As one of the host cities of the 4th China Opera Festival, starting from October 18, Qingdao will enter the opera carnival time. In more than 20 days, 5 theater groups, 7 repertoire, 1 closing ceremony and 15 performances will successively land in Qingdao Grand Theatre, Phoenix Voice Grand Theatre and Chengyang Grand Theatre. Among the plays, there are traditional classic operas such as "Sister Jiang", "White Haired Girl", "Little Erhei Marriage", "Honghu Red Guards" and "Concentric Knot", which have been created for decades and are still timeless, as well as two modern new works that tell Chinese stories from a contemporary perspective, "Guo Jia" and "Little River Flowing Water". This year's opera festival follows the principle of low ticket prices to benefit the people, the average ticket price does not exceed 100 yuan, of which the low-cost tickets below 60 yuan are not less than 40%, attracting more people to enter the theater to watch the performance.
"Little Two Black Marriage": Break the feudal ignorance and celebrate the new society
Created by the China Opera and Dance Theater of the National Arts Theatre, "Little Two Black Weddings" will be performed at the Qingdao Grand Theatre at 19:30 on October 18 and 19. The opera "Little Two Black Marriage" was created in 1952, based on Zhao Shuli's novel of the same name, and is the first comedy opera in China. It was premiered in January 1953 at the Beijing Experimental Theater by the Opera Department of the Central Academy of Drama and staged for the 1956 National Music Week.
Stills from "Little Two Black Marriage"
The opera "Xiao Erhei Gets Married" tells the story of Xiao Erhei, a militia captain who took place in the village of "Liu Jiajiao", an anti-Japanese democratic base in Shanxi Province, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and Xiao Qin, a girl from his village, who fell in love. The feudal superstitious Little Erhei father Erkong Ming and Xiao Qin's mother, the Three Immortals, used various methods to obstruct their marriage, and Jin Wang, the goblin, instigated and instigated them. However, Xiao Erhei and Xiao Qin were not intimidated by the feudal arrangement and slander, but resolutely resisted, and the lovers eventually became dependents. While respecting and inheriting the classics, this presentation is rearranged and instrumented with modern concepts, which not only retains the original regional music style, but also integrates modern elements and youthful atmosphere, and strives to make "Xiaoqin" and "Xiao Erhei" glow with new brilliance in the new era.
"Honghu Red Guards": Red classic, never fade
At 19:30 on October 25th and 26th, Hubei Opera and Dance Theater "Honghu Red Guards" will be performed at the Phoenix Voice Grand Theater. The classic opera "Honghu Red Guards" was first arranged in 1958, and in October 1959, the play was first performed in Beijing as a gift to the 10th anniversary of the National Day of Hubei Province, and became a hit and has since become a treasure of Chinese national opera. Zhou Enlai, Dong Biwu, He Long, and Chen Yi, leaders of the older generation of the party and state in our country, have all enjoyed the wonderful performance of the play and spoke highly of it. As an excellent treasure of Chinese national opera, "Honghu Red Guards" has been performed more than 3,000 times, promoting the wave of red classics in the land of Shenzhou!
Stills from "Honghu Red Guards"
The classic national opera "Honghu Red Guards" tells that in the Honghu area of Hubei Province in the 1930s, the Red Army led by He Long was temporarily withdrawn in a tug-of-war with the enemy, and the honghu Red Guards, under the leadership of Han Ying and Liu Chuang, skillfully maneuvered with the Kuomintang security group and the local lake bully Peng Batian, dealing a heavy blow to the invading enemy. The play adopts the Jingzhou Tianyuan Flower Drum and the folk minor key with a strong Hubei local style as the material, drawing on the advantages of Western opera drama and musical symphony, magnificent, with a strong national personality, and is still full of charm.
"Sister Jiang"
The classic opera "Sister Jiang" created by the China Opera and Dance Theater will also be unveiled at the Chengyang Grand Theater at 19:30 on October 29 and 30. The national opera "Sister Jiang" was written by Yan Su, composed by Yang Ming, Jiang Chunyang and Jin Sha, rehearsed by the former Cultural and Labor Troupe of the Political Department of the Air Force, and premiered in September 1964. In 2021, the opera "Sister Jiang" (2021 edition), jointly produced by the Department of Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Propaganda Bureau of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission, and the China Opera and Dance Theater, and performed by the China Opera and Dance Theater, will meet the audience. The play was completed by the China Opera and Dance Theater in cooperation with the military system, and has been selected into the "Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China Stage Art Creation Project" traditional fine product rearrangement plan, "Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China Excellent Stage Repertoire Exhibition".
Opera "Sister Jiang" (2021 edition) The seventh performance, chorus "Red Mezan" (photographer Liu Kedong)
In the spring of 1948, our People's Liberation Army launched a nationwide strategic counteroffensive. Chongqing under the rule of the Kuomintang reactionaries is already a scene of "mountains and rain coming and the wind filling the building." At this time, Sister Jiang took the important instructions of the provincial party committee to leave the mountain city and rush to northern Sichuan. On the way, shocked to learn the bad news of her husband Peng Songtao's sacrifice, Sister Jiang suppressed her grief, held her head high, went straight up huaying mountain, met with the old woman with two guns, and led the guerrillas to launch an armed struggle. Due to the betrayal of the traitor Fu Zhigao, Sister Jiang was unfortunately arrested. In the face of Shen Yangzhai, the head of the secret service, Sister Jiang was awe-inspiring and righteously rebuked the enemy. Finally, on the eve of the liberation of Chongqing, generosity was made and heroic sacrifices were made. The red light stained the sky red, and on the red rock stood Sister Jiang with a smile on her face. She stands like a splendid red plum between heaven and earth; her great image will always be engraved in the hearts of millions of people.
"The White-Haired Girl": "The old society forced people into ghosts, and the new society turned ghosts into people"
The classic opera "The White Haired Girl" is also brought by the China Opera and Dance Theatre and will be performed at the Qingdao Grand Theatre at 19:30 on November 2 and 3. The opera "The White-Haired Girl" is the first new opera in China created by the Lu Xun Academy of Arts and Literature in Yan'an after the publication of Comrade Mao Zedong's "Speech at the Yan'an Literary and Art Forum", and it is also a milestone of national opera. She integrated Western opera art with the historical themes of the Chinese revolution, adopted the tunes of northern Chinese folk music, and absorbed opera music and its expression techniques. Since it was first staged, it has been performed often and has endured for a long time.
Stills from "The White-Haired Girl"
In Chinese New Year's Eve 1934, in Yang Gezhuang, a county in Hebei Province, in the snow and wind, the poor farmer Yang Bailao hid his account and returned home, looking forward to spending a reunion year with his only daughter Xi'er. Just as the father and daughter were enjoying each other, Mu Renzhi, the housekeeper of the landlord Huang Shiren, suddenly came to the door. The Huang family, Huang Shiren and Mu Renzhi threatened and seduced, and used the "donkey rolling" usury to force Yang Bailao to sell Xi'er to pay off debts. Yang Bailao resisted, but was forced to press his handprint on the sales document and passed out on the way home. His friend Zhao Laohan found Yang Bailao, who had fainted in the snow. Xi'er, Dachun and Aunt Wang also returned to the Yang family to celebrate the New Year and eat dumplings together. Zhao Laohan told the story of the Red Army that year, which made Dachun and Xi'er yearn. After everyone left, Yang Bailao drank salt brine with hatred and fought to the death. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the crowd found Yang Bai's corpse outside the door. Xi'er was devastated and cried bitterly. Mu Renzhi snatched Xi'er with the dog leg.
Xi'er was tortured in the Huang family, but fortunately, with the kindness of Zhang Er's aunt, she barely survived, and finally did not escape the clutches of Huang Shiren, who had been coveting her for a long time. Huang Shiren's marriage is approaching, and in order to avoid "family ugliness", the Huang family plans to sell Xi'er to human traffickers. After Zhang Er aunt learned about it, she helped Xi'er escape from the Huang family. In the reeds of the big river, Huang Shiren and Mu Renzhi, who were chasing them, found a shoe of Xi'er on the shore and judged that Xi'er threw herself into the river and died. Xi'er escaped the disaster and fled into the mountains.
Three years later, Xi'er hid in a cave, and due to a long-term lack of salt, her hair turned white, becoming the legendary "white-haired fairy girl" of the villagers. In the autumn, it was already the Eighth Route Army's big spring back in the village, and when he learned about the "white-haired fairy girl", he decided to go up the mountain to find out. Joy and spring recognize each other, and sorrow and joy burst forth. "The sun is out! DaChun takes Xi'er down the mountain to take revenge. At the village mouth struggle meeting, Xi'er accused Huang Shiren, and the villagers were furious. Huang Shiren and Mu Renzhi were sent to the people's government for public trial and legal handling. "The old society forced people into ghosts, and the new society turned ghosts into people!" In the new society, the Xi'er finally turned around and became masters.
"Concentric Knot": Defend the family and defend the country, and forever tie the knot with one heart
At 19:30 on November 3rd and 4th, "Concentric Knot" created by Sichuan Symphony Orchestra will be performed at Chengyang Grand Theater. In 2020, in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Volunteers' war to resist us aggression and aid Korea, the opera "Concentric Knot" was grandly staged in the Opera Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on October 26 and 27, 2020, successfully completing the outstanding stage art repertoire exhibition and performance activities of the Central Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Volunteers' War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and the works were selected in one fell swoop in the "100-year-old 100-part" traditional fine art rearrangement plan in the "Stage Art Creation Project Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China".
Stills from "Concentric Knot"
The national opera "Concentric Knot" takes the theme of defending the family and defending the country as the theme, telling the heroic story of Huang Jiguang, a special combat hero from Zhongjiang, Deyang, Sichuan, who is from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. The fusion of revolutionary songs, Sichuan folk songs and the national tone of The DPRK, the symphonic musical language is used to interpret heroic stories, so that the national style is combined with the spirit of the times, and the musicality is combined with drama, which fully demonstrates the spirit of the times and the spirit of revolutionary heroism.