Not long ago, Wei Song, known as one of the "Three Tenors of China", and his students held a concert called "Inheritance".
In an interview with reporters, he described the necessary conditions for becoming a singer: "To use the voice, but also to use the brain, and the key is to use the brain." ”
figure:
The enlightenment teacher turned out to be a herd of cattle
At the beginning of this year's new year, Wei Song and three young singers held a unique concert.
"The four of us have come to learn the scriptures." He introduced the combination on the stage to the audience in this way: "I look like a Tang monk; the eldest disciple Shi Yijie is thinner, like Sun Wukong, and his surname is Shi, as if he jumped out of a stone; the second disciple Han Peng has a 'canopy marshal' in his name; the third disciple, Yu Haolei, if he gives him a flat burden, is Sha Wujing." ”
When Wei Song sang the classic excerpt from the opera Othello, "God, Why Did You Humiliate Me", the time seemed to go back to 2004. Verdi's Othello is a character that many tenor singers are daunted. To sing him well, it is necessary to have both a generous voice and some heroic temperament, and there are very few tenors in the world who can play this role. After successfully playing this role at the Shanghai Grand Theatre that year, Wei Song received the evaluation of "one of the best Othello in the world today".
Surprisingly, the best "Othello" initiation teacher was a herd of cattle. In the 1970s, Wei Song went to the countryside to join the team and was responsible for herding cattle in the production team. "At that time, I was herding cattle and singing at the same time, but I didn't expect the cows to 'sing' with me. I found that the cow's voice was very good and resonant, so I thought about the cow's vocal method. ”
After returning to the city, Wei Song was admitted to the former Shenyang Military Region Forward Opera Troupe, and later went to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music for further study. When I first met my teacher Zhou Xiaoyan, Wei Song had already been characterized as a baritone, but Zhou Xiaoyan listened to his singing and said: "You should be a tenor, and you are still a 'foreign voice', very suitable for singing foreign operas." It was this sentence that changed Wei Song's artistic path.
Compared with "middle voice", "foreign voice" is more rounded, and the sound method of the two is different. Facts have proved that Zhou Xiaoyan's judgment is correct. Later, Wei Song went to Paris to study vocal music, and when he took the teacher to listen to his singing, he said, "You are a typical Italian bel canto singing method." Wei Song is still grateful to Zhou Xiaoyan: "It was she who made me change my tune and have what I am today." ”
The scene of the "Inheritance" concert, from right to left, are Wei Song, Shi Yijie, Han Peng, and Yu Haolei
dialogue:
Young people don't be "piano singers"
Shangguan News: The concert of the four of you is called "Inheritance", in addition to passing on the singing technology and stage experience, what else do you want the disciples to pass on?
Wei Song: In addition to technology, the most important thing is to be a person. I want them to be decent and love art. Opera art is like an aircraft carrier, relying on a singer to sing on stage alone can not succeed, to create an opera can not be separated from the orchestra, choir, and many behind-the-scenes staff cooperation. I always tell my students that you can be high-profile in art, but you must be low-key. If you can't achieve a little, you will be proud and complacent. My teacher, Mr. Zhou Xiaoyan, also taught me that to learn art, we must first learn to be a person.
Shangguan News: What is the biggest influence of Teacher Zhou Xiaoyan on you?
Wei Song: I remember once when I was in school, I stayed up late, and the next day I went to class, and my throat didn't work. Mr. Zhou told me that if you don't care about your voice like this, you don't want to study. She was rarely so harsh on me, and I was particularly impressed.
Of course, her biggest influence on me was to make me switch from baritone to tenor. The transition was a painful and long process for me, and I couldn't solve the problem of the treble for many years. It wasn't until I was almost 40 years old that I really solved this puzzle.
Shangguan News: How is the treble practiced?
Wei Song: It was "forced" step by step. The first opera I sang at the Shanghai Opera House was "Tosca" and the second was "Turandot", both of which were very testing. I can stand on the stage and sing, which is indispensable to study hard, including going abroad for further study.
So I've always believed that good singers can't do without the stage. Young people should never be "piano singers", singing well in the piano room, but once on the stage, they can't. I also do not recommend that young singers stay in school as teachers as soon as they graduate, because they do not have rich stage experience and cannot teach students well.
Shangguan News: What are the requirements to become a successful singer?
Wei Song: One is the innate voice conditions, the second is to master comprehensive technology and have the correct learning methods, and the third is stage experience. All three are indispensable.
The singer's timbre is the first. Comprehensive techniques include a wide vocal range, solid singing skills and knowledge of music theory. Language is also very important, singing foreign classics, the pronunciation must be pure.
To become a singer, not only by the voice, but also by the brain, and mainly with the brain. The most taboo is to sing works that are not suitable for the conditions of your voice. Tenors can be subdivided into six types from light to large, and I often see when I am a judge in some competitions that some contestants do not have such a "big" voice, but they prefer to sing works that are not suitable for his voice, and the burden is too heavy, just like thin people can't pick up heavy burdens. And the loud man can't sing light works with his voice pinched, because he is not flexible enough to "turn his head".
Shangguan News: The day after tomorrow's training must match the innate voice conditions.
Wei Song: Yes. That's what I just called the importance of the learning method. Learning vocal music, it is important to find a good teacher, and experienced teachers will know where your problem is as soon as they listen, how to adjust the voice, whether it is in the front or behind. Learning vocal music is actually a process of grasping a good degree, neither too much force, nor can it not be forced, you must always adjust, grope, and find the best state that suits your timbre.
Original operas don't perform a few times on the "knife and gun into the warehouse"
Shangguan News: You are 66 years old and still active on stage. How do you keep yourself?
Wei Song: The throat is not cultivated, but practiced. I've been in a "ready" state and have always been in the state of the show. Last year, I participated in many important performances such as the gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, and I am very grateful to the audience for recognizing me.
Shangguan News: As the artistic director of Shanghai Opera House, how do you view the development status of opera art in China?
Wei Song: Opera is the jewel in the crown of art, and it is a symbol of the artistic standard of a city or even a country. Shanghai is currently building the Grand Opera House, which will be comparable to any professional opera house in the world, and it is said that there will be 400 performances in the first year. So many performances definitely include some Western classic operas, but also provide a good stage for our original national operas. The current situation of Chinese original opera is that the total amount is very large, but there are not many real fine works, and we are looking forward to a process from quantitative change to qualitative change.
For singers, they must learn to sing Chinese works. Mr. Zhou Xiaoyan once told us that learning the Italian bel canto singing method is ultimately to sing Chinese songs well, and to use foreign countries for Chinese use. In the past, there were some Chinese singers who could not sing Chinese songs, and when they sang Chinese songs, they were foreign and foreign. To be honest, I couldn't sing well before, and I always felt a little awkward. Because Chinese pronunciation and biting are not the same as the Western works we have been studying for many years. I have been thinking about this problem, studying this problem, and asking many folk songs for advice, and then I have finally improved and can sing a little Bit of Chinese flavor.
Shangguan News: In what ways can our national opera be improved?
Wei Song: National opera must have the consciousness of making fine works, and a work cannot be performed for two or three times and then "the knife and gun are in the warehouse". The vitality of opera lies in the continuous performance. Modifications are necessary, but they should be done gradually over the course of the show, rather than behind closed doors. Some works have been changed for a long time, and they will still find problems when they come to power. The key is still to perform, test and progress in practice.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gong Danyun Text Editor: Chen Junjun Title Image Source: Shanghai Opera House