"Troupe" on the bank of the canal
Li Kuanyun
Wucheng County and the neighboring Gucheng County of Hebei Province have been cross-owned many times in history, most recently in 1964, when most of Wucheng County was transferred to Gucheng County of today's Hebei Province. In the era of backward transportation, this area benefited from the advantage of "waterway is the opera road", and the troupe was very active. After the establishment of railways in China, some famous actors in the theater industry paid attention to the fact that they could not get off the train line, but they could go down the canal. In this way, the two counties that do not have access to the railway can borrow the light of the canal and enjoy the performances of drama masters here many times, which is undoubtedly a great boost to the development of local theater troupes.
As a kind of folk art group, the history of the opera troupe in the local area can be traced back to at least the Qing Dynasty, and it is divided into large and small: the big opera troupe, complete in all walks of life, can perform the whole play and the stage opera, and can also be invited to perform across regions and even provinces;
Grand opera troupes generally do not go to the countryside to perform, and only make exceptions for important celebrations and festivals, which is also because most of the countryside does not have auditoriums and needs to set up temporary stages. In order to save labor and effort when building the stage, naturally growing locust trees are often used, because the locust trees are strong and the trunk is high, and there is space to build them. At this time, the village is as lively as the New Year, people have called friends to come to watch the play, and the girls who have passed the door can't be left behind. There is a local ballad that reflects this festive scene:
willow willow, locust locust,
Set up a stage under the locust tree.
Everyone's daughters are here,
My daughter hasn't come yet.
Talking and talking, he also came:
Riding on a donkey, with a whip,
Wearing galoshes and showing their tips,
Four catties of steamed buns are pressed and dried.
The small opera troupe does not have the momentum and sensation of the big opera troupe, but because of the small opera money, simple and mobile, it can be performed regularly, and it is also welcomed by the general public, and it has invisibly become a useful supplement to the big opera troupe.
The local opera troupe can perform a variety of operas, including Peking Opera, which is known as the "quintessence of the country", Lv Opera and Liuqin Opera that originated in Shandong, Ping Opera and Hebei Bangzi Opera that originated in Hebei, and Henan Opera. Among them, the most sung and most popular among the audience is Hebei Bangzi. This is probably because Hebei Bangzi's tone is high-pitched and crisp and the performance is delicate, which is very in line with the rough and bold character of the local people, and the "wild" singing, lyrics and recitation are very good for the audience's taste.
Although the troupes are large and small, they all survive among the people, so the repertoire they perform needs to be loved by the people and reflect their psychological aspirations. Over the years, the repertoire that has been frequently performed in the local area has roughly the following categories: first, those that lash out at class oppression, such as "Dou E's Injustice", "Qin Xianglian", "Butterfly Cup", etc.; second, those that look forward to a harmonious life, such as "Three Niang's Godson", "Little Guxian", and "Hitting the Golden Branch"; third, those that praise heroes, such as "Yuanmen Chop", "Baolian Lantern", "Mu Guiying in Command", etc.; and fourth, those that are full of cheerful and festive atmosphere, among which "Little Cattle" and "Da Dengdian" can be described as typical representatives.
"Little Cattle" is a popular folk song and dance drama in Hebei Province. The content depicts the village girl asking the shepherd boy for directions, and the naughty shepherd boy deliberately embarrassed the scene. The dialogue is playful and funny, and the tone is cheerful and beautiful, which can be said to be sung every performance in the small theater troupe.
The process of compiling "The Great Ascending Palace" is a comedy. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the troupe often went to the big families to sing "church meetings", and the repertoire was performed by the main family. According to legend, there is a large family of old ladies who love to watch "Fenhe Bay", and they often feel sorry for the fact that Xue Rengui and Liu Yingchun did not reunite after their separation, so that they became ill. His children hurriedly arranged for the troupe to rehearse a reunion scene in which Xue Rengui became the emperor when he became famous, and Liu Yingchun worked hard to be his mother. The old lady was very happy to see it, and her body recovered. So the play spread, but after all, the gap with the real experience of historical figures was too big, and he was afraid of attracting criticism, so he changed Xue Rengui to Xue Pinggui, and renamed Liu Yingchun Wang Baochuan, and named "Da Dengdian" or "Wang Baochuan". Similar situations are not uncommon in the process of the troupe compiling new plays.
There is a big difference between the big and small troupes in the form of performances, but for the audience, they can receive the effect of "insiders watch the doorway, and laymen watch the liveliness".
The troupe is regular, the props are complete, and the scenes are realistic. What did the characters wear in the old days? What did the Eight Treasures Golden Hall look like? How did the three bows and nine bows be carried out? Before there was no film or television, watching a drama was the most intuitive way to observe. The small troupe is a cappella, and these are not visible or incomplete. The performances of the big opera troupe are relatively formal, singing Peking Opera is singing Peking Opera, and singing Pingju is singing Pingju. The small opera troupe is different, you can use Hebei Bangzi as the main thing, and have a hodgepodge. In rural areas, small opera troupes are also called "blowing and beating", because red and white ceremonies need to be played and played, and those who love music can feast their ears, which is not possessed by large opera troupes. For example, in the play "Little Guxian", the evil mother-in-law saw that her daughter-in-law's food was light, and took the opportunity to reprimand: "You won't go to that episode to pull that mutton?" For another example, there is a line in "Sanniang's Godson": "This child was born by you and raised by me." The small drama team can add: "You plough, I plow." "Let the farmer audience feel familiar and close. After the reform and opening up, in order to meet the requirements of the audience, the performance style of the small opera troupe has added acrobatics, dancing, and singing pop songs, and it is very cleverly cut, for example, in the singing of "Little Cattle", the shepherd boy asked the woman: "Where is your mother-in-law's house?" The woman took the opportunity to sing and answer: "The mother-in-law's family lives on the loess high slope." Then he finished singing the whole song "Loess High Slope".
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the local big opera troupes gradually integrated into the public drama troupes, and the small opera troupes were able to stand out on the folk drama stage. Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the rich and colorful media of theatrical communication, coupled with the promotion of simple red and white ceremonies, the small opera troupe has gradually become silent, but at the same time, it has also ushered in two opportunities, one is that the state advocates the protection and inheritance of traditional culture and art, and the other is advocates the development and utilization of canal culture. Can the local opera troupe take advantage of the east wind to regain its strength? The vast number of peasant friends are looking forward to it.