A scarlet cloaked Baoyu stood on the white stage, the "pages" that were opened on three sides slowly rose, the red Ying fell in the sky, and the prelude of "Joy" opened the rongning second house of fire cooking oil, flowers and brocade. Yuan Fei was enthroned, creating a grand view garden of provincial relatives, and faintly revealing the tragic figure in the grand scenery of flowers and beautiful families... "Full of absurd words, a handful of bitter tears", the treasure of Classical Chinese literature "Dream of the Red Chamber" was recently moved to the drama stage by the Shanghai Drama Art Center, and the six-hour full interpretation caused great concern among the majority of opera fans and "red fans".
For today's drama world, literary adaptation drama has always been a popular genre creation, and "Dream of the Red Chamber", as the prototype character of the drama "rich mine", has been repeatedly excavated from different angles. Professor Rong Guangrun of shanghai Theater Academy pointed out that the previous performances of "Dream of the Red Chamber" were mostly presented in deconstruction, reconstruction or small theater volume, and the whole interpretation was the first time on the drama stage, and the creation of "facing difficulties" was first worthy of recognition. "Its biggest challenge is to break the 'image' that was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people previously created by film and television dramas and operas, and to establish a new sense of beauty for 'Dream of the Red Chamber.'"
Brewing a distinctive oriental stage aesthetic
"The drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" is first of all a drama, and then "Dream of the Red Chamber," For screenwriter Yu Rongjun, the original work is like a dictionary, he combines his reading experience and personality expression, from the perspective of contemporary people to "read" and "interpret", "on a stage built by a breeze to perform a dream about reality." "The changes in the seasons in nature are irreversible, destined to go from spring to winter, from birth to death. The flow of the four seasons is divided into two, from the upper part of "spring and summer, the prosperity of the wind and moon" to the lower part of "autumn and winter, eating all the birds", alluding to the fate of the characters and the rise and fall of the family.
Brewing a distinctive oriental stage aesthetic is obviously the creative feature of the upper version of "Dream of the Red Chamber". The whole stage is based on white, which seems simple but all-encompassing. The huge space, all reserved for the performance of the actors, shows the rhythm of the performance to the greatest extent. "Bao Dai Chao" is played by young actors Chen Shan, Fu Yawen and Li Li. Derived from the traditional opera stage, the "hand-eye-body step" often appears in the charming moments of the characters walking around, creating a beautiful figure shape. Wang Xifeng, played by Ding Meiting, Jia Mu, played by Tian Shui, and Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, xing'er, etc. played by He Ping alone can all be remarkable, and the performance is infinitely close to the shape and god of the characters in the novel. It can be said that Chinese opera has given the drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" unlimited "nourishment", and it is reported that the design of the stage shape is produced by the collision of opera elements and modern dance elements. In the early workshop, a large number of opera and modern dance training were also carried out to help the actors better establish classical charm.
This edition of "Dream of the Red Chamber" successfully set off a discussion on the aesthetics of contemporary theater. How to adapt classical masterpieces, so that it can not only lose the literary and spiritual nature of the original work, but also give the creation a new aesthetic dimension? Especially in the face of this magnificent masterpiece of "talking about love in a big way and recording its facts", it is even more an "adventurous" creation. Professor Li Wei of the Shanghai Theater Academy said after viewing that from the performance style to the stage style, the whole drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" boldly innovated, leaving a classical appearance and adding a modern atmosphere.
Stage design Liu Xinglin has been thinking about a question: In addition to "translating" foreign drama works to the Chinese stage, in addition to following the Steiney acting system, is there any expression that can better reflect the aesthetic principles and aesthetic spirit of the nation? "Dream of the Red Chamber" is a bold and bold attempt by him. "The saying that 'the land is really clean after a piece of whiteness' is not only the end of the story, but also means that there is and is not in the world, and it is good to have a cycle of repetition," Liu Xinglin said, "Exploring the acting methods and stage temperament that belong to China is everyone's business, it is a matter of many generations, we must do it, this is our responsibility." ”
Chinoiserie and minimalism collide boldly on stage. "Bao Yu has a pure place in his heart that he hopes to never be eroded by the world," "No Dirt" is the aesthetic tone setting of the costume design Yang Donglin's character modeling creation. All the character costumes in the play are made of white, and a large number of traditional Chinese fabrics such as silk and ramie are used, and modern and simple cuts and designs are made on the basis of classical Chinese costumes. According to the identity, personality and fate of the characters, supplemented by cinnabar, crimson, daisy, crow green and other national colors, a unique aesthetic expression of this version of the drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" is constructed.
Let the affectionate gesture of life drift into daily life
"It is about this life, and what is foreseen is the future," Yu Rongjun believes, "Dream of the Red Chamber" is a rare novel that first "spoils" the ending and then "dismantles" the fate. The drama also follows this in its creation, breaking the multiple expressions of linear time and space, allowing the audience to "glimpse" the fate and ending of some characters in advance. When the "famous scenes" of "Dream of the Red Chamber" such as "Exploring the Treasure Treasure Jade Semi-Shabby", "Reading the West Chamber Together", "Dai Yu Funeral Flowers", and "Qunfang Night Feast" appeared, they not only restored the original appearance, but also adopted a new dramatic structure and aesthetic expression. Character dialogues that penetrate time and space, mirror images and real contrasts, alternating flashes of past, present and future... Let the audience "stand in mid-air" to watch the world of "Love Heaven and Sea Fantasy Body".
How to effectively integrate material life and spiritual life, so that the affectionate gesture of life floats into the daily life? As Cao Yan, the director of the play and professor of the Central Academy of Drama, said, "Dream of the Red Chamber" contains Chinese traditional oriental philosophy. Dong Mei, a red scholar and professor at the School of Humanities of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, often asked the audience who came to listen to her lectures, "Who of you has read Dream of the Red Chamber more than three times?" If it's a Chinese major, I ask , 'Who has read it more than seven times?' "In her opinion, modern people lack the time to read the classics." "Dream of the Red Chamber" is both compassionate and affectionate. Cao Xueqin expresses the preciousness of spirituality through his characters, especially the connection between Bao Dai and nature, and the connection between the sun, moon, stars, flowers and plants, and people must have a spiritual umbilical cord and communicate with everything in the world, not just a numb body. ”
Dong Mei told reporters that such a "Bao Dai", from a philosophical perspective, is a person who has requirements for the dignity, value and emotion of individual life since the development of psychology. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, after Wang Yangming's doctrine was proposed, it began to have a universal and touching influence on Chinese readers, and "Bao Dai" is the literary expression of this trend of thought that developed into the Qing Dynasty. "The shadow of Bao Dai can be found in Du Liniang in "Peony Pavilion", Yunniang and Shen Fu in "Six Records of Floating Life", and they are all characters produced under the same spiritual vein." Emphasizing the importance of literary masterpieces and paying attention to the nourishment of traditional Chinese opera on drama, from these dimensions, it is not too much to brush the whole drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" for a few more 6 hours.
Photos courtesy of Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center
Author: Tong Weijing
Edit: Jiang Fang