Seventy years of divine agitation, seventy years of wind and rain. The 70 years since the founding of New China are the stories of the times that have surged up and down, and in the final analysis, they are the stories of people. China News Network launched a character feature film "70 Years, We Walked Like This", interviewing five heavyweight guests, looking back on the glory years, witnessing the great changes of the times, and telling the feelings of the family and the country.
BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Peking Opera performance artist Tan Xiao was once the sixth generation of the Tan school of the Liyuan family. As a peer of new China, he said in a recent interview with a reporter from China News Network that as long as Peking Opera has a good repertoire and good actors, there will be an audience, and he firmly believes that the future of Peking Opera will be more brilliant.
Tan Xiao used to be in the powder room
The Tan school is the most widely circulated genre in the history of Peking Opera and the most influential on future generations, and there is a saying in the industry that "there is no cavity and no learning tan". Since 1863, when Tan Xinpei sang with his father Tan Zhidao in the capital "Guanghecheng", there were seven generations of old celebrities in front of and behind Tan's door. Some people say that the history of Tanmen is a condensed history of Peking Opera. Tan Xiao, the sixth generation of Tam Mun, was only 11 years old when he entered the drama school in September 1960. In 1962, he went to Zhongnanhai with his grandfather Tan Fuying and father Tan Yuanshou to sing a cappella to Chairman Mao Zedong, who called him Little Tan.
Tan Xiao once studied drama with his grandfather Tan Fuying
After graduating from drama school in 1968, Tan Xiao was first assigned to the crew of the "Red Lantern" of the Peking Opera House of China, where he mainly played the role of ordinary people and guerrillas and other actors. He recalled that at that time, the Peking Opera circle was not allowed to learn traditional opera, let alone perform traditional drama.
Peking Opera "Red Lantern"
Tan Xiao once said that after the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Peking Opera circle resumed the performance of traditional opera, and the response of the masses at that time was very enthusiastic, ushering in a climax period of Peking Opera. At that time, there were people with cotton clothes lining up at the box office overnight, waiting for the next day's noon theater to open tickets.
After the reform and opening up, Tan Xiao was transferred to the Beijing Opera House. With the entry of foreign cultures into China, entertainment forms tend to diversify, audience groups are diverted, and Peking Opera has entered a low tide period. According to Tan Xiao once recalled, at that time, the Peking Opera circle put forward the slogan of "revitalizing Peking Opera", and everyone was "crossing the river by feeling the stones" to find a way to revitalize Peking Opera.
In 1989, the Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto jointly invited Peking Opera actors Tan Xiaozeng and Yan Guixiang to give lectures in Canada. At that time, young people were catching up with the trend of development abroad, and the couple had also wavered, but after thinking about it repeatedly, the two decided to stay in China. Tan Xiao once told reporters, "I think the roots of Peking Opera are still in China, so this is also a very important reason why we stay." ”
Tan Xiao once and his lover Yan Guixiang
According to Tan Xiao once recalled, since the 1980s, the Chinese Peking Opera audio and video project dedicated to preserving traditional repertoire materials has been brewed and launched. The project lasted for many years and included a total of 460 famous masterpieces, which basically included most of the masterpieces of the golden age of modern Peking Opera. Tan Xiaozeng was also involved in part of the work of preserving audio recordings and portraits for traditional plays.
At the same time, in order to expand the development platform of contemporary Peking Opera actors and young actors, in 2003, CCTV launched the "Theater in the Sky" column, through which a group of Peking Opera actors were well known to the audience. Tan Xiao was also one of the beneficiaries of "Sky Theatre". In 2004, Tan Xiao performed the Peking opera "Will Xianghe" in Tianjin, which was broadcast simultaneously at the Sky Theatre. According to his recollection, the response to the performance was so enthusiastic that he squatted at the entrance of the stage to sign for fans for nearly 40 minutes. He was very emotional, and he did not expect that Peking Opera also had a star-chasing family.
Tan Xiao once told reporters that in the past, singing opera in the old society was a drama, and with the development of the country, Peking Opera actors from drama to artists, from artists to literary and art workers, to engineers of the people's soul in the new era, he deeply felt that the status of literary and art workers was constantly improving.
Tan Xiao once gave a play to his son Tan Zhengyan
In the process of cultural system reform, the Beijing Opera House has also explored the implementation of the project responsibility system. In 2017, in order to commemorate the 170th anniversary of Tan Xinpei's birth, the Beijing Opera House performed Peking Opera and made a bold attempt to cancel all free tickets and completely go to the market, even tan family members need to buy tickets to watch the play. In this way, 11 scenes were launched in a row, and I did not expect that the scene was almost full. Tan Xiao once came up with an experience at that time: "Peking Opera is not without an audience, you must have a good repertoire and good actors." ”
In September 2019, Tan Xiao once performed "Dingjun Shanyang Pingguan" with his son Tan Zhengyan on the same stage.
Tan Xiao once said that in recent years, in response to the call of the state, Peking Opera practitioners have begun to face the grassroots and go to the society, sending operas to universities, which has led a large number of young audiences into the theater. He said, "Originally, as soon as we opened the curtain of Peking Opera, almost all the people in the audience were white-haired, but now as soon as the curtain is opened, there are both old audiences, white hair, and a large number of black hair." ”
Tan Xiao once said, "The country has gone through a glorious course of 70 years, and I feel that as a peer of the republic, I am willing to go better with the country step by step." I firmly believe that the future of Peking Opera will become more and more brilliant. The ancestors have been very brilliant, how about today? It's still wonderful today. How about today? Our future is brighter and brighter. (End)