The character characteristics of the four phoenixes
Four Phoenix is one of the most important characters in the opera "Thunderstorm", she is a simple and complex figure.
In the literary version of "Thunderstorm", Mr. Cao Yu1 has a very detailed and vivid description of Si Feng: "Sifeng is about seventeen or eight years old, her face is rosy, her actions are lively, her eyes are bright, and she loves to smile, but as a servant, she is very measured and sincere. ”
In the opera version of the thunderstorm, Mr. Mo Fan uses rich musical writing to depict the image of a naïve and romantic girl, and a large number of ethnic tunes give this character the temperament of classical Chinese beauty, and at the same time fully show the inner world of the four phoenixes.
There are many naturally beautiful things in Sifeng's character, and her identity is multiple, she is the servant of the Zhou family, the lover of Zhou Ping, the daughter of Lu's mother, and the "love enemy" of Prosperity.
She has different sides in the face of different people, as a servant, she is respectful, obedient and lowly in the Zhou family, and when Old Master Zhou forced Fengyi to drink medicine, in the face of his wife who refused to drink medicine and was in pain, Sifeng developed deep sympathy for her but helpless, and her posture was also bent and bowed, which reflected her kind, sincere, and inferior character traits.
In the face of her lover, she is firm, persistent and loyal, and when she sees the melancholy and lost Zhou Ping, Sifeng said "Ah, young master, I'm afraid, I'm afraid, take me away" and a sentence "You still bully me this injured bird" expressed her desire for the eldest young master to take her to escape the dark Zhou family and fly with her sweetheart, reflecting her weak, but shameful and innocent character traits.
As a daughter, she blames herself, facing the trade-off between love and family affection, it is difficult to choose, and when Sifeng's mother learns that she is three months pregnant in the second act, she kneels on the ground and asks her mother for forgiveness and fulfillment, which reflects her well-behaved and filial character.
She is a representative of purity and beauty, and her main singing also outlines her plump musical image, but the factors of reality also lead to her tragedy.
The significance of the role of the Four Phoenixes
In the opera "Thunderstorm", although Sifeng is not the first heroine, she is an important character throughout the play, and her emotions and fate are also the most dramatic parts of the play.
First of all, her biggest meaning is that she is simple, kind, obedient, can abandon the master and servant for love, respect, humility, and sacrifice, she is the "light" under the dark society at that time, representing all good hopes.
In the gloomy and negative background of the Zhou family, Sifeng is like a fresh spring breeze, especially to Zhou Ping, who is in deep pain, bringing "fresh" power, in the play, when Sifeng has a deep fear of the Zhou family, she sings an inner monologue to Zhou Ping saying that she wants the eldest young master to take her out of the Zhou family and live their own happy life.
When Sifeng heard Zhou Ping's affectionate confession to her, they sang a duet to reflect their yearning for a better love life.
Secondly, she stepped into her mother's footsteps and fell in love with someone she couldn't love, and when Mother Lu wanted to take Sifeng away from the Zhou family, her singing "Farewell, Ping in My Heart" showed her reluctance to her lover.
At the end of the second act, she sang bitterly: "He, he is my brother", the revelation of the truth made her eventually die, and she became an innocent "victim" in the social background at that time, from a certain level, showing the deep suffering of working women in old China, shouting out the cry of the oppressed maid, arousing the audience's compassion and compassion.
Therefore, the role of Sifeng plays a pivotal role in connecting the whole drama in the play.
Analysis of the singing of the four phoenixes in the opera "Thunderstorm"
The four phoenixes who were terrified
This is the first verse of Four Phoenix, which appears in the fifth scene of Act I, when Sifeng sees Zhou Ping, who has just finished talking with her father, sitting alone in the living room, she runs to Zhou Ping's side in a panic and eagerly, tells him about her uneasy mood, and longs for the eldest young master to take her to escape this uneasy life and current situation.
This section is a C feather six-tone + changing key, with a typical minor color, and the entire section is rendered with sixteenth notes beating up and down to create a tense, anxious, and restless atmosphere.
In this singing section, in the version performed by the Shanghai Opera House, the version performed by Dong Mingxia is more following the original score, the lyrics: "Ah, young master, I am afraid, I am afraid, I am afraid," This sentence is strong-weak-strong, and the connection of eighty-sixth notes and quarter notes used continuously in music shows the tension and excitement of the four phoenixes.
First of all, in the singing, the singing of Dong Mingxia of the Shanghai Opera House is relatively coherent, and the handling of three consecutive "I am afraid" Dong is to put the ventilation port behind the second "I am afraid", and after a deep breath, sing the third "I am afraid".
However, unlike Dong in singing, the author performs rapid ventilation after each "I am afraid", and through such an exaggerated and rapid inhalation method, it seems that the psychology of the four phoenixes is afraid can be more obvious.
But ignoring the third "I'm afraid" pitch behind, a seventh-degree big jump pitch reaches the "fa" of the small print group two, so a strong breath is required here to support and maintain the high position of the voice.
However, since there is an attached quarter note between the first "I am afraid" and the second "I am afraid", it is easy to lift the breath here and cause the later pitch to lose color, so it is better to use Dong's version.
Secondly, in terms of expression, from the moment the music sounded, the four phoenixes came out from behind the scenes, and Dong's version came out with a smile, until he opened his mouth to sing, he turned into a scared, frowning expression, and thought that the four phoenixes were afraid and nervous from the first time, which was more able to express his panic and anxiety.
The last sentence of this singing: "I will sew and wash for you, make tea and cook, ah, Ping", reflects the uneasy heart of Sifeng and the urgency and determination to leave the Zhou family with the eldest young master.
The word "ah" is a word with multiple sounds, and when Dong sang this sentence, he changed his breath in the place where the mark was slowing down, and then sang it in one breath to the end, emphasizing the word "ping".
When performing, it may be because there is only piano accompaniment, not orchestra accompaniment, so the singing is a little freer, and it also focuses on the word "ah", so it cannot reflect the eager mood of the four phoenixes.
By singing this part, I think that it is necessary to combine tone stress and rhythm well to make it easier to find the inner emotions and resonance of the characters.
Four phoenixes intoxicated by love
Living in the Zhou family, Sifeng's love with the eldest young master has become her only sustenance, and although she knows her identity as a servant, she is still immersed in this "unbearable" relationship.
When Sifeng expressed his trepidation and nervousness to the eldest young master, the music at this time turned into a softer and slower atmosphere.
In this verse (as shown in the score), the mood of the four phoenixes also changes from the original fear to the shyness when facing their sweetheart.
The singing part here is basically the same as the version of Dong Mingxia of the Shanghai Opera House, the lyrics "You know in your heart, I, I," the speed of the small line board, the strength turns from medium weak to weak, when singing this sentence, two consecutive "I" words, the melody is the way the fish bites the tail, and the quarter rest in front is a large sigh.
Although there is only one short word, you must sing the breath full, and the second I word must be slightly heavier than the first I word, in order to reflect the tone of the four phoenixes that wants to say and stop.
The latter sentence "I am now, everything is yours, you, you still bully me, hurt bird." The whole melody of this sentence is carried out in wavy lines, beautiful and smooth, gentle to listened to, and the speed has changed from the previous small line board to menomosso (slightly slower).
Singing this sentence should be like the tone of speech, pay attention to the place with a rest in the middle, be sure to close the tone in front of the rest note, do not drag, the two "you" words echo the two "I" words in front, so also pay attention to the use of breath.
A sentence of "wounded bird" shows the subtlety and shyness of the four phoenixes just right, the two words "injured" are one word with multiple tones, the rhythm of four sixteen notes, it is necessary to raise the laughing muscles to sing every note clearly, and the two words "little bird" are finally weakly closed on the descending E of the second group of small characters, and the voice position is sung forward, in order to express the girlish shyness and affection of the four phoenixes with a sweet and clear timbre.
In the performance (as shown in the picture), it is believed that Dong's mood is more helpless when performing, and there is a lack of a hint of shyness when facing his sweetheart, and it is too much to add too much shyness, so this performance needs to be carefully thought about emotionally.
This paragraph is after Zhou Ping expressed his strong friendship and love to Sifeng, and Sifeng was completely intoxicated in love.
At this time, the music continues in a warm and soft atmosphere, as shown in the score, an extended high-pitched "ah" in the singing section is like the expression of the four phoenixes' heart for a better future.
The repeated two sentences "My heart, drunk" express Sifeng's firm belief in love at this time, coupled with the continuous arpeggios, quarter notes and two eight repeated alternating rhythmic patterns in the accompaniment part, making the whole music melody more soft and more linguistic.
When singing this paragraph, it is necessary to sing with a relatively light and natural voice, use the lumbar and abdominal muscles to control the power support of the diaphragm, maintain the state of inhalation to sing, and gently and evenly inhale, in order to give people a quiet and comfortable feeling.