Kunqu Opera: From "Most Traditional" to "Most Avant-garde"

【Drama Masters Tell Stories】

Author: Ke Jun

When we look at Kunqu opera, we do not only appreciate the beauty of Kunqu opera, we cannot just stay in understanding the storyline of Kunqu opera, or evaluate the practice of Kunqu opera, but we should see the social responsibility and humanistic care behind Kunqu opera. In my interview article with me in the magazine "China Literature and Art Review", I used "Kunqu opera does not distinguish between traditional and contemporary" as the title, that is, I wanted to clarify: Kunqu opera does not distinguish between tradition and contemporary, but plays the soul, emotion and spirit of people. Soul, emotion, spirit are not divided into dynasties. It should be sublimated in continuous refinement, constantly regenerated in nirvana, constantly perfecting oneself, and surpassing oneself. We can't just think about what support society can give Kunqu opera or get the pity of the audience; we can't just want to get fans and enthusiasm, just cherish our feathers and not forge ahead, and we can't always lie in the "precious" heritage to find comfort and enjoyment. To do Kunqu opera, you should still overcome yourself and let it become your pursuit to show the noble soul for the audience.

Tradition and contemporary are the boundaries we set for Kunqu opera today, Kunqu is not divided into traditional and contemporary, in my opinion, Kunqu art has always been contemporary. For example, Lu Sheng, written by Tang Xianzu in "Handan Dream", wrote Zhang Juzheng into the play, using the two roles of Lu Sheng and Yuwen Rong to represent Zhang Juzheng, the powerful minister at that time; Kong Shangren wrote "Peach Blossom Fan", which is also of modern significance. Is it the Ming Dynasty Tang Xianzu's Handan Chronicle that is traditional, or the Qing Dynasty Kong Shangren's Peach Blossom Fan that is traditional? The two plays are separated by more than half a century. In fact, Kunqu opera, including theatrical art, as long as it can excavate the society and the human heart, it is a contemporary work. There is no such thing as an ancient or modern work.

Ke Jun

When I composed the Kunqu opera "1428", I once wrote: "Who said that Kunqu opera can only interpret the stories of the past, who said that Kunqu can only shape the characters of the past, and who said that Kunqu people can only express the feelings of the people of the past." The creation of the Kunqu opera "Jujiang City" is also the "retrograde" of a group of Kunqu people. "Family River City" tells the story of a doctor who secretly signed up for the first batch of medical teams after the outbreak of the epidemic, while the old mother was also hiding the story of her son cooking and delivering meals for the hospital. Mother and son, bear for love, hide for love... After the establishment of the crew of "River City", everyone held a meeting to discuss. At the meeting, the main creator's speech was somewhat "low-key and subtle", but also a bit "flashing its words", but also "cautious and cautious", which boiled down to one word: difficult. It is difficult to perform, difficult to design, difficult to present. How to arrange modern opera in Kunqu opera, and how to arrange the theme of "anti-epidemic"?

Of course, we lie in the tradition both safe and secure, but also very comfortable, the body is taught by the teacher, the singing voice has a musical score, the performance has a line to refer to, and the rich programs in the tradition can be applied, borrowed or directly used. It is a newly created costume history drama, which also plays the appearance of the ancients, which is more consistent with the appearance and expression of Kunqu opera.

Is Kunqu opera the sun spring snow? On the road of inheriting the tradition of Kunqu opera, the creation of pioneering contemporary themes seems to be "out of place", do not know that Chinese culture is a "living" culture, we must become the creators and practitioners of this "living culture", we must develop the untouched by the predecessors, do what the predecessors have not done, and activate the traditional spirit of living inheritance and creation. Mr. Wang Yuchang, a master of traditional Chinese studies, once said that it is necessary to seek a new one with retro, and to have the realm of "going up to a tall building alone and looking at the end of the world". We must be clear in the idea of inheritance and creation, the purpose of the current inheritance is to achieve future classics, our inheritance today is to open up the new, and the new is to live culture. This is also the "archaeology of heritage" and "artistic exploration" that I have been constantly thinking about in practice, and I have always proposed and advocated "reaching the 'most avant-garde' with 'the most traditional'" and "returning to 'the most traditional' with 'the most pioneering'".

Can the creator of "River City" say that our "difficulty" can be compared with the doctors and nurses who risk their lives to devote themselves to the frontline of the fight against the epidemic? I hope that the creator will devote himself to the creation, make more friends with doctors, and experience life in the front line. You should memorize lines in the hospital ward, you should watch the oxygen cylinder choreography, you should wear protective clothing to "run the round field", you should deeply experience the doctor's way of saving lives and saving lives. Feel what is emergency, what is rescue, what is better than death, what is powerless, what is danger, what is danger. Can you follow the doctor to the brink of life and death, can you follow the patient to step on the door of life? This is the key to creating a good play.

Drama is a play, and rehearsal is not just a play, but in the process of creation, it realizes the tenacity of life and the fragility of life, perceives selflessness and great love, and understands what kind of people they (doctors) are, why they have become such people, why they should become such people, and how they can become such people. I said to the lead actor, you are playing Xiaosheng, in "Jujiang City" you play a doctor, in the creation and stage presentation, I do not want to see you use the "Xiaosheng" industry to play "doctor", but hope that you integrate Kunqu opera and all artistic means other than Kunqu opera to create a new era of Kunqu opera - "doctor". In the future, anyone who plays a doctor can use the new profession you portray and shape as a reference.

Our ancestors created and left behind an infinite and infinite treasure trove of art, and we contemporaries must stand on the shoulders of giants and continue to "follow the teachings", but also have the courage to "continue to speak". It is not easy to create a new industry, but this is the difficulty that our generation must overcome, and only when it is solved can our opera have a future.

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Ke Jun, Kunqu opera performance artist, national first-class actor. He is the chairman of the Jiangsu Dramatists Association and the president of the Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Research Association. He has won the first place in the 22nd Drama "Plum Blossom Award", the 11th "Wenhua Performance Award", the first Chinese Kunqu Opera "Orchid Best Performance Award", and the first China Kunqu Opera Arts Festival "Excellent Performance Award".

Guangming Daily ( 2022-03-16 16 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily