The "Big World of Performing Arts" has added a new project that is expected to be the original musical "Dream of seeing a lion" of Guochao, which will open its national premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from August 3 to 7. On July 18, the play held an audience and media meeting at the A+ Art Space of the Grand Theatre, unveiling this network IP that integrates opera and two dimensions. Produced by iQiyi, which is good at film and television production, this musical is indispensable to the "film and television faces" familiar to the audience: Lou Yixiao is the spicy royal sister "Hu Yifei" in "Love Apartment"; Yu Yi is the "second lady" who loves to sing in "Playing Dog Stick"; Liu Chang is Liu Fu in "Restart the Extreme Sea Listening to Thunder".
They will all gather in this musical that boldly combines Peking Opera with the second dimension, telling the story of generations around Peking Opera Kunsheng Yu Wanyi, Qiandan Ni Lin and second-dimensional stage producer Bai Feili who have grown up and matured and made self-breakthroughs in conflict.
Although film and television "out of the circle", the road of the original heart began with musicals...
"Why a musical? Because I was studying musical theater! Because audiences familiar with Lou Yixiao in film and television dramas such as "Love Apartment" may not know that she is actually a musical theater major at the Shanghai Theater Academy. The variety show "Crossover Singer King" allowed the audience to see the singer Lou Yixiao's singing voice. In the musical "Sunday Love", she single-handedly challenged 25 singing segments in one go.
After many years, musical theater actor Lou Yixiao returned to her original intention, challenging the opera actors in the musical.
"A Kunsheng who dares to love and dare to hate." In response to questions from viewers solicited online, Lou Yixiao commented on her role in the play, Yu Wanyi. Outside the play, she is also quite crisp, she let the audience "proof" in advance with a song in the play "Skirt". "Just let me freeze in front of the mirror and look at your red makeup." Taking off her hair and changing into her daughter's clothes, Yu Wanyi's inner world was told in the lyrics.
Although Yu Yi is a drama actor, he participated in the performance of the musical "Snow Wolf Lake" at the beginning of the emergence of the domestic musical theater market. It was this "first intimate encounter" that he decided to "turn himself into ashes and throw himself into it", and since then embarked on the road of slow learning and growth, starring in many musicals. Not long ago, he starred in the musical version of the web drama "Soul Ferry" in which he participated in the web drama "Soul Ferry".
Yu Yi believes that the role of Ni Lin played this time actually has something in common with the Zhao Wei played in the musical "The Eternal Life of the Soul Ferry" before, that is, they all have their own faith, but they are always looking for direction. Interestingly, "Soul Pendulum" is also the first self-made web drama produced by iQiyi. As a tribute, Yu Yi specially sang the classic singing section of Zhao Wei in "The Eternal Life of Soul Ferry" on the spot.
As the main actor, Lou Yixiao and Yu Yi, who are known as "master sister and brother", also have an indissoluble relationship about "musical theater". The first musical Lou Yixiao watched during college was "I Love You" starring Yu Yi. Yu Yi was full of praise for Lou Yixiao's "one-man show" musical "Sunday Love Song", so "I heard that "Dreaming of a Lion" was cooperating with Lou Yixiao, and I did not hesitate to come!" ”
Although it is a musical with opera elements, out of respect for traditional culture, several leading actors have made serious preparations. After entering the group, Yu Yi and his opera instructor hid in the "small single room", starting from sitting posture and gestures. In the TV series "Playing The Dog Stick", Yu Yi played the role of the "second lady" who loved to sing, amusing his wife in the play and also penetrating the hearts of the people in reality. Teacher Zhang Shaohua, a senior in the same company, once warned him not to repeat himself on the same type of role, to stereotype prematurely, and even to form muscle memory, actors should be as malleable as water, and try more different types. Therefore, for a long time, he would avoid playing a feminine male. However, "Dreaming of a Lion" is an exception. On the one hand, it is able to return to the musical theater stage that I love, and the roles played have also changed from "opera lovers" to professional Qiandan actors, which undoubtedly has higher requirements for performance. "Through this drama to re-touch the theme of opera, I learned the complete singing section of "Soap Robe" in "Peony Pavilion • Garden Dream", and finally it is not 'Yu Si Sentence'! ”
Compared with the two predecessors, Liu Chang is the first contact with musical theater. However, when asked by netizens if he understood the form of musical theater, he laughed and said: "Who has not seen a musical?!" He cited a classic musical he liked, "Cats," confidently responding, "I'm not bad at singing." Subsequently, he sang a passage of "I Never Drink Again" with Zhao Fanjia and other actors, although there was a small episode of microphone amplification failure at the scene, but the audience still felt the efforts he made to participate in the musical. It turned out that in order to better form muscle memory, the crew counted each rehearsal ten times, ten times to complete, rest, and the next ten times.
In addition, young actors such as National Wind singer Zhang Xiaohan and veteran actors in the musical theater circle, Huang Guansong and Zhao Fanjia, also joined the play. Exposure to opera gives them an unprecedented experience. And even Zhang Xiaohan, who came from the Peking Opera class, also had to make a breakthrough from the "old line" Lao Dan, and also interpreted Kunsheng across the line to achieve his own breakthrough.
The film and television platform was first involved in the production of musical theaters, and the "Shanghai Team" escorted it
This is iQiyi's first wading into the production of musicals, and it is also their first step towards stage production. To this end, they set up iQIYI Stardust Studio, which covers a variety of offline performing arts content such as musicals, dramas, and immersive dramas.
The first theme chosen, "Dreaming of a Lion", is also an original IP incubated by the platform. Previously, it has been adapted into a network drama and completed production, and the appearance of "Rocket Girl 101" member Fu Jing has really aroused the expectations of the audience. At the moment, the show has not yet aired, but the musical is one step ahead and will debut in August.
At the meeting, director Ma Da, screenwriter Sun Haocheng, and composer Chen Qifeng shared with the audience the behind-the-scenes creative concept of the play
A closer look reveals that Shanghainese faces make up the vast majority of the team. In front of the stage: Yu Yi and Lou Yixiao are well-known actors who graduated from Shanghai opera and started from Shanghai; behind the scenes: from director Ma Da, screenwriter Sun Haocheng, and composer Chen Qifeng are all young creators who graduated from Shanghai colleges and universities and have participated in many stage plays in Shanghai. However, for the theme of this musical that integrates opera and the second dimension, they all see it as a big challenge. The director Mada is precisely looking at such an unprecedented "unique", and the collision of the most traditional and trend experienced by the protagonists can also allow contemporary young people to find psychological projections: "This drama is actually exploring the way of survival and self-positioning that everyone in today's society should have. ”
Although the screenwriter Sun Haocheng graduated from the Academy of Drama and Drama, it took a lot of effort to let the opera collide with the two-dimensional culture he loved in his life, and he changed six drafts of the script. Chen Qifeng, the composer who joked that "dreaming of a lion" and "taking medicine to fall asleep", believes that opera and the two do not necessarily constitute a conflict. He said: "When the two professions (Peking Opera and the Second Dimension) go to the extreme, there will be commonalities, and the key is to find this commonality." ”
What kind of new national drama will the "Shanghai Team" bring to Shanghai, the base camp of musical theater? Let's wait and see.
Author: Huang Qizhe
Editor: Guo Chaohao