovisual experience. The party carefully arranged and interpreted the opera songs "Exploring the Window", "Goddess Splitting View", "Chiling", "Wanjiang" and so on, which were highly sung by young people nowadays, and the opera actors sang the national style songs that were popular all over the Internet, with melodious and gentle tones and dignified and elegant postures, so that the audience could listen to it like crazy. The deconstruction and reconstruction of traditional opera in the whole evening shows the vigorous vitality of traditional opera.
The evening party is based on the fantasy journey of a young girl, and under the creative collision with self-media, the Internet and the meta-universe, her footprints have traveled all over the land of Qilu, and her footprints have been left behind by the rushing Yellow River, the majestic Taishan, the noisy Kuanhouli, and the solemn hero mountain Jinan Martyrs' Revolutionary Cemetery. At the important time node of welcoming the 20th National Congress of the Party, the spiritual outlook of the sons and daughters of Qilu in overcoming difficulties and forging ahead in a pioneering spirit was fully demonstrated. The program "Magnificent Style" and Shandong Zizi's "Breaking into Youzhou" fully demonstrated the exquisite Chinese traditional opera costumes and the unique "four skills and five methods" of opera art, allowing the audience to appreciate the craftsman spirit and exquisite skills of the ancients, and truly taste the beauty of the traditional national essence of art.
"Maybe a lot of young people don't understand the drama at first. We hope that through this innovative form, more young people will fall in love with opera and let the opera culture flourish. Li Bei, director of the Liuzi Opera Art Protection and Inheritance Center in Shandong Province, introduced that one of the highlights of the party was that the actors were mainly young actors after the "80s" and "90s", counting the last few plum blossom award winners, the average age was not more than 35 years old. At the same time, the party also used new technical means in the fields of video, lighting, and stage to shuttle between ancient and modern times, taking the audience to Taishan, the Yellow River, the Jiefang Pavilion, Kuanhouli, Shandong Museum and many other Internet celebrity punch cards to "punch in", showing the full integration of culture and tourism, tradition and modernity.
A determined change of philosophy
Shandong's traditional stage art has reached a moment of change, and Yang Shutian has the right to speak.
Although he is 68 years old this year, Yang Shutian is "not conservative at all" and "likes to catch up with the fashion". Yang Shutian's hometown is in a small county in the southwestern region of Lu, and when he was a child, his greatest pleasure was to listen to plays in the villages on the outskirts of the city. "Don't underestimate the rural singers, the level is not low, the key is love." Yang Shutian said that in his hometown, it is popular to listen to zizi plays, the tune is exciting, and the actors have a big voice. As soon as the gong and drum were struck, they were heard for miles, and the people who were watching around them had three floors inside and three floors outside.
Yang Shutian later went to Jinan to study, and then stayed in Jinan to work and live. Half a lifetime has passed, Yang Shutian's hobby of watching drama has not been lost. Liyuan Grand Theatre, Hundred Flowers Theatre, Alexandria Theatre... He said the staff at the door did not know him in the minority. There are many opera performances, and he also likes to watch old plays, but what he is worried about in his heart is how the old plays are new and how the theater troupe has greater development. "If you don't act in the current situation and don't connect with young people, the future of traditional opera will be more difficult." Yang Shutian said.
Shandong has made up its mind to change, starting with the concept first.
A year ago, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province held a provincial art work conference. At the meeting, it was clearly proposed to adhere to the performance as the center. In the specific creation process, it is necessary to consider the audience group, performance venue, performance scale and even performance cost, publicity and marketing of the work as a whole, and accurately position the repertoire.
In view of the long-term mechanism of concern to all walks of life, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province stressed that it is necessary to adjust and improve the internal management and operation mechanism of the academy and troupe in accordance with the requirements of the performance as the central link, explore the establishment of a working mechanism to encourage the participation of performers in performances, and link the number of performances and artistic effects with the evaluation of professional titles, salary income, and evaluation and selection.
Li Guolin, a first-level inspector of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province, introduced that in the future, Shandong will take the selection of major topics and key creative projects as the traction, and on the basis of talent construction, focus on the construction of "material library, script library, expert database, project database, and talent pool" to promote Shandong's major topic art creation to achieve better results.
An ensemble of "each with its own powers"
▲ After the performance of the small theater Lu opera "Gui Yuan", fans and actors took a group photo. (Photo courtesy of Lv Opera House, Shandong Province)
Shandong Lv Theater inherits excellent traditional culture and ushers in new actions. After the Spring Festival, the small theater Lu opera "Gui Yuan" launched by the new generation of Shandong Lv Theater has appeared in Jinan Baihua Theater for several consecutive times, which has aroused industry attention and fans.
With the ups and downs of the plot and the immersive viewing environment, many viewers praised the innovation of Shandong Lv Theater.
Drama fan Wang Chuansheng said that the small theater Lu opera "Gui Yuan" is an exploration to promote the innovative development of excellent traditional culture. Through the concept of immersive performance, "Guiyuan" allows the audience to feel the charm of Lu opera art at close range, and it is very rare to meet young actors face to face and communicate with each other.
Another opera fan, Zhao Fenglan, has been watching plays at the Lv Theater in Shandong Province for 10 years. As a retired teacher, she is very much in line with the depth of thought and emotional temperature shown in "Guiyuan". "A work of art must first move people, and then it is to arouse people's thinking. These two points, "Guiyuan" did. Zhao Fenglan said that after watching Lu opera for many years, it was the first time that he had seen such a stage performance space like today. She hopes that the Lv Opera House and relevant departments in Shandong Province can further innovate the concept and pass on and disseminate the art of Lv opera through multiple channels.
Lu opera music is very suitable for the scene of a small theater. In this rehearsal, the creative team of "GuiYuan" adopted the traditional band compilation of Lü opera to restore the pure charm of Lu opera itself. Through simple and traditional musical means, the rhythm of the characters' inner emotions is amplified, extended, and externalized into the rhythm of stage performance. At the same time, the band was deliberately put on the stage and faced with the audience, so that the audience could truly feel the charm of the traditional music of Lu opera.
Just after the Spring Festival holiday, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province held a special reading class on the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, focusing on the theme of innovation. Wang Lei said at the opening ceremony that in the field of artistic creation, shandong will implement the responsibility system for key projects, the system of regular release of major topics, and the system of collective creation this year. All academies and groups should conscientiously study and formulate specific measures for implementation in accordance with the upcoming "Opinions on the Implementation of the Reform of State-Owned Literary and Art Academies and Troupes in Shandong Province", continue to deepen reform and innovation, stimulate vitality, and ensure that the reform is implemented in a down-to-earth manner.
February 24, 2022 China Culture Daily
Special reports were published on the 5th edition
"'Ingenious Thoughts' Brings Great Changes to the Performance Market"
Editor-in-charge: Chen Xiaoyue