Ma Jinfeng: Singing to the audience is the biggest thing in my life

【Into the Writers】

Guangming Daily reporter Wang Shengxi correspondent Li Lijin

At the age of 100, she is the only surviving drama master of the "Five Famous Dans" of Yu opera and the founder of the "Ma Pai" art of Yu opera. Her representative works such as "Mu Guiying Hangs The Commander", "Hua Da Chao", and "Flower Gun Edge" have a broad mass base in Henan and even all over the country. She learned art at the age of 5, appeared on stage at the age of 7, sang the protagonist at the age of 12, and sang at the age of nearly 100, and was still singing at the age of 100, known as the "Luoyang Peony" in the hundred gardens of Chinese opera.

Recent photo by Ma Jinfeng Zhang Yixi/Guangming photo

"The stage is my life, and singing to the audience is the biggest thing in my life."

She learned art at the age of 5, appeared on stage at the age of 7, sang the protagonist at the age of 12, and sang at the age of nearly 100, and was still singing at the age of 100, known as the "Luoyang Peony" in the hundred gardens of Chinese opera; she is the only surviving drama master and the founder of the "Ma Pai" art of Yu opera. Not long ago, she just celebrated her 100th birthday, and she was Ma Jinfeng, a Master of Yu Opera who interpreted the prosperity of Chinese opera with her 90-year stage career.

"In the old society, my father sang well, but in the end he starved to death in Lankao County." Ma Jinfeng said that three generations of her family wanted food, and it was the party that gave her everything she had now, so that she gained freedom and respect in the new society.

As an old party member who has gone all the way from the stormy old society to the socialist new China through hardships and hardships, and has 64 years of party experience, Ma Jinfeng's feelings for the party are beyond words. On his 100th birthday last year, Ma Jinfeng said emotionally: "This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and I am 100 years old. The party is my mother, I am the daughter of the party, and I want to sing for the party for another hundred years. ”

Mention Ma Jinfeng, many people will ring out the familiar phrase "three cannons outside the gate, like thunderclap" in their minds. What few people know is that this full of national integrity and enthusiasm, "Mu Guiying Hangs Commander", formerly known as "Old Zhengdong", is a drama with the theme of resisting foreign aggression. In 1936, at the age of 14, Ma Jinfeng began to perform "Old Zhengdong" on the stage. In June 1938, when the Japanese invaded Kaifeng, during the performance of the drama class, Ma Jinfeng, who was a teenager, once said sadly: "At present, the country is suffering because our army is not strong, and we need tens of millions of Mu Guiying." ”

Since then, "Mu Guiying Hangs Commander" has also become her first representative repertoire. Since then, every time she performs this play, she will always recall the era of war, and the feelings of home and country have surged in her chest, which is also an important reason why the image of Mu Guiying she created can reach the depths of the audience's soul and affect generations. To this day, the patriotic theme of "Mu Guiying Hanging Commander" to defend the family and defend the country is still a portrayal of the national spirit.

In 1956, the Luoyang Yu Opera Troupe performed in Beijing for the first time, and Ma Jinfeng performed "Mu Guiying Hangs Up the Marshal", which caused a sensation in the capital theater scene. The performance lasted more than a month, and Guo Moruo, Tian Han, Xia Yan and others were present to watch and talk to her cordially, affirming her achievements. The famous dramatist Wu Zuguang wrote three articles in "Drama Newspaper" and "New Observation", praising Ma Jinfeng as a "Luoyang peony". Mr. Lao She also commented on Ma Jinfeng after enjoying the Yu opera "Hua Da Chao": "The public is happy to open their faces, and Luoyang Jinfeng is coming." ”

In 1980, a troupe of Yu opera from Luoyang City went to Zhengzhou to participate in the performance of the Yu opera genre, and the "Ma Pai" of Yu opera was established. In December 2004, Ma Jinfeng was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ministry of Culture. However, Ma Jinfeng's artistic achievements are far more than this, she is also an opera educator who has made many contributions to the cause of Chinese opera, especially the cause of Yu opera education.

In 2009, the first Yu opera class in China was opened at the China Academy of Performing Arts, and Ma Jinfeng boarded the university podium to give classes to students and devote himself to cultivating Yu opera talents. In his 80s, Ma Jinfeng still insisted on giving classes to students at the China Academy of Performing Arts and directing Yu opera performances.

In 2020, on the occasion of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China Academy of Performing Arts, Guo Hancheng, Du Jinfang, Shang Changrong, Ma Jinfeng, Cai Zhengren, Liu Xiurong and other teachers and students of the four generations of old, middle-aged and young people wrote letters to General Secretary Xi Jinping. At that time, Ma Jinfeng was 98 years old, as an honorary professor of the China Academy of Opera, she was still concerned about the cause of Yu opera, after receiving a reply from the general secretary, Ma Jinfeng said excitedly: "Singing well and teaching students well is my task. As long as I am alive, I cannot forget the task entrusted to me by the people. ”

On April 17 last year, the Ma Jinfeng Museum of Opera art opened in Luoyang Vocational and Technical College. The museum is divided into four parts: "Quest for the Sea of Art, People as the Root", "Treasure of Pear Garden, Ma Pai Art", "Passing on the Art of Spreading Wages, Fragrant Garden", and "Yu Opera Taidou HanMo Liufang", which comprehensively shows Ma Jinfeng's artistic life. The exhibition area displays the silk flowers, sideburns, sideburns, headdresses she wore during her performance, and the costumes she wore when performing "Mu Guiying Hangs The Marshal", so that everyone can feel the charm of this artistic master at close range.

Ma Jinfeng is a mark of the times, a witness and promoter of Henan and even Chinese opera. Although he is now 100 years old, Ma Jinfeng is still concerned about the cause of opera. When talking about the sustainable development of traditional opera art, she pays special attention to the issue of innovative inheritance.

In the interview, Ma Jinfeng expressed her understanding of the development of opera in the simplest and simplest language: "Mu Guiying Hangs The Marshal", "Hua Da Chao", "Flower Gun Edge" and other great dramas are welcomed by the masses, not the credit of any one person, but the result of the continuous innovation and inheritance of several generations of artists. In the face of the rapid development of economy and society and the rapid development of scientific and technological means, how can opera artists inherit the traditional repertoire? Is it to blindly copy it, or to revitalize traditional opera according to the aesthetic requirements of the times and the audience? This is a question that opera people need to seriously consider. Nowadays, the audience's education level is getting higher and higher, and it is more convenient to obtain information, and only by constantly updating the artistic expression and content of traditional opera can it adapt to and meet the artistic needs of the audience to the greatest extent.

Ma Jinfeng summed up her hopes for the development of opera with three key words: innovative inheritance, opera market development, and talent training. Specifically, it includes improving the processing of obsolete traditional repertoire and removing the essence of the essence; increasing the participation of the audience in opera, for example, in the evaluation of the repertoire of state-funded projects, there should be an audience voice; attaching importance to opera criticism and allowing criticism; the diversification of the opera market, especially the full, appropriate and effective use of new media; attaching importance to support for grass-roots opera groups; and strengthening support for opera schools.

Interviewing Ma Jinfeng, she heard that it was for the opera, and she seemed particularly excited, holding hands to tell her love for Yu opera and her feelings for the audience. The reporter saw a centenarian, an artist who had sung for the people all his life, and when he mentioned opera and the audience, his eyes lit up, "Singing to the audience is the biggest thing in my life" "As long as I am alive, I can't forget the task entrusted to me by the people", she has been interpreting the original intention of the writer and artist with practical actions.

Guangming Daily (2022-03-27 12th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily