Tonight, based on the revolutionary song "March of the Volunteers", the famous composer Meng Weidong was the composer, the playwright You Weizhi was adapted, and the original national opera "March of the Volunteers" of the Shanghai Opera House was jointly created by well-known artists such as literary consultant Wu Haiyong, director Liao Xianghong, stage designer Ding Ding, costume designer Xu Jiahua, multimedia designer Hu Tianji, etc., and ended the first round of performances for three consecutive days and successfully ended at the Shanghai Grand Theater.
Under the baton of the famous conductor Xu Zhong, the artists of the Shanghai Opera House recalled the red history with majestic singing and strong stage appeal, inherited the revolutionary spirit, paid tribute to the revolutionary martyrs, and affectionately interpreted this war song of the times as the image of the country and the national spirit.
This is the story of a song
As a work that shows the birth of the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, the original opera "March of the Volunteers" first made me curious about how the composer used "opera music" to tell this "classic music". As a national opera, composer Meng Weidong adheres to the core composition thinking of "plate cavity", firmly grasps the style of the march genre and the core motive of the song to create, showing the concept of integrity and innovation.
The opening overture of the work is introduced with a chorus in the style of an impassioned march, with a strong sense of rhythm and marching throughout the play, which makes the audience excited and excited, and has a strong appeal. The composer focuses on the materials of the three degrees of "march", "sol-do" and "we are all one", the core motives of the "March of the Volunteers", and through continuous change and development, a rich chorus and aria are formed, and the musical theme is continuously strengthened with instrumental music, paying tribute to the classics.
This is the story of a group of people
Before watching the play, the author had some preconceived presuppositions about the story to be told in this work. This work is not on its own, and it should be dominated by the two creators, Tian Han and Nie Er. Unexpectedly, the protagonist of the story does not revolve around the two creators, but expands to the progressive youth represented by the two.
The portrayal of Situ Huimin, Xia Yan, Nie Er, Xu Xingzhi, Wang Renmei, spy and other characters enriches the plot of the whole work and enhances the dramatic conflict of the story. Among them, the two scenes in the first act of the third scene of the spy rushing into the studio and smashing it, and the second act of the first scene of Situ Huimin's house for the Chinese New Year, the brutality of the spy and the tragic experience of Xiaoyue profoundly reflected the strong "contradiction between the enemy and me" in the society at that time, and stimulated the audience's emotional resonance and emotional experience.
It's a memory of the past
Another success of this work lies in the integration of new storylines and innovative expressions of existing stories. It comprehensively and richly shows the background of the era in which the "March of the Volunteers" was created. According to the time context, the work vividly and meticulously describes and foreshadows the background and social reality of the times such as the Battle of Songhu, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Federation, the Shili Ocean Field, the Left Union Group, and the film company. In particular, through the passage released by Situ Huimin's "Sanyou Tape Recorder", the audience was shown the difficult pioneering work of progressive youth under such difficult conditions, and the voice of "history" was also conveyed through this passage, and the "Graduation Song" recorded at that time was played through the multimedia present, and the choir was arranged to sing synchronously, bringing the audience into history and having a dialogue across time and space.
On the other hand, in the plot of Tian Han and Nie Er's cooperation in the creation of "March of the Volunteers", the technique of "virtual and real coexistence" is innovatively adopted. In the last scene of the opera, Tian Han is in prison and Nie Er is overseas for a period of "juxtaposition of different time and space". This "cross-space" approach originates from traditional Chinese drama and has been inherited from national opera since The White-Haired Girl.
epilogue
"Forward, Forward, Forward", as an original national opera in the new era, this work adheres to the fundamental concept of "integrity and innovation" in its creation, respects the rules of national opera creation and performance, and further develops and innovates through new technologies and new developments based on the opera stage, enriches the stage presentation and enhances the appeal of the theater. However, as an artistic theme of "music carrying drama", this work still has some room for improvement in the combination of music and drama. For example, the "march" style of singing in the play is too dense, and the villain in the play may use a tenor or bass to increase its drama.
Text: Hua Weikang (Postdoctoral Fellow, Shanghai Conservatory of Music)
Photo: Ye Chenliang (Some pictures are provided by the performer)
Editor: Jiang Fang