The original opera is showing a majestic vitality

【Discussion of Performing Arts】

Author: Xu Zhong (President of Shanghai Opera House)

Among the 24 operas presented at the 5th China Opera Festival, 19 new repertoire and 5 classic repertoire (including 2 Western classic operas) were created, showing the majestic artistic vitality of opera creation. The recent repertoire that has been popular in the performance market is a successful case of the organic combination of excellent traditional Chinese culture and modern elements. Drawing nourishment from China's excellent traditional culture is the only way for Chinese opera to become nationalized, and Chinese opera, which integrates China's excellent traditional culture, is full of vitality in the new era.

As a stage art that originated in the West, opera has become a classic art form in the West and has a wide audience. At the end of the 19th century, opera was introduced to China from Europe, attracting the attention of some progressive musicians, and after a hundred years of exploration by the Chinese people, Chinese national opera with national culture as the core began to emerge, and a number of excellent works emerged, such as "The White-Haired Girl", "Sister Jiang", "Little Erhei Marriage" and so on. In recent years, with the improvement of China's international influence, the development of Chinese opera has gradually shown two trends, one is the interpretation of Western classic operas by Chinese people, and the other is the creation and arrangement of original national operas. Among the 24 operas presented at the 5th China Opera Festival, 19 new repertoire and 5 classic repertoire (including 2 Western classic operas) were created, showing the majestic artistic vitality of the original opera creation.

Since the art of opera originated in the West, the mass base in the mainland is relatively weak, and the main market for opera in the mainland is generally concentrated in first-tier cities and developed coastal areas. Therefore, how to enhance the influence of opera among the Chinese people and make it an art form that the people like to see, and how to innovate and explore the road of nationalization of Chinese opera and stand out in the international market in which Western opera has an absolute advantage are the problems that have always been faced by the development of Chinese opera. It can be seen that Chinese opera, which integrates the excellent traditional Chinese culture, is full of vitality in the new era, and we may be able to find a feasible and effective way to achieve it in these Chinese opera works.

The Chinese opera "Thunderstorm" was performed at the London Theatre in London's West End and was enthusiastically sought after by British audiences. For British audiences, this opera is strange and familiar, familiar because it is an opera, and strange because it is a Chinese opera composed by Chinese and sung in Chinese. The play is adapted from Cao Yu's work of the same name, using Western music systems while incorporating traditional Chinese elements. After the performance, the opera "Thunderstorm" incorporated elements of traditional Chinese opera from the mainland, and its strong Chinese style under its Western appearance became the most talked about place for foreign audiences. The trip to the UK of the opera "Thunderstorm" is undoubtedly an important step for Chinese opera to break out of the country, and it can be seen that it is the traditional Chinese culture contained in it that has caused important repercussions abroad. Just as the local Chinese elements of the opera "Thunderstorm" have fascinated British audiences, the recent popular repertoire in the market, such as the dance drama "Only This Green" and "Dream of the Red Chamber", are successful cases of the organic combination of excellent traditional Chinese culture and modern elements. This also shows that the Chinese people's sense of national cultural identity is constantly increasing, and their cultural self-confidence is becoming stronger and stronger. Combining the excellent traditional Chinese culture with modern elements in artistic expression has become a great magic weapon to expand local audiences. As a comprehensive art integrating music, drama, dance, fine arts, and literature, opera undoubtedly has unique advantages in "collecting the literature of the centuries and collecting the rhyme of a thousand years" from the traditional Chinese culture.

In terms of story themes, historical books, legends of the Tang and Song dynasties, Yuan miscellaneous dramas, notebook novels, poems, and folk legends in traditional Chinese culture undoubtedly provide a rich source of inspiration for creation. The story theme of the original national opera "The Overlord of Chu" originates from the famous historical allusion of "Chu and Han Rivalry", and the creator focuses on exploring the contemporary humanistic connotation and exploring the inner world of the characters from the perspective of human nature on the basis of faithfully showing this familiar history to the audience. The original national opera "Heaven and Earth Shennong" is borrowed from the ancient mythological story "Shennong tastes a hundred herbs", the creator connected the current reality with the Shennong in the opera to save the public from the plague. The original opera "March of the Volunteers", which is currently on tour, inherits Shanghai's red culture and tells the story of the birth of the national anthem. Shanghai, as the place where the first record of the national anthem was recorded, has a glorious revolutionary tradition, and the play explores the national opera with Shanghainese characteristics by exploring regional historical characteristics and adapting measures to local conditions.

In terms of art forms, there are rich forms of artistic expression in traditional Chinese culture, such as traditional music, opera, dance, acrobatics, fine arts, etc. The combination of these traditional elements and opera can undoubtedly become a highlight of the original national opera. In the opera "The Overlord of Chu", the fragment of "embattled" is not only the climax of the plot, but also the embodiment of the advantages of opera music.

Art is not only national, but also cosmopolitan. The nationalization of Chinese opera is not only the creation of original national operas with Chinese brands in a narrow sense, but also the telling of Western classic operas in a Chinese way. The injection of traditional Chinese cultural elements into Western classical opera is not only because of the strong adaptability and creativity of traditional Chinese culture, but also because of the manifestation of breaking the dominance of the West in classical opera and enhancing the self-confidence of Chinese culture. In the rehearsal of La Traviata, a classic opera created by the Shanghai Opera House, the audience gave the most applause and cheers not at the end of the performance, but at the second act of the whole play. This version of La Traviata takes place on a cruise ship from Shanghai to Paris, and incorporates a pole-climbing performance by five child acrobats in the second act. Not only does this acrobatic performance fit perfectly into the plot development, but it also becomes the climax of the audience by infusing a purely Western classic opera with local Chinese elements. In 2018, the Western classic opera "Smiling Kingdom" was created and rehearsed, which provided unique conditions for the integration of Chinese classic elements. The play tells the story of a European girl who falls in love with a Chinese prince and comes to China with her, so the costume design refers to the Qing Dynasty costumes and is faithfully restored. The creator added traditional Chinese shadow puppet elements to the overture, and against the backdrop of Western symphony, the traditional Chinese shadow puppet play summarizes the love story of the hero and heroine in the play. The play was a great success, and the film has become the deepest memory of every participant and audience.

Chinese traditional culture has a long history, broad and profound, both national and global, if Chinese opera wants to go global, it must first maintain its national character and establish a cultural identity with Chinese characteristics, in order to get rid of the toddler posture and become an art that the audience likes to see. Drawing nourishment from China's excellent traditional culture is the only way for Chinese opera to be nationalized, and only nationalized Chinese opera can demonstrate the cultural self-confidence of the Chinese with a 5,000-year-old civilization, have a place in the international opera world, and then improve the international cultural influence.

Guangming Daily (2024-04-24 Edition 16)

Source: Guangming Net-Guangming Daily