"Faust" is a famous long-form poetry drama created by the German writer Goethe. On October 9th and 10th, as a blockbuster performance project of the 2021 Nanjing Musical Theatre Festival, the Chinese version of the musical "Rock and Roll Faust" will be staged at the Nanjing Poly Grand Theater, interpreting the cross-century collision of rock and classical.
△ Stills from the past period of the musical "Rock and Roll Faust"
"Darkness gives birth to light, and light turns away from darkness and curses darkness." Faust combines realism and romanticism and is the crystallization of Goethe's lifelong thought and artistic exploration. So, what is the relationship between Rock 'n' Roll Faust and Faust? The musical Rock Faust transplants the story to contemporary Wall Street, telling the story of stockbroker John Faust who signs a contract with "X-Dark" after experiencing a financial storm, but gradually loses his heart. With the help of "X-Light" and the erosion of "X-Darkness", a contest of good and evil about depravity and hope begins, and the fate of Faust's lover, Gretchen, is also wrapped up in it.
"Seek your abandoned soul! A good man, even in his dark impulses, will realize the right path. "In the struggle of the strong, the weak are not even qualified to lose." ...... The Chinese version of the musical "Rock Faust" is known as the "Iron Lung Musical" in the fan circle, bringing together outstanding musical actors such as Liu Lingfei, Ye Qisheng, Jia Fan, Wang Minhui, Mao Haifei, Xu Lidong, and Cui En'er. More than a dozen rock-style strong music, so that the grandeur of classical elements and the surging of rock music shine together, interpreting the interweaving of good and evil in the depths of the characters. A large number of electronic music instruments are added to the music compilation, which makes the sense of presence of the music stronger and thicker. On the stage, the huge three-layer metal structure, dazzling multimedia and laser and high-tech ice screen, and the ultimate gothic costume are all full of rock and roll like music.
△ The scene of the starring meeting
On the afternoon of October 9, at the meeting of the Chinese version of the musical "Rock faust", Ye Qisheng, Jia Fan, Wang Minhui, Mao Haifei, Cui En'er and other leading actors shared their understanding of the role and plot. Ye Qisheng, who plays the role of "X-Dark" in the play, believes that "X-Darkness" is a character who combines evil and depravity. As the god of darkness, he is the master of human desires, full of temptations, but he never harms others, appearing "desolate and mysterious and interesting"; and in jia fan and Wang Minhui's understanding, "X-light" is a character with a divinity, and there are many small language singing segments in the singing, "which is both a challenge and a good learning opportunity." When it comes to the interesting things in preparing the role, John Faust's actor Mao Haifei said that he would substitute his real self into this game of light and darkness in advance, and Gretchen's actor Cui Ener said that the role was extremely contrasting and the most "enjoyable" role since the art.
At the meeting, the enthusiasm of the audience expressed their expectations for this drama. The Modern Express reporter learned that since the opening of the festival on March 19, the 2021 Nanjing Musical Theater Festival has introduced a number of popular musicals such as "Bouquet for Alginon", "Wukong", "Orphan of Zhao" and so on, attracting many musical theater lovers to come to watch the punch card. It is reported that the Nanjing Musical Theatre Festival will continue to introduce high-quality musicals, taking into account diversified expressions, so that more audiences can "walk into the theater and fall in love with musicals". Next year, the first part of the musical "The Pretender" trilogy of home countries, "Willing to Have This Body to Serve the Country for a Long Time", as well as the musical "Maybe a Happy Ending", "Southern Tang Dynasty Lord", and the Chinese version of "Romeo and Juliet", will all appear in Nanjing.
(Source: Nanjing Poly Grand Theater)