Taking the Eighteen-Cave Village in Xiangxi, Hunan Province as the prototype, the large-scale epic song and dance drama "Ode to the Land", which comprehensively reflects the historical process of accurate poverty alleviation in Hunan, has received widespread attention since its premiere at the Meixi Lake Grand Theater in Changsha in September, and the drama has reached a Douban score of 8.9 points, becoming a popular performance that is difficult to find. It is reported that the 4K HD TV version of "Ode to the Land" will be freshly premiered on Hunan Satellite TV at 19:30 on January 1, 2021.
What will this highly anticipated song and dance drama look like to be presented to a wide television audience? On the afternoon of December 28, the reporter had a sneak peek at the TV version of "Ode to the Land", and the general director Zhou Xiong and some of the main creative directors and the actors in the play, Gu Zhixin, Zhang Kaili, Liu Jia, and Liao Jialin, were interviewed.
General Director Zhou Xiong:
From stage to television, Ode to the Land is a masterpiece of artistic excellence
"Ode to the Land", together with the TV documentary "Starting from the Eighteen Holes" and the TV series "So Many Jiaojiao in Jiangshan", are the "poverty alleviation trilogy" of Hunan Radio and Television, which were broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, and successively met with the audience. Unlike the latter two innate TV attributes, "Ode to the Land" was first created to adapt to theater viewing, and since its premiere in Changsha on September 27, from Star City to the capital, 8 performances have been full. From the theater stage to the television screen, what are the second creations of "Ode to the Land" that meet the needs of television art? How has the audience's viewing experience changed?
In this regard, the general director Zhou Xiong told the media one by one, Zhou Xiong admitted that compared with the strong sense of atmosphere of the stage drama, the TV version pays more attention to the presentation of details and the recording of emotions, and the lines of life also make the characters' emotions and performances more delicate. In addition, the TV version of "Ode to the Land" integrates a variety of elements such as drama, opera, stage drama, etc., which can be said to cross the boundaries of artistic disciplines and integrate all the essence of art.
At the same time, "Ode to the Land" "inherits" the DNA of Hunan Satellite TV's youthfulness, and the overall spiritual vitality of "riding the wind and waves will sometimes", so that young people are also willing to walk into the story of the main theme. Director Zhou Xiong said bluntly, "Young audiences are willing to watch, to see, better than anything." "In addition to the broadcast of "Ode to the Land" on Hunan Satellite TV, the film version has also been produced. Zhou Xiong introduced: "The film version does not have a split screen, from the beginning to the end is a story, that is, a story that comes to the cinema to watch, and wants the audience to fully experience a story in the cinema for two or three hours." He also revealed, "I hope that in January 2021, at the latest in February, it can be released inside and outside the province." ”
As for whether the theatrical version of "Ode to the Earth" has plans to continue touring, Zhou Xiong also shared a good news with reporters, "'Ode to the Earth' stood out from nearly 100 works, and was honorably selected as a new excellent work on the key themes of the Chinese Dramatists Association in 2020, and the performance of "Ode to the Earth" has been a comma until now! ”
If this "newness" comes from the fine-tuning of each version of the script in the theater, then watching it on TV benefits from the change of perspective. This change of perspective is also different from the difference in viewing brought about by the different seating areas of the theater. In the TV version of "Ode to the Land", with the help of the multi-camera and lens switching of TV art, the audience can capture more close-ups, these expressions, actions and other details are difficult to detect in the theater, but they play an important role in shaping the character's personality, creating dramatic conflicts, rendering emotional atmosphere, and can be said to be a sublimation of the theatrical version of "Ode to the Earth".
Gu Zhixin, Zhang Kaili:
Authenticity is the greatest charm of Ode to the Earth
"Ode to the Land" is touching and hotly discussed, a big factor is the power of reality, all the stories and characters in the play have real archetypes, in the live media video interview, Zhang Kaili, Gu Zhixin, Liu Jia, Liao Jialin several starring actors talked about "Ode to the Earth" still can't hide the excitement of the heart, Gu Zhixin played by the dragon secretary, the prototype is the first 3 village poverty alleviation task force leaders in the eighteen-hole village: Long Xiulin, Shi Denggao, Ma Brilliant.
Gu Zhixin said in an interview: "Although the performance of this drama has come to an end, bit by bit has always been played back in my mind like a movie, and it is also the deepest memory on the road of my stage play interpretation. "In 2020, there is a very hot word called "hit workers", and many workers who usually call themselves "social animals" are ashamed after seeing Secretary Long's advanced deeds. In this regard, Gu Zhixin also has his own understanding, "Everyone who struggles is worthy of respect, as ordinary people may not have the opportunity to bring others to get rich, but their hard work for their own small family is also commendable, and his (Secretary Long)'s life path is to get more people out of poverty and go through hardships and work hard, which I particularly admire." ”
Zhang Kaili played Peng Jianlan, the wife of Huang Shiyan, the former secretary of the Yanling County Party Committee of Hunan Province, who sacrificed her life for poverty alleviation, and she was still tearful and excited in the video interview, and she said that she was glad that she could participate in such a meaningful song and dance drama. In the play, her duet with Wan Qian,"Too Late to Say I Love You" touched many audiences, the high-pitched and loud singing voice is not inferior to any professional singer, Zhang Kaili also modestly said that she has always liked singing, but did not lose this skill, in her view, singing is only one aspect, "Emotion is not blindly cathartic, controlling the rhythmic upwelling, is the most infectious." Expressing emotion is the ultimate point I pursue, and I want this point to reach a considerable concentration and height. Everyone feels that touching is also a result of the combination of the two, that is, your professional standard and the emotion poured into this character, these two things together, can move people. ”
Liu Jia, Liao Jialin:
Create touching characters with superb professional skills
Liao Jialin and Liu Jia, who stood out from Hunan Satellite TV's "Sound into People's Hearts" and "Dance Storm" programs, integrated their respective advantages into the elements of song and dance, and interpreted their roles with the most sincere emotions. Liu Jia said that after receiving the invitation of the large-scale song and dance drama "Ode to the Land", he was very excited, and the poverty alleviation team member Xiao Liu, played by him, resonated and connected with his previous work identity, because he was an actor in the cultural and labor troupe before, and usually often went to the front-line officers and soldiers or front-line staff. When he played this role, he thought of many pictures, which invisibly brought a sense of substitution to this role. And the performance of rescue Xiaoya does not have any lines and songs to support, Liu Jia also uses his superb dance and the most sincere emotions to communicate with the audience. Liu Jia said frankly: "Everyone sees that many of my dance designs are planing the ground, restoring the scene at that time, so that the audience can see the real behavior whether on the scene or in the camera, this is my own feeling of shaping this character, and everyone will be more touched and moved when they see it." ”
Liao Jialin, who plays Liao Tianbao, who plays the expert with goods in the play, said bluntly, "This character is particularly intelligent, more active in the play, and my real-life personality is particularly similar, eccentric." In his opinion, Liao Tianbao is very interesting and very interesting, and when he performs, he often thinks of his own life and acting experience, and combines it with the role. Liao Jialin began to learn bel canto from an early age, and also tried traditional operas such as flower drum opera. He told reporters: "When the play began with 'Kaishan', my singing style was more popular and heavy. But you will find that in the fifth act, when the Miaozhai blind date, I will light up the high cavity. The music and musicality are adjusted according to the repertoire. ”
Because of the truth and vividness, because of the truth and moving, because of the truth and timeless, whether it is the theater version or the TELEVISION version, including the film version to be released, "Ode to the Earth" uses the most types of artistic techniques, the actors use the most sincere and realistic interpretation to tell the extraordinary story that happened in our great era, it is the praise of the times, the praise of the poverty alleviation that let history remember, and the praise of every people who participate in the work of poverty alleviation in different ways.
Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News reporter Zhang Nan