On the evening of April 12, under the guidance of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the creation and rehearsal of the Shandong Peking Opera Company, "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" was staged at the Liyuan Grand Theater in Jinan City. The play was selected for the 2023 National Arts Fund large-scale stage play and work creation funding project, and was praised as "an excellent opera work that vividly inherits the people-oriented thinking of stage art".
The eastern section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is about 650 kilometers long, and the eastern section of the Grand Canal is the most difficult navigable condition, the most complex and ingenious river section in terms of maintenance and protection engineering technology, and is an important hub for the conversion and operation of the north-south waterway, which plays an extremely important role in the evolution of the Grand Canal. "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" tells the story of the early Yuan Dynasty to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, due to the rise of the roots of Mount Tai, the Grand Canal was interrupted for more than 80 years. Ming Chengzu Zhu Di deeply felt that the Grand Canal was related to the safety and well-being of Gyeonggi and people's livelihood, and decided to reopen the canal. Song Li, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, was ordered to disguise himself as a Taoist to visit the local water conservancy expert Bai Ying, who had been working on the bloody canal for two generations, and obtained his family's "hydrological secret map". Finally, the "Nanwang Water Diversion Hub Project" was built in Wenshang County, Jining City, which led Wenshang to make the Grand Canal flow again for 500 years.
The play uses events to shape the characters, uses the characters to express their hearts directly, and links the legend of the ancient Grand Canal construction opera with practical factors such as politics, economy, and humanities. Through the plots of "accepting the important task of opening the river", "visiting the white eagle in Wenshang", "surveying the terrain on the spot" and "overcoming the difficulties to open the river", it tells the story of an ancient virtuous official who reopened the Grand Canal, and looks at the reality with history, and praises the spiritual realm and historical responsibility of the outstanding Chinese sons and daughters to start a business, "success does not have to be in me, the benefit is in the future".
Industry experts pointed out that if the Grand Canal is the umbilical canal of the Chinese nation, its umbilical eye is precisely the "Nanwang Water Diversion Hub Project". The Shandong Peking Opera Company brought the story of the Grand Canal to the stage, conveying the political, economic, and cultural significance of the "Great Power Project".
The play brings together the famous screenwriter Liu Guicheng, director Zhou Long, composer and singing design Chen Jianzhong, Yin Xiaodong, Jin Liang, Zhao Zhonghua and other outstanding creative teams inside and outside the province, and is performed by outstanding young and middle-aged actors of Shandong Peking Opera Company.
Screenwriter Liu Guicheng said that the Peking Opera "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" has been polished, and the script has been repeatedly revised more than ten times. He hopes that through this play, more people will understand and love the traditional art of Peking Opera, and let more audiences enter the theater to experience its unique charm.
At the same time, Shandong Peking Opera Company respects the law of the development of dramatic art, makes a fuss in talent training, and regards every performance as an opportunity for young actors to learn and grow. The actors of "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" are basically all outstanding young actors of the Peking Opera Company in Shandong Province. Sun Wei'an, who plays Song Li in the play, said that unlike traditional dramas, "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" has a new way of performance and emotional expression, "Traditional drama is often influenced by stylized performances, and actors need to follow certain norms and routines to complete the shaping of roles and emotional expression, but "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" breaks this shackle and adopts a more pure and real performance style, allowing actors to express their emotions from the depths of their hearts, rather than mechanically copying the plot and lines in the script."
Liu Jianjie, director of the Peking Opera Company of Shandong Province, said that "Grand Canal Nanwang Gate" wants to convey a clear signal that stage art is the crystallization of collective wisdom, and it is also necessary to implement the "people-oriented thinking" and give full play to the wisdom of everyone in the team. The Shandong Peking Opera Company will continue to adhere to the talent orientation, combine the training of Peking Opera performers in the new era with economic and social development, innovate the way of inheritance of Peking Opera and the medium of Peking Opera transmission, and launch more and more wonderful literary and artistic works. At the same time, we will actively provide conditions for the growth of young talents, and promote more outstanding talents to appear and grow on the stage of the new era.
Reporter: Shi Xiaodan Editor: Cao Mengjia Proofreader: Gao Xin Intern: Liu Xiaoyu