With love as the core, the eternal theme of human beings, the whole drama sets the background of the story after a thousand years, tells a love triangle story between humans and "intelligent people" with a 7-day timeline, and conducts an in-depth discussion of the proposition of human nature and emotion by virtue of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence in the future world.
Jointly commissioned by the Shanghai International Arts Festival, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Creation Center of the Central Conservatory of Music, the play co-starred baritone Zhou Zhengzhong, mezzo-soprano Dong Fang, soprano Li Jingjing, composed by Hao Wei, conducted by Zhang Jiemin, and accompanied by a small chamber orchestra of more than a dozen people, is China's first opera with a science fiction background.
Since this is an opera that explores the future, there is no ready-made character relationship and plot to learn from, and Hao Wei admits that the creation mainly relies on imagination.
"From the theme to the relationship between the characters, from the identity of the protagonist to the setting of the actors, from the musical structure to the stage presentation, etc., the creators are all based on their daily reserves, with their yearning or concern for the future, and their respect for the laws of opera art."
The whole play introduces some literary and musical classics and famous "atmospheres" in the history of music. For example: Shakespeare, Richard Strauss's "Death and Purification", Debussy's "Pastoral Afternoon", etc. Named "Seven Days", it tells the various collisions between the three protagonists in 7 days:
At some point in the future, an artist Situ Rui fell into a creative impasse and faced physical death. In order to save him, female scientist Li Yao used artificial intelligence technology to comprehensively "update" Situ Rui. Chu Qiao, who received the news and came to see Situ Rui's lover, could not face it, and even doubted whether the new Situ Rui, who had the same appearance in front of him, remembered and understood the love between them...
In Hao Wei's view, technology is a seemingly useful, very helpful human problem solving, very convenient behemoth, but it is too deep for human life to invade. From inseparable mobile phones to computers, from eating to dressing, even human communication, and even gender relations... "I am worried about human being objectified." ”
However, in the opera, the three characters have different understandings based on their own personalities, and the three discuss in parallel, do not communicate with each other, and only set up a trio at the end. "But we don't have the answer in the end, and it's enough to get some thinking from the audience."
As an experimental science fiction theme opera, "Seven Days" abandons the traditional opera division method of the curtain as a unit, and adopts the time division of 7 days corresponding to 7 scenes, each of which sets the "theme of light" and "Who are you?" Who am I? "and other different themes, to advance the development of the story.
In the view of director Yang Jingze, the topics such as "human inquiry into the self" and "exploration of emotions" in the play are very abstract, so the concrete elements such as pyramids, sand dunes, and piano boxes are used on the stage to help the audience build and understand the abstract space created in the play.
On the stage background, a 16-meter x 6-meter projection screen is used to project videos such as the changing universe and space to create a dramatic cinematic feeling. A large screen on a high place projects the theme of each day to distinguish the content of the "seven days". Since the Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall is an open space with a high ceiling, there is no box stage of the traditional theater, Yang Jingze also needs to build an additional side curtain to create a relatively closed stage environment.
A dozen musicians of the chamber orchestra sat in front of the audience, except for the first row of auditoriums, which did not sell tickets, and there was an audience from the second row, and the musicians and the audience were close at hand, which could be described as an immersive performance. "Due to the small number of people, every instrument and every player is very important, and mistakes are easily exposed, so it is not easy to paddle." Conductor Zhang Jiemin smiled.
From preparation to premiere, it took more than two years for "Seven Days" to meet the audience. But in the eyes of the main creators, the time is still very tight. It wasn't until the end of last month that the lead actor and conductor each got their own sheet music for singing and dancing and band performances, and in less than a week they were about to officially perform, leaving the actors and the band with extremely tight time. "From the spirit to the arrangement, the creation of the work always takes a lot of time to polish, and even after we get the score, we still have to modify it."
Due to the epidemic situation, Hao Wei, who was far away in Beijing, could not participate in the rehearsal on the spot, and could only learn about the situation remotely by video. "But he gave me a lot of creative freedom, and often told me that there was something uncomfortable in practice, although we changed it, so we trusted each other."
Like the composer Hao Wei, Zhang Jiemin also "has no enjoyment" of the overwhelming technology. "I still like to see my neighbors when I open the door instead of talking with my phone, and I still have the letters I wrote with my friends when I was a child."
Even so, Zhang Jiemin still believes that the power of science and technology has become very powerful, "almost everything that already exists, machines can replace people to make, including art." Pandora's box has been opened, and if there is anything that cannot be replaced, it is human creativity and imagination. ”
In Hao Wei's view, the valuable thing about "Seven Days" is to focus on the future and explore people's limitations and dilemmas. As for what the future holds, no one has the answer. "But we are still confident in the future, just as we treat today's life, full of tears, but the corners of our mouths are still upturned."
Often in the trivia of time to sink into memories or look at the future, the past can not be traced, and the future must be poetry and far away? Intelligent survival is subverting the past, what kind of situation will human beings be in in the future, will they be more independent, yearning for fireworks, calling for emotions, and longing for integration in loneliness? I have discussed and debated with the main creative team many times, and with the current opera "Seven Days", I also have an attitude towards the future. ——Screenwriter Wang Yefei
"Xiang Yu zeal galloped in the marble corridor of ancient Rome, van Gogh's ears hung in the statue of parthenon", art is about the ultimate freedom of the spiritual world, "Seven Days" gives each of us an answer without question. ------------------
Source: Thoughtful