With his long hair tied to the top of his head in a fancy hairpin, draped in a wide robe with a pattern of big red flowers and ten fingers embellished with bright red nail polish, 84-year-old Zhu Fengbo opened a cup of coffee in the Dongyi powder room: "Oh yo, American, bitter... Where is the sugar? Her beloved disciple Qian Huiping heard that and quickly got up to find the sugar packet. The path that fate "planned" for her was somewhat bitter, but she could always find some sugar for herself—"I accepted, and then I tried." ”
Zhu Fengbo close-up photo by Guo Xinyang
During the rehearsal of a large-scale concert "Pursuit" held by the Shanghai Light Music Troupe in the past ten years, Zhu Fengbo accepted an exclusive interview with this newspaper.
1 "Originally intended to become an architect"
It is unnecessary to talk about Zhu Fengbo's singing skills, she is recognized as a pioneer in pop music. If you want to list her masterpieces, it seems that you have to occupy a full page - she is also the first singer in New China to publish a collection of personal songs, which is a whole book! In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a saying of "North Li Nan Zhu" - there was Li Guyi in the north and Zhu Fengbo in the south. And Li Guyi, who used the ending song of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala "Unforgettable Tonight" to "sonic shock the great river north and south", has always said: "I admire Zhu Fengbo the most, and I have also pulled the curtain on her." ”
Zhu Fengbo was born in Jinan, Shandong Province, the son of a water conservancy engineer. "So I didn't aspire to sing since I was a child", although she is not good at speaking Shanghainese, she still has the sticky and taunting of Shanghai's everyone:"I studied architecture at Tongji University, and I studied for six years!" While stirring the coffee, she recalled that her original plan was to become an architect: "The design drawings should be very accurate!" In 1960, when she went to the construction site for an internship, she happened to meet the Shanghai Opera House to go to the condolence performance. She was originally very popular with her classmates when she sang in college, so her voice was also lit up on the spot. The dancers of the opera house immediately invited her to listen to the opera and visit the opera house. The decision-making level of the opera house also loved talent and left her in the form of special talents. Her original idea was also very simple: "I will go where I need it." ”
Zhu Fengbo as a teenager
To this day, Zhu Fengbo's closed disciple and post-80s soprano Ding Yifan of the light music troupe also feels: "Teacher Zhu Fengbo is like my grandmother, even my original boyfriend became my husband after letting my grandmother check." "But it's hard to learn Grandma's unique vocal method," and if we pressed the position of her vocal cords, her throat would be overwhelmed. But as soon as Grandma sang it, it was touching! Asked Zhu Fengbo what he thought, "How can you sing well?" Her answer was also: "Touching! ”
In the 1970s and 1980s, Zhu Fengbo remained in Beijing for two years because of his constant diplomatic missions. Prince Sihanouk came to visit, and Premier Zhou Enlai called Zhu Fengbo and asked her to prepare to sing a few songs. In 1977, during a tour of Canada with the group, she sang a song in French in front of the leaders of the time, "Wandering Canadians"—a song written in 1842 based on the rebellion against colonization in Quebec, Canada, from 1837 to 1838, and later circulated as the soundtrack of several films. Zhu Fengbo now learned French lyrics and sang and cried on the spot to many Canadian listeners. Everyone thought that Zhu Fengbo said a lot of Chinese, and she said modestly: "They all learned because of singing." I also sang because Premier Zhou Enlai insisted on encouraging me to sing.
2 "If you want to invite me one, you have to invite the whole group"
In June 1986, under the appeal of Zhu Fengbo and Tu Bahai, the Shanghai Light Music Troupe was established, becoming the first in the country and now the only light music troupe in the country, and Zhu Fengbo was the founding leader of the group. Qian Huiping said, "At that time, people actually came to invite Teacher Zhu to sing alone, but she always said to people, 'If you want to invite me, you have to invite a group', so we hula all went with us." ”
Of course, at that time, the Shanghai Light Music Troupe also gathered stars - Shen Xiaocen, Zhang Qing, Zhu Feng, Xiao Xia, Hang Chen, Sun Meina... Qian Huiping recalled that year: "Ah, wherever you ask Teacher Zhu Fengbo, you will pull a red banner, and Teacher Zhu's name is written on it." "At that time, light music troupes from other places were invited to perform, three times a day, and the supply was in short supply." We were like a 'railway literary troupe' – we had to charter a carriage every time we traveled, singing and dancing in the carriage with the conductor, and it was fun! Zhu Fengbo also said: "At that time, everyone had one heart, especially unity! Earn money actively handed over to the state. Qian Huiping also said of an anecdote: "At that time, there was a bus that passed by the Wantiguan before reaching the terminal station, but as long as we performed at the Wantiguan, the passengers of this car got off at the Wantiguan, and almost no one took the terminal station..."
In 1985, he participated in the establishment of the Shanghai Light Music Troupe and served as the first leader of the troupe
To this day, Zhu Fengbo is still the artistic director of the Shanghai Light Music Troupe, and Qian Huiping has also retired: "Only Tang Feng was left to join the troupe at that time, and he was young, that is, seventeen or eighteen years old. At this time, Tang Feng just happened to pass by the dressing room to greet Teacher Zhu Fengbo. His body shape and even hairstyle are no different from those of the year, but he is already the captain of the actors' team.
Now, Zhu Fengbo is still "in and out of the group" with her three generations of students. Every time there are various holidays, Teacher's Day, Mother's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, etc., the apprentices will go out to sing karaoke - definitely sing Zhu Fengbo's masterpiece for a round first, and then play each other... They have called Teacher Zhu Fengbo "Old Lady" for decades! The word "old lady" contains the awe and love for Teacher Zhu Fengbo. At that time, Zhu Fengbo, as a teacher, was still "quite strict, and the requirements for the apprentice to sing were constantly improving." Looking back now, Zhu Fengbo was also quite proud of this title: "This is their love name for me!" ”
3 "Light music troupe leads the trend, I will definitely support them"
The Shanghai Light Music Troupe not only led the trend of popular music, but also stood at the forefront of popular culture. At that time, the singers and musicians in the troupe not only sang and acted well, but also were handsome and beautiful. Qian Huiping was quite proud: "The skirts we wear will also become popular immediately!" She was the Shanghai Light Music Troupe who applied for the examination after being demobilized from the army, and sang "I Love the Snow of Your Saibei" in front of Teacher Zhu Fengbo and Teacher Shi Hong'e, and there was a play: "I grew up listening to Zhu Fengbo's songs, and I admired her so much that I never dared to imagine that I would become her student one day." ”
At that time, Zhu Fengbo, as the head of the light music troupe, not only led the national pop song fashion, but also led all female singers to remove the light bulbs on the stage or wind around the wires after the performance - the stage set at that time was a light bulb installed to light up. The money earned was used to buy musical instruments, so that the light music troupe's instruments at that time were arguably the best in the national theater. Because, Zhu Fengbo's mantra is: "Either don't do it, if you want to do it, you have to do it to the best!" To this day, Zhu Fengbo still uses his computer to shop online: "I went to buy the best cosmetics for them" - she pointed to Qian Huiping.
A precious group photo when the group was founded
This time, the Shanghai Light Music Troupe came to the new leader, Shan Tianfang's disciple Dong Deping. On the occasion of celebrating the centenary of the founding of the Party, everyone worked together to keep the integrity and innovate, and explored the "new light music road" with the narrative concert "Pursuit". "Light music troupes lead the way, I will definitely support them!" Zhu Fengbo sang "My Motherland" on stage with her second-generation student Qian Huiping and closed disciple Ding Yifan. The night before the premiere, Zhu Fengbo rehearsed until 12:00 p.m., and when he arrived home, he said: "The orchestra is my children, I only have one thought, and our family will all be on stage together." ”
Although Zhu Fengbo has long enjoyed retirement at home - reading the newspaper every day to understand the major events of the state, having time to go online to buy clothes and cosmetics, "my son and daughter-in-law never interfere in my life, I am very free... Sometimes I miss my student days, but I still want to be an architect! However, if you do a line, you must love a line, or you must be serious! (Zhu Guang)