As we all know, Wang Wenjuan and Xu Yulan are a pair of "Sheng Dan" combinations in the Yue opera industry. For more than half a century, they have combined and cooperated with tacit understanding to create many classic Yue opera repertoire such as "The Legend of Chunxiang", "Chasing Fish", "Dream of the Red Chamber", "West Garden", etc., and have become recognized as "golden partners" and "fairy lovers" in the minds of thousands of Yue opera audiences.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in Dream of the Red Chamber
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in "Chasing Fish"
So, when did their collaboration begin? And what is the cause that makes them come together, partner for more than half a century and have no fading charm?
Their collaboration began in September 1948, and their last shared performance was in 2013's "Stage Sisters", which lasted for 65 years.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan are studying the script
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Xu Yulan was born in October 1921, a native of Xindeng, Fuyang, Zhejiang, who has been fascinated by Yue opera since childhood and broke through family resistance to enter the class to learn drama. After leaving the department, he became famous for his high-pitched and gentle voice and handsome and free-spirited image of a young student. After 1937, he came to Shanghai with the opera class, and soon became popular in Shanghai Yuetan, becoming one of the "three famous young students of Yue opera" with Yin Guifang and Fan Ruijuan.
Xu Yulan fashion photo
In January 1946, Xu Yulan joined the Dangui Opera Troupe, partnered with the famous Danjiao actor Xiao Dangui, and performed a large number of plays such as "Green Shirt Fan", "Butterfly Dream", "Qin Huaiyue", "It's My Fault" and so on, which were at the top of the list and swept Shanghai. However, due to the exploitation and squeezing of the troupe owner and drama bully Zhang Chunfan, there was no treatment and rest for illness or even vomiting blood, xu Yulan angrily left the Dangui Troupe.
Information on The Performance of Shanghai Yue Opera around 1947
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After leaving the Dangui Troupe, Xu Yulan participated in the "Ten Sisters of Yue Opera Charity Performance", and was inspired by this to start forming her own Magnolia Troupe.
Xu Yulan is of course the top student of the troupe, so who will be the head and shoulders of the troupe? With Xu Yulan's fame and status for many years, there are many "mingdans" who want to cooperate with her. But Xu Yulan chose a "second shoulder Dan" Qi Yaxian who had just turned twenty years old, in order to make the audience feel fresh.
Qi Yaxian in "The Legend of the White Snake"
Although Qi Yaxian had just been "little lotus dew" at this time, he was not a generalist. At the age of 14, she entered the Shanghai Tao Ye Science Class to learn art, and after leaving the department, she played for Yuan Xuefen for a long time, and was already known as "Yuan Pai Xiaohua Dan" in the audience. However, being pushed to the top of xu Yulan's position at once was a bit flattered and a little flustered, afraid of collapsing. However, Xu Yulan was confident and enthusiastically encouraged, set up a drama department, and worked the choreography and director of the play, and the cannon play was the tragedy Xiangzhi Tears written by Xu Jin, which was performed in the Longmen Grand Theater in the downtown area of Shanghai.
Xu Yulan and Qi Yaxian's "Xiangzhi Tears" premiere information
Sure enough, when Qi Yaxian performed tragic dramas and sang tragic voices, she was able to play according to her own voice conditions and performance basis, which made the Yue opera audience who liked "bitter dramas" have a "fresh feeling" for this "newcomer" and "new cavity".
"Incense Notes and Tears" "incense" all over the beach, Qi Yaxian became famous in one fell swoop, and won the title of "Yue Opera Sad dan", of course, the Magnolia Troupe also won the victory and gained a foothold in the Shanghai Yue opera circle. Qi Yaxian is the first partner of Xu Yulan's first team, so Xu Yulan has been jokingly calling her her "original wife".
Xu Yulan anti-string stills
In the following six months, the Magnolia Troupe successively launched major dramas such as "Pity for the Same Disease" and "The Merry King and Grandson", and the popularity has always been booming, affecting The Rising Sun. However, because the actors signed at that time were generally for a period of half a year, half a year later, the theater owner in pursuit of "freshness", the actors faced the situation of recombining and choosing the theater. After Qi Yaxian became famous, she also germinated the idea of starting her own business and organizing the "Xiansheng Yue Opera Troupe", so Xu Yulan partnered with another Huadan Yao Suzhen to perform "Lord Chincha", "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Night Run" and other plays at the Cathay Theater.
Yao Suzhen was born in the same year as Xu Yulan, and is also a "veteran" Hua Dan actor, although his acting skills are superb, but due to his age, his voice has deteriorated somewhat, and it is always a little regrettable to partner with Xu Yulan. Of course, Xu Yulan also has her own ideas, and she has begun to consciously find a new stage partner for herself.
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At this moment, a "new person" entered Xu Yulan's sight again, and this person was Wang Wenjuan.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in Liang Zhu
Wang Wenjuan was born in 1926 in Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province, and in 1938, at the age of 13, she came to Shanghai alone to study art at her cousin Zhu Su'e Theater Troupe. Soon he rose to prominence, and at the age of 19, he took up the responsibility of head and shoulder Hua Dan, playing the main role in "Jade Hairpin", "Panfusov" and "Horse Trader". In August 1947, Wang Wenjuan joined the "Shaozhuang Opera Troupe" formed by Lu Jinhua as a "head and shoulder Dan", and performed more than 20 "fashion Yue operas" such as "Saturday", "The Joy of Heaven" and "Difficulty in Being a Man" at the Empress Grand Theatre, and soon became popular in Shanghai Yuetan with a youthful and beautiful image and a soft and beautiful singing voice.
Wang Wenjuan in "The Prince of Xinling"
At first glance at Wang Wenjuan's play, Xu Yulan felt that Wang Wenjuan had a good young image, a soft and beautiful voice, a wide play path, not only good at Hua Dan, but also playing Tong Sheng, Qingyi, Hua Face, and Old Student, and the performing arts were in the ascending period, with strong plasticity and broad development prospects, so Xu Yulan couldn't help but have "secret feelings" for Wang Wenjuan, but Wang Wenjuan was contracted at this time, "involuntarily", Xu Yulan "couldn't help it".
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in "Two Heroes of Wind and Dust"
In June 1948, Lu Jinhua fell ill, and the Shaozhuang Troupe disbanded early without waiting for the "summer break", and Wang Wenjuan became a "free body". However, at this time, Xu Yulan's own "contract" had not yet expired, so she could not sign a contract with Wang Wenjuan.
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At this time, Yin Guifang, known as the "Emperor of Yue Opera", returned from Hong Kong, reorganized the Fanghua Yue Opera Troupe and took the stage at the Lyceum Theatre. Yin Guifang took the lead and invited Wang Wenjuan to cooperate with her, and Wang Wenjuan was naturally very excited.
Yin Guifang and Wang Wenjuan in "Two Guns Lu Wenlong"
On July 20, 1948, the opening play "Two Guns Lu Wenlong" was staged. Because Yin Guifang is good at supporting newcomers, her temperament is dashing, her eyes are agile, and Wang Wenjuan's mentality is relaxed, and the two cooperate very smoothly. Unexpectedly, the second play "Surfing Sand" was completed, and the Fanghua Theater and the Lyceum Theater had a dispute over the rental fee, and the two sides did not negotiate and had to terminate the contract in advance.
Yin Guifang felt very guilty about this and felt sorry for Wang Wenjuan, because it was already August, and the general troupe had already determined the lineup and performance theater. Wang Wenjuan's sudden "termination" is likely to mean that the performance in the second half of the year is frustrated, but it can only be like this, and there is no better way for a while.
Wang Wenjuan in "Waves and Sands"
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Fortunately, at this time, Xu Yulan's contract with Yao Suzhen expired, and for a while he had not yet decided on the "right person", and when he heard that Wang Wenjuan had just "terminated the contract", Xu Yulan was naturally overjoyed and immediately issued an invitation to invite Wang Wenjuan to join the Yulan Troupe. Therefore, Wang Wenjuan was actually not affected by the "termination", so the "Daoqian" for Yin Guifang was never put in his heart, but comforted Yin Guifang.
Wang Wenjuan in Dream of the Red Chamber
In fact, Wang Wenjuan has long admired Xu Yulan, a "famous young student", but because she is just a fledgling, she has not had the opportunity to get acquainted with a "big name" like Xu Yulan for a while, let alone have the opportunity to cooperate. But now Xu Yulan took the initiative to throw an olive branch, then everything became a reality. Therefore, Xu Yulan's invitation is in line with Wang Wenjuan's wishes, of course, it is a one-shot agreement, and the so-called "good luck" of heaven is also.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan took a group photo
In September 1948, Wang Wenjuan officially joined the Magnolia Troupe. At that time, the "Yue Opera Newspaper" had a very interesting comment on this. Said: "Although there are many talents in Yue opera at present, it is not easy to choose a person who can be on a par with Miss Xu, and finally with the help of the old man under the moon, Wang Wenjuan finally entered the Yulan Troupe." We should wish Miss Wang that this time we can cooperate with the most promising young students today, and it is undoubtedly not difficult to embark on the road of Kangzhuang from now on, and it is not difficult to step forward."
1948 Magnolia Theatre Company Performance Information
On September 22, 1948, Wang Wenjuan joined the Yulan Troupe's first big play "Wind XiaoXiao" was staged, with Xu Yulan playing Jing Ke and Wang Wenjuan playing her lover. This brand new pair, with beautiful appearance and good singing, received rave reviews as soon as the play was staged, and won the "opening red".
Instruction manual for the 1948 Magnolia Troupe performance
However, due to the turbulence of the situation at this time, the price of goods soared, and the internal disputes over the payment of honorariums also arose within the troupe, and the strikes continued, and it was impossible to rehearse new plays, and could only re-perform traditional old plays. Because it is a temporary repertoire, it is too late to seek the opinions of the actors, and the drama code advertisement is posted first and then said, and everything is "seen on stage".
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in "Plugged in Love"
Fortunately, Wang Wenjuan studied drama seriously before, and her traditional drama skills were comprehensive and solid, what "You'an Recognizing Mother", "Jade Hairpin", "Meng Lijun", "Liang Zhu", "Agarwood Fan"... Every show can be played on the spot and coped with it easily. Unexpectedly, these old plays are not bad at the box office, basically full of seats, so the troupe up and down to Wang Wenjuan, the new head and shoulders Hua Dan, looked at each other.
Wang Wenjuan in "Wind XiaoXiao"
Xu Yulan has a "golden voice", singing high-pitched and gorgeous, unrestrained and fluent, and the performance is passionate; Wang Wenjuan sings naturally and smoothly, the tone is thick and soft, good at shaping various characters, and the performance is sincere. The cooperation between the two is equal, which is pleasing to the eye, and suddenly a whirlwind blows in shanghai.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in "The Biography of Chunxiang"
The choreographer of the troupe is also good at "tailor-made drama" for Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan, and innovates in the repertoire and performance form, singing voice and costumes, so the cooperation between the two soon reached the realm of water and milk, such as the realm of pure fire, the "Xu Wang" combination has a unique charm and charm, and the box office of the Magnolia Troupe has always been high. Only one play of "Xinling Gongzi" was performed for more than half a year, the scene was full, and the costume alone was remade 3 times.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan in "Three Laughs"
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After 1952, under the leadership of Xu Yulan, the Yulan Opera Troupe joined the Yue Opera Troupe of the General Political Affairs Cultural and Labor Troupe, and entered the Korean front in April 1953 to perform Yue opera for the condolences of volunteer soldiers. After the test of war, Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan were both awarded the second class battle merits.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan pose for a group photo in North Korea
After the end of the war, the Magnolia Troupe was merged into the Shanghai Yue Theater as a whole, and Xu Yulan, Wang Wenjuan, Zhou Baokui, Qian Miaohua and other actors became the main actors of the Second Troupe of the Shanghai Yue Theatre, with a long-term stable partner, and the classic Yue opera "The Legend of Chunxiang", "Chasing Fish", "Dream of the Red Chamber" and so on were mainly created by this troupe.
Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan returned victoriously
Xu Yulan military uniform photo
"Chun Xiang Biography" performance information
The "Chasing Fish" and "Dream of the Red Chamber" starring them were filmed into color opera art films, and the "Xu Pai" and "Wang Pai" art days matured, and Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan also became one of the "golden partners" with the longest cooperation time, the most classic works, the greatest influence and the highest artistic achievement in the Yue opera industry.
Xu Yulan, Wang Wenjuan and others took a group photo in Beijing
Cover of the YUE opera "Dream of the Red Chamber" CD