Preface
Yue Opera, as a precious intangible cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, has always been an artistic treasure that the Chinese people are proud of. However, it is not an easy task to give this ancient opera a new lease of life in the modern world.
In the current dancing fashion industry, the appearance of an old man with gray hair and a young and beautiful woman undoubtedly attracted the attention of everyone present. They are the controversial Yue Opera master Mao Weitao and her protégé Chen Lijun.
From the initial questioning and condemnation, to the efforts of the new generation of actors, the century-old art of Yue Opera has finally regained its unique charm. Mao Weitao and Chen Lijun are the two most critical promoters in this process.
One is a veteran who adheres to tradition and is tenacious, and the other is an unstoppable rookie with both talent and appearance. The two are each other's faces on the stage, and with solid learning and excellent acting skills, they show the essence of Yue Opera to the fullest.
Mao Weitao, who is 62 years old this year, with 66 years of perseverance and perseverance, finally made a new star like Chen Lijun popular. And Chen Lijun's outstanding performance has also made the art of Yue Opera once again loved by young audiences.
From one controversy after another, the art of Yue Opera is blooming again in the new era. Let's follow the footsteps of Mao Weitao and Chen Lijun to witness this long-awaited cultural inheritance and artistic flourishing!
The red carpet of the 2024 Weibo Night is in full swing, and the stars are gathered!
Some are passionate and sexy hunks, some are charming and enchanting long legs, and some are Michelle's catchy "gossip groom"... But in this misty and intoxicating atmosphere, two "super contrasts" suddenly appeared!
First of all, a gray-haired old man came over, although he was old, but his demeanor was extraordinary. Followed by a handsome woman with a graceful posture, she exuded a scholarly temperament in her gestures.
They were dressed in graceful and atmospheric Chinese dresses, and the royal blue gowns set off a noble and elegant atmosphere, and their gestures were filled with a calm atmosphere that was not stained by the mud. These two are the master of the opera industry, Mr. Mao Weitao, and her protégé Chen Lijun. The old and the young performed on the same stage, which can be said to have added a lot of elegant cultural heritage to this grand ceremony.
"They are like short-lived aristocratic ladies, with a bit of coldness and independent temperament, which is incompatible with this modern fashion circle. Some netizens commented.
That's right, on this dazzling fashion stage, what Mao Weitao and Chen Lijun show is the charm of traditional culture that has been lost for a long time! When the prosperity is gone, only the classics will last forever. As the inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage of Yue Opera, Mao Weitao single-handedly planted this century-old opera boxer in the present. And Chen Lijun is her most proud student.
Since ancient times, Yue Opera has been very particular about "family heirlooms". Different from actors trained in ordinary dramas, Yue Opera actors often receive strict apprenticeship education from an early age. The master not only needs to teach basic singing skills, but also needs to inject the profound cultural traditions contained in Yue Opera into every inch of his apprentice's blood.
Just like Mao Lao, she has been in the Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe since she was 8 years old, studying under the Yue Opera master Yin Xiangyun, and later received the guidance of Xiao Changhua, another Yue Opera master. has been acting for more than 60 years, and her dedication to Yue Opera can be described as a lifelong effort.
Because of this, she can implement that pure opera temperament into her bones, even if she is over the age of six, she can still gallop freely on the stage and be vivid. As her disciple, Chen Lijun naturally also integrates the essence of the teacher's art. Even the most unscrupulous passers-by will be deeply attracted by her fresh and refined temperament when they see her calm and extraordinary demeanor.
In fact, it was the outstanding performances of these two talented women that made the urban drama "New Dragon Gate Inn", which became popular on the small screen last year, unexpectedly popular, and set off a "Yue Opera fever" among young audiences in one fell swoop.
In the play, Mao Weitao plays a rather majestic Yue Opera artist, and Chen Lijun is her protégé, and the two are full of tacit understanding and resonance. Although the plot is mediocre, it shines because of the excellent acting skills of the two.
Especially the role of "Jade Face Langjun" played by Chen Lijun injected a bit of humor into the originally serious Yue Opera. Her chivalrous masculinity and the gentle temperament of the charming little jasper have no sense of disobedience, which can be described as vivid.
Audiences who have never watched Yue Opera were deeply impressed by her superb acting skills, and applauded and shouted "The heroine is so cool" and "Yue Opera is so interesting". Young people, who had some stereotypes of traditional opera, have also changed their previous stereotypes and embraced this ancient but timeless art form.
"After watching the play, I was completely attracted by Chen Lijun's talent, her delicate and nuanced performance was so impressive. A post-90s audience said. And Chen Lijun's outstanding performance is naturally indispensable to the hand-in-hand of her mentor Mao Weitao. As a senior, Mao Lao has experienced too much after all, and her experience and cognition of the art of opera are naturally more thorough and profound than that of young people.
She has a unique understanding and comprehension of the works, and she also has a vivid grasp of the characters' personalities and inner contradictions, so she can give students pertinent and in-place opinions and suggestions. It is under her words and deeds that Chen Lijun will have today's good results.
In fact, Mao Weitao's process of cultivating Chen Lijun into a talent is also an inspirational story. At first, Chen Lijun was not a talented and outstanding new force. For a long time, she was always dark on the stage of Yue Opera, and she was always at a medium level compared to her classmates.
However, with her tenacious perseverance and persistent love for Yue Opera, coupled with the patient guidance of her teacher, she finally broke through many bottlenecks and achieved today's remarkable results. "Actually, when I first saw her, I knew she was a potential stock. Mao Lao said with a smile that as a long-term career, she has seen a lot of knowledge, and she can naturally see through at a glance who is the "seed player" who really loves Yue Opera.
And Chen Lijun is the new generation of Yue Opera stars she has worked so hard to cultivate. "She is not a genius, but because she loves opera, she works extremely hard. This pure love for art is already commendable. In addition to teaching Chen Lijun a solid foundation and subtle acting skills, Mao Lao also used his own personal experience to make the best example for young people.
In fact, in Mao Weitao's long career in art, he has also encountered a lot of doubts and criticism. As a conservative, she has long adhered to the pure appearance of Yue Opera and opposed the implantation of some fashionable elements into the opera. This stubborn conservative style once made her condemned by many peers and audiences at the beginning of the new century.
"Yue Opera must keep pace with the times, and it can't always stay in the past. The audience denounced it as such, believing that Mao Weitao's conservatism was hindering the development of Yue Opera. However, Mao Lao obviously has his own insistence. For this ancient art form, she believes that pop culture should not be touched upon, but that it should be preserved in its original pure nature.
"The reason why Yue Opera is so popular and passed down from generation to generation lies in its unique cultural core. Once those flashy fashion elements are injected into it, Yue Opera will lose its soul. "
In the face of stormy ridicule and doubts, Mao Lao never wavered. On the contrary, she used her solid knowledge and superb artistic attainments to justify the name of Yue Opera and proved to the world the immortal charm of this ancient opera.
It is only now that Yue Opera has gradually emerged with the efforts of the new generation of actors such as Chen Lijun, and has regained the attention and love of young audiences. And the foundation of all this stems from the perseverance and perseverance of Mao Weitao and other predecessors.
From a young opera lover to a mentor and guide in the Yue Opera industry, Mao Weitao has laid a solid foundation for Yue Opera with his 66 years of perseverance. And her greatest wish is also to hope that this ancient art can remain young and long-lasting in the new era.
"Every era has its own development direction of opera, and we should humbly learn from our predecessors and keep pace with the times. Only in this way can Yue Opera survive. For Chen Lijun, who is in her heyday, the expectations of her predecessors have also become the biggest motivation for them to move forward. As a leader of the new generation, Chen Lijun is well aware of the great responsibility she shoulders.
"The teacher has given us a good inspiration and the performance we are doing now is the best reward for her. In the future, I will continue to work hard to better pass on the art of Yue Opera. "
Watching the growth of his apprentices, Mao Weitao felt sincerely gratified. She believes that under the leadership of a promising young man like Chen Lijun, Yue Opera will be able to bloom and glow with new opportunities in the new era. As a teacher, the greatest achievement is to be able to pass on his hard work and ideas from generation to generation, and the torch will always be there. Seeing the rise of the new generation of Yue Opera actors such as Chen Lijun, Mao Lao felt that his efforts were finally not in vain.
"Art comes from life but is higher than life, it needs to be experienced with a pure heart. This is a sentence that Mao Lao often hangs on his lips. Sure enough, it is with such a simple and persistent heart that she and Chen Lijun can bring the unique charm of opera talent to the audience in this noisy and impetuous era.
end
Inadvertently, surrounded by flashing lights, the two Yue Opera heroines appeared again in the spotlight, with royal blue gowns, meticulously crafted makeup, and noble and elegant temperament, all of which opened the eyes of the fashionistas present.
In the face of such a scene, as an ordinary Yue Opera lover, I am also sincerely proud and lucky. In this era of impetuous and noisy noise, it is really fortunate that there can be such a clear stream for a long time, and people have the opportunity to personally appreciate the unique charm of the 5,000-year-old culture of the Chinese nation.
Let's move forward side by side with Mao Weitao and Chen Lijun, and look forward to the ancient and unfading quintessence art of Yue Opera shining more brilliantly in the new era!