He came from a family of doctors, but abandoned medicine and art, and embarked on the road of singing; he sang songs such as "The Sun That Never Rises and Sets on the Grassland", "Goodbye, Dabie Mountain", "Qingjiang Fangpai" and other songs that are widely sung and loved by people; he has been praised by Premier Zhou and listed as one of the top ten singers in contemporary China, representing the country to visit many countries and regions; he is a famous tenor singer - Wu Yanze.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > came from a family of doctors</h1>
In March 1940, Wu Yanze was born into a family of doctors in Boshan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province. His parents practiced medicine all their lives, his father was a surgeon, and he was well-known within a radius of several hundred miles. As a child, Wu Yanze lived in a family full of petty bourgeois feelings, when Chinese culture was in an active period, and popular songs and progressive songs played an indispensable role in life. Because doctors often have to contact human diseases such as birth, old age, illness and death, pain, illness and disability, singing has become an excellent way for the Wu family to comfort themselves, pinning their joy and anger and expressing sorrow. The family environment and social atmosphere laid the foundation for the art of the young Wu Yanze.
Wu Yanze liked to sing since he was a child, and at the age of 12, he staged his own arranged "opera" "Laughing Karma" on the village stage; when he was in middle school, he was the only "tenor" in school; in 1956, Wu Yanze made his first appearance on the screen as Dong Yong in the film opera "Tianxian Match"... His middle school teacher discovered Wu Yanze's singing expertise from bits and pieces, so he often drew a preview from the "Radio Program Newspaper" at that time, using the evening self-study time to let Wu Yanze listen to the radio and train his singing ability, hoping that he would have the opportunity to embark on the road of professional singing artists in the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="58" > abandoned medical practice</h1>
For Wu Yanze, who grew up in a family of doctors, becoming a doctor seems to be an unquestionable thing. His father also made a special confession before his death, hoping that Wu Yanze could "inherit his father's business", so Wu Yanze in middle school took the doctor as his volunteer and was successfully admitted to a medical school in Shandong Province at that time. However, when everything has developed according to the preset trajectory, a humble "small advertisement" posted on a telephone pole suddenly subverts everything, allowing Wu Yanze, who should have held a scalpel, to embark on the road of music.
At that time, Wu Yanze, who had received the medical school admission letter, was on his way home from the shore of Daming Lake when he saw the enrollment brochure of the Central Conservatory of Music on a telephone pole, and the "small advertisement" posted on the telephone pole ignited the flame of Wu Yanze's inner yearning for Beijing. In this way, at the instigation of his classmates and with the mood of trying it out, Wu Yanze took the exam of the Central Conservatory of Music in Jinan and was successfully admitted. When the villagers learned of this incident, they all shouted and chanted: "The old Wu family has produced a title!" And the thought of being able to enter Beijing, Wu Yanze was naturally also rejoicing. Wu Yanze, dressed in a white cardigan and wearing "thousand-layer bottom" hill shoes, stumbled into Beijing.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="60" > the toughness behind glory</h1>
It would have been an honor to be able to pass the examination from Shandong to Beijing, but behind the glory was a difficult reality. As a child from the village, Wu Yanze had difficulty adapting to the environment after entering the Central Conservatory of Music. Although he was admitted with the advantages of "good music, good sound taste, and potential" at that time. But Wu Yanze, who has a Shandong accent, in music, does not understand staves, does not know piano, almost like a blank piece of paper, compared with most of the students from big cities around him, naturally became a relatively mediocre ordinary member of the class, and the happy feeling of "carp leaping dragon gate" suddenly vanished from his heart.
The huge gap between him and his classmates made Wu Yanze's happiness in the alto exam disappear, however, it also stimulated his mentality of not accepting defeat. The school's piano room was tense, he took advantage of the fact that no one used the piano at dinner, ran to the piano room to open the piano cover to practice, a lot of hungry and tired time passed silently, Wu Yanze secretly decided, even if he could not eat, he must understand the piano. It is to seize these little bits of time every day that makes his heart feel happy and full. In addition to doubling down on his studies, Wu Yanze also secretly pondered the students' practice voices, quietly "stole learning", and found his own feelings and time to imitate and practice. Wu Yanze said: "If you don't do 'intentions', you will be eliminated!" ”
Not being able to speak Mandarin is another big test for Wu Yanze in college. At that time, with a strong Shandong rural accent, in order to keep up with everyone, he learned standard Mandarin with the young radio artists on the radio every day. The teacher gave him a hard order: within a year and a half, he must change the Shandong accent. If you can't do it, you will face the end of "being invited out of school". Day after day, month after month, Wu Yanze's Mandarin was "forced" out...
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="61" > praised by Premier Zhou</h1>
In 1964, Wu Yanze graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music and stayed on to teach. At that time, he responded to the call of the central government, exchanged with the famous actor Xie Fang, and was assigned to the Wuhan Song and Dance Theater. After arriving in Wuhan, the Wuhan Opera House let Wu Yanze go to Beijing to study "Dongfang Hong", focusing on learning praise songs with Teacher Hu Songhua. For a whole year after that, Wu Yanze continued to practice singing hard and cultivated his voice into an iron voice. During this period, something happened that Wu Yanze would never forget. In August 1965, because he was concerned about the performance effect of "Dongfang Hong", Premier Zhou rushed to Wuhan to see "Dongfang Hong". At that time, there was a saying that "there was Beijing in the north and Wuhan in the south", and Premier Zhou had already heard of Wuhan's "Dongfang Hong". According to Wu Yanze's recollection, when Premier Zhou was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, Chen Yi took a fan to the performance site, and when he saw Wu Yanze singing "Praise", he specifically asked the person in charge: "What is the name of this young singer?" The person in charge then gave Premier Zhou a detailed introduction to Wu Yanze, and Premier Zhou said after listening: "This young man is good, I think he is very promising, he sings very well, this "Hymn" he sang very tastefully, and it is not the same as Comrade Songhua. After saying that, Premier Zhou also said that he wanted to listen to it again the next morning. This was the highest praise for Wu Yanze at that time, and he also regarded Premier Zhou as his lifelong benefactor.
During his work in Hubei, Wu Yanze traveled to 72 counties and cities in the province, going deep into the folk to absorb the essence of culture, experience the richness of life, and accumulate musical materials. Many of the songs he sang have been sung to this day, still with strong Hubei regional cultural characteristics.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="62" > Wu Yanze's three magic weapons</h1>
In 1992, Wu Yanze was transferred back to Beijing by the Ministry of Culture to serve as the director of the China Opera and Dance Theater. Wu Yanze, who was busy, never left singing, he insisted on practicing his voice every day, practicing three nines in winter and three volts in summer, without interruption. Wu Yanze once said: "I have three magic weapons, the first one is to be pure in heart, not to smoke, not to drink, and to work and rest on time; the other is to be indifferent to fame and fortune, if I say that I am finished quickly in order to make money; the third is to work hard and practice every day, and now I am practicing every day, one and a half to two hours a day, practicing in a down-to-earth manner." Behind Wu Yanze's hard practice is also inseparable from the support of his wife Lin Xilin, a first-class pianist in the Chinese Opera and Dance Theatre, proficient in vocal music and extremely accomplished. At that time, Lin Xilin acquainted with Wu Yanze when he accompanied him. In the decades that followed, Lin Xilin played different roles: lady, secretary, accompanist, nanny and health doctor. Wu Yanze said: "Madame is a mirror. For years, she was my first listener and the first judge. She gave me a silent dedication and gave me great support. Madame took on all the household chores, and she supervised me and played a decisive role. ”
The turning point of life and the tossing and turning between the north and the south constitute Wu Yanze's rich artistic career. For decades, he has been engaged in chinese national vocal singing and research work, and has made great contributions in inheriting Chinese national and folk singing and developing Chinese bel canto singing, and has been praised at home and abroad and highly praised by authoritative figures in the music industry!