Lu Ruiying, a famous Yue opera performance artist and founder of Lü Pai Art, was born in Shanghai in 1932, but she was born in a miserable life, and she did not know the surname of her biological parents since she was a child, nor could she remember how she became an orphan. Sold twice by adopters at the age of 8. The first time it was sold to a large family, but two days later she sneaked back. The second time was sold to a family surnamed Lü's engraved Mr. family, it seems that there is a relationship with the Lü family in the dark, the adoptive father treats her better, once sent her to the kindergarten to study for half a year, but finally because the family is not rich, at the age of 9, she and her sister Huiying, who is also adopted, worship the old student Gai Yuetang of the Male Class of Yue Opera as a teacher and begin to learn art.
Portrait of Lu Ruiying
The so-called learning art, that is, the manuscript given by the master to a large piece of paper, was first dictated by the adoptive father, and the words were memorized while reading and practicing singing. Lu Ruiying was gifted, had a good memory, and a crisp voice, and quickly entered the door. Soon, the master organized several of his apprentices to join forces with the "string red stage" and officially took the stage to act.
Lu Ruiying played the red lady in the Yue opera "The Tale of the West Chamber"
When the other master sisters heard the gongs and drums, they were too frightened to play, and they needed the masters to push them to the stage one by one. But Lu Ruiying and her sister are timid and timid, not afraid of the stage at all, and perform the scene of "Eighteen Sending" like a decent and likable. Therefore, when the masters formed the class later, the Lu Ruiying sisters were the first to be formally hired and made a letter of "wealth and nobility in the sky, life and death by fate". Since then, the sister has played Xiaosheng, the younger sister has played Hua Dan, and the sisters have fought for the file and begun to run a horsehead career with the drama class.
Lü Ruiying and Yuan Xuefen in Liang Zhu
At the age of 11, his adoptive father unfortunately died, and the burden of the family's life fell on the two sisters. After being introduced, they entered the drama class of Uncle Zhou Gencai and went to the Hangjia Lake area to perform. The adoptive mother and the other two brothers and sisters who were later adopted also migrated with the drama class, and the whole family lived on a little performance income from the sisters.
The hardships of running the dock performance are hard to say. Sometimes the waterway boats go out, but they can't find a place to perform, and they can only drive one meal a day. As for sleeping in the ancestral hall of the temple and the hut firewood room is the norm. Due to poor health conditions, sores on hands and feet, headaches and brain fever, and "pink eye"... It is also "like a shadow". But even if you are sick and injured, you must sing "two reds", otherwise the whole family will have no food to eat.
Lu Ruiying in "Eastern Ying Sends Tang Ke"
Life is hard, learning drama is even more difficult. At that time, even the master was afraid of teaching students, and many horned children's tricks were even more reluctant to be easily passed on. Therefore, in order to learn a little drama, Little Lu Ruiying often had to be scolded and angry and white-eyed. But the more difficult the conditions, the more she cherished various learning opportunities, such as "Jade Chain", "Study Club" and many other plays, she learned by peeking at it again and again.
Lu Ruiying and Fan Ruijuan in "Stepping on the Umbrella"
Lu Ruiying was born with a flat footboard, and it was difficult to learn flying legs and tiger jumping, but she insisted on getting up early every day and practiced hard, and she had to learn these "martial arts". The burden of life and the pressure of fierce competition among peers made Lu Ruiying understand very early on that in order to gain a foothold on the stage, he must learn more skills.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, 13-year-old Lu Ruiying returned to Shanghai, first performing "road play" in several small theaters. After four or five years of groping and rolling on the stage, Lu Ruiying has grown taller, his voice has gradually opened, and his on-site adaptability and singing level are impressive.
Lu Ruiying anti-string Jia Baoyu style
In 1947, the Yunhuayue Opera Troupe, led by Zhu Shuizhao, Xu Tianhong and Qi Yaxian, handed Lu Ruiying the "Pole Olive Branch" and hired her as Xiaohua Dan. When he arrived at the big troupe, Lu Ruiying's eyes were wide open and he studied more diligently. Several teachers and sisters also gave her a lot of hands and cultivated her carefully. Once Qi Yaxian suddenly lost his voice, Zhu Shuizhao arranged for Lu Ruiying to be on top and played for her overnight, and Qi Yaxian also lent her his costume. The next day, Lu Ruiying really played well, won the applause of the audience, and began to emerge in the Yuetan, and his reputation rose.
In 1949, the Dongshan Yue Art Society, led by Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang, "matched" Lü Ruiying again, which gave Lu Ruiying more opportunities for practice in art. Lu Ruiying's performance is good at starting from the character of the character, the performance is sincere and simple, especially the voice is sweet, the sound range is wide, and it is full of youthful charm and vitality.
In early 1950, Dongshan Yue Art Society performed "Wang Kui Negative Guiying" at the Lido Grand Theatre, led by Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang. I don't want to one day, Fu Quanxiang's voice is dumb and can't go on stage. The troupe could only decide on an ad hoc basis to be topped by Lu Ruiying and Jin Caifeng. Lu Ruiying played in the first half, Jin Caifeng played in the second half, and as a result, both of them played well and were welcomed by the audience, and since then they have had the opportunity to play the main role in the troupe.
Lu Ruiying is putting on makeup
In the summer of 1950, the main actors "rested", but the troupe could not rest, and the theater could not be empty, so the young actors were pushed to the foreground. This made Lu Ruiying, Jin Caifeng, and Ding Saijun, the little girls, finally have the opportunity to pick the beams. As long as there is a drama, they are not afraid of heat, and they are happy no matter how tired and bitter. At that time, their best play was "Liang Zhu".
Lv Ruiying and Yuan Xuefen, Jin Caifeng and other sisters
Ding Saijun is already a Fan Pai Xiaosheng recognized by the audience, naturally playing Liang Shanbo, and Lu Ruiying and Jin Caifeng are taking turns to play Zhu Yingtai. Because the three of them are in the colorful years, their voices are crisp and loud, the performance is passionate, and they have the charm of Fan Ruijuan and Fu Quanxiang, so they are warmly welcomed by the audience, and the drama is full of performances, and the audience and the press affectionately call the three of them the "Three Dingjia" of Dongshan Yue Art Society. Lu Ruiying, as one of the "dingjia", was recognized by the audience and squeezed into the ranks of famous actors in Yue opera.
Lü Ruiying and Yuan Xuefen in "The Tale of the West Chamber"
In 1951, the Dongshan Yue Art Society as a whole joined the East China Opera Research Institute, and Lu Ruiying also became a member of the state-run theater troupe. Lu Ruiying was educated for the first time by acting for the people, and for the first time he heard that he was called an engineer of the human soul, Lu Ruiying vowed to do everything in his power to embrace a new artistic life. The leaders also attach great importance to her and list her as a key training object. In the new era, she studied culture, music theory, Kunqu style... The level of thought and art is progressing rapidly.
Lu Ruiying and Yuan Xuefen
She has always admired Yuan Xuefen's personality and performance art, and when she finally had the opportunity to act on the same stage with Yuan Xuefen, she intended to learn and imitate Yuan Xuefen's singing voice and performing arts. Yuan Xuefen also acquiesced to her, a student who had not been worshiped by the teacher, and enthusiastically supported her, telling her that acting must follow the truth of the character's heart, and playing with her in many plays such as "Thinking of the Tree", "The Tale of the West Chamber", "Liang Zhu", "The Legend of the White Snake", etc., inspiring and demonstrating in many aspects, so that Lu Ruiying opened her skills in singing performance and learned the ability to design and organize singing voices by herself.
Lu Ruiying in "The Tale of the West Chamber"
Lu Ruiying's singing voice also gradually began to "get out of birth" from the "Yuan Faction". She gave full play to the characteristics of her wide voice, and has made great changes and developments in the singing voice and singing method, especially the use of semitone and split tone, forming a variety of ups and downs, euphemistic lyricism, gorgeous and fresh, unique singing art, the audience called "Lü Pai", is one of the few actors who can form a genre on the Yue opera stage after 1950.
Lu Ruiying and Fan Ruijuan in "Hitting the Golden Branch"
In those years, Lu Ruiying had excellent performances in "Baolian Lantern", "Playing Golden Branch", "Mu Guiying Hanging Commander", "Jinshan War Drum", "Ertang Shezi", "Three Looks at the Royal Sister" and other plays, and was both literate and martial, graceful and colorful, full of youth and vitality, and won the third prize of the National Opera Observation Performance Actor and the first prize of the East China Opera Observation Actor. He also played Yinxin and Xue Baochao in the Yue opera movies "Liang Zhu" and "Dream of the Red Chamber". Although there are not many scenes, after all, it has also left some video materials of the golden age, which makes fans reminisce endlessly.
Lu Ruiying played Xue Baocha in the Yue opera drama film Dream of the Red Chamber
However, after 1966, Lu Ruiying was forced to leave the beloved Yue opera stage and was sent to a place in Guangdong with her husband, changing to the position of director of the local police station.
In 1978, at the age of 45, Lu Ruiying dreamed of returning to the Shanghai Yue Theatre. Ten years after leaving the stage, in the face of dry voice and deformed body shape, Lu Ruiying did not complain about herself, but practiced hard, practiced singing, and regained the lost kung fu and art little by little, and finally miraculously returned to the center of the Yue opera stage, becoming the absolute main force of the Yue Theater male and female co-performing troupe, starring in many big dramas such as "Eleven Lang", "Desolate LiaoGong Yue", "Gentleman in the Flower", and filming TV opera films such as "The Tale of the West Chamber", "Three Looks at the Royal Sister", "Shen Yuan's Absolute Singing", which were sought after by new and old audiences.
Lu Ruiying and Fan Ruijuan in The Tale of the Two Spirits
She still insists on designing and organizing a new singing voice in each new play, so that the art of "Lü Pai" has a new development and is welcomed by more audiences. It is said that the "Lü Pai" singing voice is difficult to sing and difficult to learn, but many students have learned her singing voice, and Wu Suying, Sun Zhijun, Zhang Yongmei, Chen Huiling and a number of other "Mesozoic Generations" on the stage of today's Yue opera are all her high feet.
In 1985, under the expectations of the public, she succeeded Yuan Xuefen as the director of the Shanghai Yue Theatre. In the face of the overall decline in the art and economic benefits of opera, Lu Ruiying and her partners still adhere to the Stage of Yue Opera, grasp the innovation and quality improvement of the repertoire, and operate in many ways, open source and reduce expenditure, and even "sell wine when the bank"... It enabled the Yue Theater to tide over the difficulties and accumulate corresponding material and artistic wealth for future generations.
Lu Ruiying's close-up
Nowadays, although Lu Ruiying is getting older and has been away from the stage for many years, she can still be seen on TV from time to time, and I wish Teacher Lu good health and the "Lü Pai" art forever.