"Mr. Big" among gentlemen
——After the premiere of the national opera "Sir"
Wen 丨 Wu Xiulin Zhang Xin
When inspecting Tsinghua University, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: "Teachers should become Mr. Big, be a model for students to learn, do things, and be people, and promote students' growth into well-rounded people." This expresses the entrustment and expectation of the contemporary teacher group, and it is also the expectation of the motherland's education cause.
Looking back at history, one after another "Mr. Big" passed on the torch, practiced the mission of teaching and educating people, and cultivated generation after generation of pillars of the country, and the great man Mao Zedong's most respected teacher, Mr. Xu Teli, was one of them. On January 30, 1937, Mao Zedong wrote in a congratulatory letter to Xu Teli on his 60th birthday: "You are my husband twenty years ago, you are still my husband, and you will certainly be my husband in the future." ”
Mr. Wind, mountains and rivers are long; In order to carry forward the "special spirit", on March 19, 2022, Changsha Normal University grandly launched a large-scale original national opera "Mr." on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of its establishment. On the basis of respecting the archetypes of historical figures, this drama reproduces the arduous process of Xu Teli putting the ideal of "education to save the country" into practice in the form of a national opera, and creates an image of a "big mr." who is not only worthy of history but also inspires the present.
First, the layout of the drama plot, the prototype reproduces the historical moment of "Mr. Big" to learn and save the country.
"Mr." is divided into six sessions: "Lijiang Wind and Rain", "Out of the Five Beauty", "Mid-Autumn Festival in the Red Chamber", "Spring Wind and Rain", "The Sound of Strange Books in the Alley", and "Lotus Flower Xinyun", with Xu Teli founding Changsha County Normal School as the main line, from opening a new primary school to establishing Changsha County Normal School, from opening a civilian night school to inspiring people's wisdom to the achievements at the graduation ceremony, reproducing the protagonist's difficult and tortuous process of running a school to realize the ideal of education and national salvation.
In addition to the major educational events, through Xu Teli's unremitting struggle in the face of resistance, the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion but the fleeting separation, guiding students to grow into talents, and teaching the public to invest in transformation, the image of a "big mr." with family and country feelings and the style of a teacher is portrayed.
Throughout Xu Lao's life, his historical contribution is far more than the practice of saving the country through education shown in the play, but also includes participating in major revolutionary historical events such as the Nanchang Uprising, the Long March of the Red Army, and the War of Resistance Against Japan. "Mr." just selects a small fragment of Xu Teli's brilliant life, and through his small history of teaching and educating people, he enriches the image of this "big mr." with the smallest details.
Second, the aria-style creation and arrangement, three-dimensional presentation of the "Mr. Big" governance and education of the character of the fashion.
Opera art originated in the West, mainly through the singing of the aria and narrative tone to express the plot, since the 20th century, the mainland has been actively exploring the nationalization and regionalization of opera. The successful creation of the national opera "Sir" is a useful attempt at local opera.
"Mr." uses arias to portray the character in detail, enhances the stage drama effect by using diverse expressions such as dialogue, heavy singing, and chorus, and then further activates Xu Teli's personality charm on the stage through the setting of symphony.
The 42 singing sections of the whole play, in the process of arrangement, make full use of the Changsha folk song "Moon Cang" and folk minor tunes and other hunan regional music elements, the music and the main characteristics of the characters are integrated, so that the musical theme of the whole play is distinct and independent from the personality of each character. The excellent singing sections in the play, such as "The Sword Blood Splash shouyuan dragon", "This wind cannot be long", "The world article", "The oil lamp shines ahead", "The education power country is wide in heaven and earth", and the final theme song "Sir", presents Xu Teli's "Mr. Big" style of governance and education in a three-dimensional way in front of the audience.
Third, the creative stage design, multi-dimensional display of the "Mr. Big" education and school achievements.
The artistic creation of "Mr. " not only has a unique artistic expression in terms of script, characters, music, stage art, etc., but also pursues a detailed treatment in the design of stage props and the stage presentation of mass actors. Through the overall layout of the stage props, the theme ideas contained in the script are displayed in the audience's eyes, such as a desk, a blackboard, and a simple classroom, which melts the arduous links of the school-running conditions at that time with the personality charm that Xu Teli unremittingly pursues in pursuit of educational ideals.
Xu Teli's contribution to education is not only the establishment of Changsha Normal, this play through the creative design of stage performances, the image of a "Big Mr." who is committed to new basic education, civilian education and teacher education is presented on the stage.
After the graduation ceremony of the sixth "Lotus Flower Rhyme", through the eight plaques of Lijiang High School, Changsha County Normal School, Changsha Women's Normal School, Changsha Normal College, Civilian Night School, Wumei Junior Primary School, Central Lenin Normal School and Illiterate Teacher, Xu Teli's great achievements in education and schooling in his life were summarized, and the theme of the play was sublimated.
Fourth, the creative performance team diligently strives to continue the ideal feelings of "Mr. Big" in the new era.
Literary and artistic creation in the new era should be based on the people, take root in the motherland, and strive to reflect the people's voice and the spirit of the times; this is the goal pursued by contemporary literary and art workers, and it is also an important criterion for judging literary and artistic works.
The main creative team of "Mr." closely focuses on General Secretary Xi Jinping's message that "teachers should become Mr. Big", and vividly brings historical figures to life, popularizes the spirit of the times, and stages the pursuit of education through artistic creation. This creative concept and method, for history, will promote the "Mr. Big" represented by Xu Teli to re-enter the public vision and continue the tradition; for reality, it will inspire the current and future teacher groups to continue to carry forward and inherit the educational mission of "Mr. Big".
Adhering to the original intention of "Li De Shu Ren", bravely undertaking the mission of "educating talents for the country", and "Mr. Learning, Acting, and Being" through literary and artistic works, this is not only a new breakthrough for Changsha Normal people to integrate the spirit of Mr. Li into the road of "teacher education", but also a new exploration of artistic thinking in campus culture in the new era.