A song "Ode to Pear Blossoms", a cuipan dance... In the past 20 years, the Peking Opera "Tang Guifei" has broken into the world of several generations, constantly attracting old ticket friends and new audiences to "chase stars" at the same stage.
On March 11 and 12, led by Shi Yihong and Li Jun, national first-class actors of the Shanghai Peking Opera House, and jointly performed by Anping, Xi Zhonglu, Yang Donghu, Guo Yi and Wang Dun, the new version of the Peking Opera "Tang Guifei" of the Shanghai Peking Opera House will unveil the prelude to the 2021/22 spring and summer performance season of the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, reproducing the aesthetic appeal of the national art to keep pace with the times. The 13th Oriental Famous Opera Month, which has a huge volume of 13 sets and 17 high-quality plays, will be launched, and the 13-year-long opera covenant will bring spring colors to the Shanghai stage.
"Tang Guifei" was born from Mei Lanfang's famous work "Taizhen Waichuan" in the 1920s, and at the same time referred to Bai Juyi's "Long Hate Song", Bai Pu's "Wutong Rain", Hong Sheng's "Hall of Eternal Life" and other famous passages. At that time, Mei Baojiu, together with playwright Weng Sizai, director Guo Xiaonan and a number of famous Peking opera artists, created a large-scale symphonic Peking opera "Tang Guifei" on the basis of "Taizhen Wai Biography", which was the opening performance of the 3rd China Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2001.
In order to ensure that the essence of the original work is not lost, the Shanghai Peking Opera House once again brought together the country's top creators, including screenwriter Weng Sizai, composer yang Nailin, vocal design Jin Guoxian, costume design Lan Ling, conductor Wang Yongji, etc. to participate in the creation, and invited Zhu Weigang as executive director, Teng Junjie as video director, and Huang Doudou as dance choreographer.
"Pear blossoms, spring with rain, pear blossoms fall, spring into the mud..." Yang Nailin's theme song "Ode to Pear Blossoms" is a combination of Chinese and Western, and there have been countless cover versions of various songs in the past 20 years, which not only retains the charm of opera, but also has a certain popularity." No matter where the performance is, the audience is always immersed in the play, especially the theme song "Ode to the Pear Blossom" sings the whole country. I have traveled to many places in the world, and it can be said that where there are Chinese, there is the sound of "Ode to the Pear Blossom". Li Jun said.
In the new version of "Tang Guifei", the Cuipan dance in Mei Lanfang's "Taizhen Wai Biography" reappeared on the stage after the redesign, and Huang Doudou designed the group dance part for the "Cuipan Dance".
"The 'Cui Pan Dance' plot has been added since 2019. At that time, Mr. Mei Lanfang had a photo of him dancing on a very small green plate. Later, based on that photo, we worked with more than 20 dancers to figure out how to make a jade plate. Li Jun recalled.
In the premiere version of "Tang Guifei" in 2001, Yang Yuhuan also had a display clip of the neon dress feather dance, but at that time, it was dancing on the flat ground. The new version strives for "god restoration" - Shi Yihong, who plays Yang Guifei, has to perform a graceful dance on a large green plate with a height of 1.2 meters, the outer layer rotating and beautiful. Shi Yihong, who has made great efforts to this end, once laughed and said that he was a "famous dancer of the Shanghai Peking Opera House". In addition to Yang Guifei's linkage with the group of dancers around her, Li Jun, who plays Tang Xuanzong, must also cooperate with the drum beats to form a "famous scene" of Xuanzong playing drums and noble concubines dancing.
"After 20 years, we have been continuously polishing and processing, the original stage is all wooden, and now through the use of a large number of sound and photoelectric and high-tech means, we can better present the glory of datang and have the style of a new era." Li Jun said.
In terms of choreography, the new version of Peking Opera "Tang Guifei" cancels the physical buildings on the original stage, and multimedia video technology carries the opera performance space, and the transition and actor scheduling are fully integrated with it. For example, in the "Huaqing Pond", after LED projection, the Huaqing Pool flowing in the hot spring is now looming in the lush greenery, and the quiet and ethereal environment enhances the sense of beauty. The "Jade Pan" used in the Cui Pan Dance is equipped with gold and jade patterns and petal patterns, and uses electric devices. As the actors dance, the pattern slowly rotates, and the performance space and installation space are flexible and changeable.
In 2001, Mei Baojiu and Zhang Xuejin, Li Shengsu and Yu Kuizhi, Shi Yihong and Li Jun, three generations of actors, three pairs of famous actors as Yang Guifei and Tang Xuanzong, the grand event is unprecedented. Shi Yihong and Li Jun, who participated in the first three performances as "small characters" at that time, said that after many years, they had more experience in life and opera, and they also had new feelings about the interpretation of "Tang Guifei". For the audience, watching "Tang Guifei" is the transformation from watching the role to watching the play, and for the actors, it is the sublimation from the show corner to the show character shaping.
The new version of "Tang Guifei" re-sorts the main line of love between Li and Yang and the two double lines of the Anshi Rebellion and the beginning of the Pear Garden. While highlighting the main line of love between Yang Guifei and Emperor Tang Ming, the plot strengthens the ink on historical events such as the Anshi Rebellion and expands the content of martial arts. "The plot is more coherent, the context is clearer, and the impact is more powerful." Li Jun concluded.