The audience applauded warmly.
Text/Photo All-media reporter Guo Jianguang
The 2020 Yellow River Drama Festival series of activities "Zero Distance Between Me and Famous Artists" Chen Yongquan was held as scheduled at 9:00 a.m. on December 23 at the Fan Puting Memorial Hall in Zhumadian. Heavyweight guests at the scene included Wang Quanzhen, vice chairman of Henan Dramatists Association, secretary of the Party Committee of Henan Yu Theatre, winner of Plum Blossom Award, and famous Yu opera performance artist; Yang Shuaixue, vice chairman of Henan Dramatists Association, winner of Plum Blossom Award and famous opera performance artist; and Mr. Zhang Yun, famous entrepreneur, outstanding literary and art volunteer of Henan Province, and senior opera fan. The host is He Baolin, deputy director of the Cultural Research Department of the Henan Academy of Culture and Art and a young theater critic.
Hear and hear, go deep into the grassroots to absorb artistic nutrition
"Usually the same window before the moon, only plum blossoms are different. This year's Yellow River Drama Festival is different from previous editions and has been greatly improved. This year's highlights are frequent, opera performances, famous artists into the classroom, happiness singing, famous people face to face, screenwriting training classes, stage training classes, etc., the activities can be described as rich and diverse. I am very grateful to the Zhumadian Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal Government and the people of the whole city for their hard work and great help for this art festival. Chen Yongquan first expressed his gratitude to the leaders, the theater group, the experts and judges who supported this year's Yellow River Drama Festival.
Chen Yongquan graduated from the Department of Chinese of Henan Normal University in 1991 and joined the Henan Provincial Opera Troupe after graduation.
"When I was a child, I lived in Tanghe, Nanyang, where the rich artistic atmosphere gave me abundant artistic nourishment, made me a fan of drama and loved literature. He wrote many novels in college and did not start writing scripts until he entered the troupe after graduation. The academy asked us to participate in more grassroots performances and perform at the grassroots level, which not only brought joy to the audience, but also enhanced our national art and cultivated opera talents. The nourishment of the art of opera has benefited me for a lifetime. It taught me the laws of creation and how to draw strength from tradition. In the process of in-depth understanding and closeness to our national art, cultural self-confidence from the heart and bones emerges spontaneously. Chen Yongquan said that the art of opera plays an important role in the support of spiritual forces in the development of our nation, opera is the carrier of the national spirit, and the excellent traditional virtues of China are inherited and carried forward through the opera stage, affecting generations of Chinese sons and daughters.
"When we launched this activity at the Fan Puting Memorial Hall, I can't help but think of Mr. Fan Puting, who is known as the 'father of modern Yu opera', who gave up his originally stable job after graduating from university and devoted himself to the creation of opera." His spirit is revered, and his achievements are remarkable. He was an example for me to follow. Chen Yongquan said.
Immerse yourself in creation and be a responsible playwright
Chen Yongquan's contributions to Henan opera are concentrated in four aspects: the modernization of traditional opera, the cosmopolitanization of ethnic opera, the youth of opera audiences, and the balance of drama ecology.
Chen Yongquan's works have repeatedly achieved historic breakthroughs in Central Plains drama, had a major impact at home and abroad, performed in four places across the Taiwan Straits, broadcast many times on CCTV, and successfully staged in Italy, France, the United States and other countries, showing the charm of Chinese opera art on the world stage. "Wind and Rain Old Garden" is the first chinese opera depicting the marriage story of modern literary hero Lu Xun and Juan, which took three years and changed his manuscripts several times, and was put on the stage by the Provincial Yu Opera Troupe at the end of 2005.
The perspective of "Wind and Rain Garden" is unique and novel, the ideological connotation is rich, the internal conflict is fierce, the language is rich in literary style, has a high literary taste and cultural content, and is full of modernity and humanistic spirit. The playwright poured compassion into the special character of Juan, and at the same time reduced Lu Xun from a god to a human being, creating a great and true Lu Xun who walked down from the altar, flesh and blood.
"If the highest mission of a writer is to 'establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue to learn for the saints, and open up peace for all the worlds', then this era not only needs the restoration and promotion of national culture, but also the condensation and extraction of national culture; not only the enthusiastic praise poems, but also the stirring and clear blowing of new winds. Chen Yongquan has done this, and his works have done it. Chen Yongquan's fierce feelings, critical spirit and sense of innovation are both personal and belong to this era. This is Wang Shouguo, secretary of the party group of the Henan Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the Provincial Literary and Art Critics Association, who spoke highly of Chen Yongquan in the book "Selected Plays of Chen Yongquan".
Chen Yongquan, a first-class screenwriter, a famous contemporary playwright, a young and middle-aged literary and art worker in the country, a cultural master of the Central Propaganda Department and a national candidate for the "Four Batches of Talents" and "Millions of Talents Project in the New Century", enjoys special allowances from the State Council. He is currently the vice chairman of Henan Provincial Federation of Literature and Literature, the vice chairman of Henan Provincial Drama Association, the director of China Dramatists Association, and a part-time professor of Henan University and Henan Normal University. He has long been committed to the theoretical exploration and creative practice of the modernization of traditional opera, the internationalization of national opera, the youth of theater audiences, and the balance of drama ecology, and his works have included a series of the highest awards in the Chinese theater and film circles, the main works are "Wind and Rain Old Garden", "Cheng Baby Saves Orphans", "A Q and Kong Yiji", "Marriage Events", "Two Wolf Mountains", "Urban Sunshine", "Danshui Love", "Zhang Boxing", "Yellow River Singing", "Li Xiangjun", "My Dachen Island", "Yi Bo Yun Tian", "Nanshui Circuit" and so on. He has won the Cao Yu Drama Literature Award, the Wenhua Drama Composition Award, the Tian Han Script Award, the National "Five One Project" Award, the Wenhua Award, the Top Ten Fine Works of the National Stage Art Fine Arts Project, the Audience's Favorite Repertoire Award of the Chinese Arts Festival, the Chinese Opera Society Award, the Best Screenplay Award of the Chinese Culture Award, the Best Screenplay Award of the National Ethnic Minority Literary and Art Performance, the Best Screenplay Award of the National Drama Culture Award, the Chinese Drama Literature Gold Award, the Chinese Film Huabiao Award, the Golden Rooster Award Nomination Award, and the Best Foreign Language Music Film Award of the Los Angeles International Film Festival His works have been performed in the four places across the Taiwan Straits and many countries such as the United States, France, Italy, etc.; some of his works have been selected for university language textbooks and the "National Stage Art Excellent Repertoire Collection", which are included in the "History of Chinese Opera". He has published books such as "Cheng Baby Saving Orphans" and "Selected Plays of Chen Yongquan".
Chen Yongquan signed and sent "Chen Yongquan's Selected Plays" on the spot.
Wang Quanzhen performed on stage.
Yang Shuaixue sang "A Q and Kong Yiji".
It is a long way to go to promote opera culture close to the youth
"In the past, many people thought that the distance between opera and youth was very far, and young people did not like opera, but from my personal experience, all students who have seriously watched a drama performance have a feeling of seeing each other and hating opera. In fact, the distance between opera and the youth's soul is much closer than the distance between space. "Instead of spending energy on discussing whether young people like opera or not, it is better to quickly come up with practical actions to shorten the spatial distance between the two." The premise of love at first sight is to see, how can you love without seeing? One year, we went to He normal university to carry out the 'Yongquan Xiangpao' opera into the campus activity, when Wang Quanzhen and Yang Shuaixue were all present, and the performance scene could be described as hot. I hope to create more opportunities for drama to enter the campus, so as to influence more college students to contact traditional culture and enhance our national self-confidence. I hope that in the future, more playwrights, theater experts and scholars will be able to get out of the university campus. Only by winning over young audiences can the ancient national art of opera truly have a brilliant tomorrow. Chen Yongquan's words won warm applause.
Chen Yongquan has always attached great importance to the combination of opera and contemporary youth, and his initiation of the opera "A Q and Kong Yiji" into the campus performance activities have produced good repercussions among teachers and students of Zhengzhou University, PLA Information Engineering College and other colleges and universities. In addition to his creation, he was also invited to give drama lectures in some colleges and universities.
Written for the people, although nine deaths are not regretted
"Really good work, as long as you walk into the theater you will like it." Opera practitioners should create with the people as the center, impress people with stories, and create flesh-and-blood, vivid and touching characters, and only works with profound thoughts, exquisite art and well-made works are truly exquisite works. It is necessary to adhere to the aesthetic norms of Chinese culture, adhere to the aesthetic spirit of Chinese opera, and always adhere to the people-centered creative orientation. Chen Yongquan's words aroused strong resonance from the audience at the scene.
If a writer wants to break through the traditional patterns and barriers, he must first break through his own limitations, which requires not only talent, but also a sincere heart, excellent courage and noble personality. Among the contemporary playwrights, Chen Yongquan is a highly recognizable playwright. If "A Q and Kong Yiji" represents his criticism of the inferiority of the people, and "Cheng Bao Saves Orphans" represents his publicity of the national spirit, then "Ms. Juan" represents his reflection on traditional culture.
At the event site, Yang Shuaixue was invited to perform the classic singing segment of "A Q and Kong Yiji" on the spot. He said that Chen Yongquan originally tailored a one-man show "A Q Dream" for him, which caused a lot of repercussions, and later after several years of precipitation, he boldly integrated two classic works of Lu Xun, thus achieving unprecedented success. "It was this opera work that made me the first actor to win the Plum Blossom Award for Opera." Yang Shuai said. At the scene, his solemn and harmonious and exquisite performance won a round of applause from the audience.
Mr. Zhang Yun, a veteran theater fan, performed the classic singing section in "Cheng Baby Saves Orphans". He said that he was an entrepreneur, and when he heard someone sing this play by chance, he decided to learn from his teacher. He started from simple singing and learning, from shallow to deep, and finally was able to accurately understand and show Cheng Bao's rich mental journey and home and country feelings.
In everyone's expectation, Chen Yongquan invited Wang Quanzhen to perform on stage. They work as partners, one writer and one starring. "Speaking of Chairman Chen Yongquan, I have to mention the role in the play that made me. The little snail in "Wind and Rain" is tear-jerking, and I also like to challenge the characters who are rich in heart. Wang Quanzhen said to everyone. Subsequently, she brilliantly performed this singing segment: sometimes low back like crying, sometimes high-pitched and cheerful, and her precise control of the characters made many viewers burst into tears and deeply moved.
"Every line of chanting flows from the heart. These powerful lyrics are the echoes of the soul of a playwright with a sense of responsibility for the times who has always grasped the creative orientation with the people in mind. Zhou Mingli, a famous playwright in our city, felt very deeply on the spot, and his words represented the voice of many audiences.
"Listening to the famous artists talk about the creative process and listening to the famous actors interpret the characters in the play on the spot can be described as a combination of pearls and harmony." I can't hear enough, and I want to listen again. At the scene, an audience member said that traditional opera has endless charm and charm, conquering the audience, and Mr. Chen Yongquan, a playwright engaged in opera creation, has pointed out the direction of literary and artistic progress for us with his creative experience.
At the end of the event, Mr. Chen Yongquan signed and delivered "Selected Plays of Chen Yongquan" to the audience on the spot.