Suzhou pingtan is an art that appeals to both refined and popular tastes. The stage design is simple, one table and one chair is enough. The content is mostly trivial matters in the lives of ordinary people. Only by saying what ordinary people want to say in the form of oral literature can we impress the audience. At the same time, beautiful vocals, vivid performances and rich storytelling content involve ancient and modern China and foreign countries. Pingtan itself has its limitations, and its soft Wu Nong soft language makes many people unable to understand the lyrics. But as a local art, Pingtan is still full of vitality.
Suzhou Pingtan can be divided into three performances, namely, one-person single file, two-person double file and three-person three-file performance. All the actors played and sang by themselves, accompanied by Xiao Sanxian and Pipa. Vocal music is a plate variation, and the main theme is Shu Diao, which can sing different styles of content. At the same time, it also absorbed many tunes and folk songs, such as Feijia tune and cock crow. Book tune is the basis of the development of various singing schools, which have been formed by different artists. It can be roughly divided into three schools: Chen (encounter dry) tune, Ma (fly) tune and Yu (Xiushan) tune. After more than one hundred years of development, a new genre has inherited the styles of these three famous artists and created and developed its own genre. Such as "Chen Diao" heirs Liu Tianyun and Yang Zhenxiong; Xia He, the successor of Jade Carving, is one of our own. Among them, the "Ma tune" has the greatest influence on later generations, and many of them have inherited and formed their own schools, such as Xue (Xiaoqing) tune, Shen (Jian 'an) tune and Qin tune (Zhu Xueqin's development based on "Xue tune"). Zhou (Yuquan) tune developed on the basis of "Ma" tune, while Jiang (Yue Quan) tune evolved from "Zhou" tune, and its development and reproduction formed a prosperous scene of various singing styles of Suzhou Pingtan school.
Suzhou pingtan appeals to both refined and popular tastes, and Jiangnan Sixian enjoys a well-deserved reputation. But now with the accelerated pace of life, the younger generation's impression of the above-mentioned treasures representing Suzhou culture and art is getting weaker and weaker. Is it too elegant? Don't understand? Is it too slow? Can't keep up with the times? Or is there something wrong with modern people's cultural concepts and cultural details? Take care of her! Because she is more valuable than Zhouzhuang and Tongli. As a living cultural relic, she inherits the history of Suzhou, and may even achieve Suzhou's tomorrow. As a wanderer who was born and raised in Sri Lanka, but now he is far away from Suzhou City, I think: the inheritance, development and innovation of Suzhou Pingtan and Sixian art wait for no time.
Huangmei Opera is the main local opera in Anhui. Huangmei Opera, formerly known as Huangmei Tune or Tea-picking Opera, is a folk drama that was formed in the Piling area of Anhui, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces in the late18th century. One of them gradually moved eastward to Anqing, centering on Huaining County, Anhui Province, combined with local folk arts, and sang and spoke in the local language, forming its own characteristics, called "Huaiqiang" or "Huaidiao". This is the predecessor of Huangmei Opera today.
In terms of repertoire, it is known as "36 major dramas, 72% off small dramas". The play mainly shows the people's dissatisfaction with class oppression, the disparity between the rich and the poor and their yearning for a free and beautiful life. For example, The Story of Buckwheat, Guan, Tian Xianpei, etc. Traditional Chinese operas mostly show the life segments of rural laborers, such as ordering barley, spinning cotton yarn and selling buckets.
After liberation, a number of traditional plays such as Fairy Descent, Ma Xu, Luo Afraid, Zhao, Mother's Tears, Three Searches for the State House have been adapted successively, and a number of dramas such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Historical Drama, Modern Drama and Spring Blossom have been created. Among them, Fairy Descent, Female Xu and Cowherd and Weaver Girl have been put on the screen one after another, which has had great influence at home and abroad. Yan Fengying, Wang Shaofang, Wu Qiong and Malan are famous actors in Huangmei Opera.
Yue Opera, formerly known as "The Songs on the Ground", was popular in Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province, and gradually developed into "Women's Yue Opera" in 1930s.
In the early forties, women's Yueju opera flourished in Shanghai, absorbing the nutrition of Kunju opera and drama in art and gradually maturing. The older generation of artists, represented by Yuan Xuefen and Yin Guifang, got the care of China earlier and made bold reforms in system and art. The performance of the newly edited Yue Opera Xianglinsao is a milestone in the development history of Yue Opera. It is this group of old artists who dare to reform and actively innovate. On the basis of inheriting the tradition and according to their own conditions, they created their own unique style and gradually formed various schools of Yue Opera with artistic characteristics.
Since the founding of New China, under the guidance of the Party's literary and artistic policies, Yue Opera has entered a golden age of great development, producing dozens of outstanding plays, such as Butterfly Lovers, A Dream of Red Mansions and A Story of the West Chamber.
In the mid-1980s, Zhejiang Xiaobaihuayue Opera Troupe was established in Hangzhou, which was followed by the remarkable "Hua Xiaobai" phenomenon in Zhejiang. A large number of excellent "little flowers" have emerged. For example, Mao, the winner of the Second Plum Blossom Award, and Zhou Yunjuan, the winner of the Plum Blossom Award, represent a new generation of Yue Opera artists, and they compete to blossom a hundred gardens, which indicates the further prosperity and development of Yue Opera.
Shaanxi Opera is the largest opera popular in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places in the northwest. Because jujube bangzi is used as a percussion instrument, it is also called "Bangzi cavity", commonly known as "Bangzi" (because it makes a "dreamy" sound when playing festivals). Shaanxi Opera originated from ancient folk songs and dances in Shaanxi and Gansu, and gradually formed after several generations of creation. This is a rather old play.
Because of its different popular areas, Shaanxi Opera has evolved into different schools: Dongdong Shaanxi Opera (namely Tongzhou Bangzi, also known as Old Shaanxi Opera and Donglu Bangzi) is popular in Dali and Pucheng in Weinan area in the east of Guanzhong; Popular in Fengxiang, Qishan, Longxian and Tianshui areas in the west of Guanzhong, it is called West Road Qinqiang (also known as Xifu Qinqiang and West Road Bangzi); Popular in Yangxian, Chenggu, Hanzhong and Mianxian in Hanzhong area (actually Lu Nan Shaanxi Opera, also known as Diao Han Shaanxi Opera and Xunxi); Popular in Xi 'an, it's called Zhonglu Qinqiang (that is, Xi 'an's random play).
Influenced by local dialects and folk music, each Shaanxi opera is slightly different in pronunciation, aria and music. In the past 50 years, the east, west and south roads have been underdeveloped, and the middle road has taken its place, so it has an absolute advantage in Shaanxi and even the whole northwest region.
According to the current statistics, there are about 3,000 repertoires performed by Shaanxi Opera, most of which are based on the legend of heroes's or tragic stories, as well as myths, folk stories and various case-solving dramas from Three Kingdoms, Yang Jiajiang and Shuoyue. Qin opera music belongs to the board cavity structure. There are six kinds of boards: flexible board, second board, belt board, backing board, inverted board and rolling board. The roles of Shaanxi Opera are divided into thirteen categories: old students, bearded students, young students, Lao Dan, Zheng Dan, Xiao Dan, Hua Dan, Wu Dan, Media Dan, Dajing, Mao Jing and ugly women. The performance of Shaanxi Opera is simple, rough, delicate and profound, touching and full of exaggeration. In addition to Wei Changsheng, a famous northern and southern scholar in Qing Dynasty, there are Wang Xiangyun, Chen Jibi and Shen Xianglin from Weinan School, Luan Xiaohui from Tongzhou School, Tao Suoer from Zhouzhi School and Yue Sezi from Chang 'an School. In the middle and late Guangxu period, there were Runrunzi, Yu Xier, Chen, Zhao Jiemin, Li (Hong) and Liu (Carpenter Hong). Since the Revolution of 1911, there have been the famous ugly Ma Pingmin, the famous young student Su Zhemin He, the famous Su Zhen (neck and neck), Wang Tianmin (known as "Mei Lanfang in the northwest"), Li Zhengmin (known as "authentic Shaanxi opera"), He Zhong Zhen and Song Shanghua. Tian Denian, a famous online school, and famous students He, Geng Shanmin, Zhong, etc. In particular, Chen,,,, and Li Yisheng and Su Zhemin, former editors of Sanyi Society, have made innovations in singing, performance and makeup modeling.
Sichuan Opera is a very rare opera in China, which is composed of Kunqu Opera, Gao Opera, Hu Opera, Dan Opera and Deng Opera. Mainly popular in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.
As early as the Ming Dynasty, local operas were popular in Sichuan. During the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty, with the rise of the Flower Department, foreign Kunqu Opera, Gaoqu Opera, Bangzi Opera and Pi Chun Opera were introduced into Sichuan, and the local Lantern Opera formed the embryonic form of Sichuan Opera. Due to the different relationship between vocal cavity popular areas and artists, early Sichuan opera formed different tribes along the Sichuan River, such as western Sichuan, Ziyang, northern Sichuan and eastern Sichuan. The performing arts of Sichuan Opera have a deep foundation in life, forming a perfect performance program, which is true, delicate, humorous and full of local flavor. In particular, he is good at portraying characters with stunts such as lifting feet, opening eyes, changing face, drilling fire rings and hiding knives. Traditional plays are extremely rich.
The repertoire of Sichuan Opera is very rich, and it has long been said that "there are three thousand in the Tang Dynasty, eight hundred in the Song Dynasty and countless in the Three Kingdoms". Sichuan Opera Institute alone has more than 2,000 plays. Except Jing, Liu, Worship and Killing, these plays belong to the high-pitched system, including Five Robes, Four Columns, Eighteen Books in Jianghu and recognized by Sichuan opera circles. The so-called "five robes" are the story of the blue robe (also known as the temple, which is written about the 82-year-old champion), the story of the yellow robe (also known as the Buddha's scroll, which is written about Sakyamuni becoming a Buddha), the story of the white robe (written about Xue), the story of the red robe (that is, the story of the white rabbit), and. The so-called "four pillars" refer to touching Tianzhu (writing about Gong Gong's anger and not touching the surrounding mountains), Crystal Pillar (writing about Guanyin Sect's Wei Tuo collecting dragons and hoses), Kowloon Pillar (writing about Wen Taishi's Ascension to Heaven) and Five Elements Pillar (writing about the Monkey King's havoc in the Heavenly Palace). The so-called "Eighteen Books in Jianghu" are You Guiji, Cai, Chai, Yu Chaiji, Bailuopa, Baihua Pavilion, Sunflower Well, Luan Chaiji (White Snake), White Parrot and Sanxiao. In addition, there are four tenors: The Golden Seal, Pipa, Hongmei and Ban Chao. The repertoire of Tanxi, a Sichuan opera, is represented by four versions: Spring and Autumn Match, Meijiang Abuse, Huatiancuo and The Story of Bitter Festival. Hu Qin's plays in Sichuan Opera mostly show the stories of the Three Kingdoms and other countries, among which Huang Jian's Huangben in the late Qing Dynasty is the most famous, such as Qinglingtai, Sanchege, Shennongxi, Shenjiping, Chaishi Festival, Sanzhong, Mianzhuguan and Jiangyouguan. There are few Kunqu operas in Sichuan Opera, only Jian Peijun Fairy, Dongchuang Xiuben, Zuizao Jujube, Zuidao and so on. The programs of the Lantern Opera in Sichuan Opera include Please Dragon, Happy New Year, Making Noodles, Five Children Tell Mom, Cutting Clothes and so on. In addition to the traditional dramas mentioned above, there are other modern dramas with great influence, such as Jiang Jie, Four Girls, Little Blue Water, Noodles/Pass, Gold, etc., as well as new historical story dramas such as Bashan Scholar and Dare.
Sichuan opera gongs and drums play an important role in Sichuan opera music. The commonly used small drums, hall drums, big gongs, big cymbals and small gongs (also with hinges) are collectively called "five sides", and the strings and suona are six sides, which are performed by small drums.
Sichuan Opera has a profound tradition of realism, and has formed a unique and perfect performance program, which is true and delicate, humorous and full of life. Many stunts, such as lifting, opening eyes, changing face, drilling fire rings and hiding knives, make its stage colorful, mysterious and full of changes.
Its business is divided into six categories: raw, fresh, clean, ugly and miscellaneous.
The main schools of Sichuan Opera are: Hua Xian School, Ugly Sangan School and Cao School. At the same time, there are four schools, namely, Western Sichuan School (mainly high-pitched and lantern opera), Ziyang River School (mainly high-pitched), Northern Sichuan School (mainly singing opera) and Eastern Sichuan School (mainly singing huqin). Xiao Sheng, Yuan Yukun, Zeng Ronghua, Jiang Shangfeng and Xie Wenxin are popular actors in the past half century. Dan Jiaoqiong, Yang Youhe, Yang Yunfeng, Xue, Hu, Xu Qianyun, Jinghua,; Chen is indifferent, Situ Huicong; Clowns Zhou Qihe, Liu, Polo, Chen Jinbo, Wu Shengpeng. There are also famous drummers Wang and Su Mingqing.
In recent years, a number of performing artists have emerged in Sichuan Opera, among which Xiao Boat, Xiao Zhou and Xiao Zhou have great influence.
Henan Opera, formerly known as "Henan Bangzi", is also known as "Henan Gaoqiang". Because Henan Province is called "Yu" for short, it was named Yu Opera after liberation. It is one of the major operas in Henan Province.
After the formation of Henan Opera, due to the different phonetic dialects, it has formed its own unique multi-channel genre in the process of spreading throughout the country: the singing method centered on Kaifeng is called "Xiang Fu Diao"; The singing method centered on Shangqiu is called "Yudong Tune", also known as Dongdong Tune; The singing method circulating in Luoyang is called "Western Henan Tune", also known as Xifu Tune and Back Spring Tune. Sha Hetiao, also known as the local bangzi, is a popular singing method in the Shahe River Basin in southeastern Henan.
The music of Henan Opera is rich and colorful, and its aria belongs to banqiang. Lyrics are easy to understand, mostly seven sentences or cross-sentences. It has a unique plate structure and a relatively complete music program. It can be divided into four categories: flexible board, flow board, Barr board and flying board. The accompaniment instruments of Henan Opera are divided into civil and military scenes, including Erxian, Sanxian and Qin Yue, and they are called Sanxian or Sanxian performers. Later, it was replaced by Banhu because of the sharp noise of the two-string timbre. The instruments commonly used in martial arts are Bangu, Tanggu, Big Gong, Small Gong (also known as Ming Gong or Hand Gong), Clam cymbals, Bangzi, Handboard and so on.
There are about 700 traditional plays of Henan Opera. The most representative ones are Chasing Huan, Three Feet, Ditangban, Ladder Mouth, Shan Mei Case, Twelve Widows' Sailing to the Western Ocean, etc. After the founding of New China, after innovation, a number of outstanding traditional plays appeared, such as Mu Commanding, Breaking the Flood State, and Examining the Imperial edict of the Tang Magistrate, which were widely welcomed by people. At the same time, there are the historical drama Mulan, the divine drama The Legend of the White Snake, and the modern drama Chaoyanggou, which was created and performed by Liu Hulan and Li Shuangshuang. Due to the innovation and innovation of musicians, a number of popular musical vocals have been written, thus making Henan Opera a popular form of opera in the whole country.
As the saying goes, "Four students, four Dan and four Chinese faces, and eight scenes (that is, one drum, two gongs and two strings, eight bangers and eight cymbals) are two boxes". The four students are big red face (also called red net and drama students), two red faces (also called instant red face), primary school students and marginal students (also called two red faces); Sidan is Zheng Dan (Tsing Yi), Xiao Dan (Hua Dan, Guimendan), Lao Dan and Shuaidan; The four-flowered faces are blackheads (sub-nets), big flowered faces, two flowered faces and three flowered faces. Because it is a matter of eight men and four women, four students and four faces are called the outer octagon, and the drama dominated by male characters is called the "outer octagon drama".
A famous actor in the history of Henan Opera, according to Mr. Zou Shaohe's recollection: "In Xuan Tong, Yun Jian, Li Xiaodan, was a native of Wu Yang. He was gifted with a good voice, crisp and mellow, and he was full of twists and turns. He tried his best to come up with a new tune. Since Li's appearance, the drama style has changed greatly, and actors have lamented that he is an unprecedented talent. " The famous beards are Zhang Xiaogan, Zhang Tongqing and Xu. Famous students are Huang Ruxiu (Huang Wa, Gua) and Wang Jinyu (Xiao Huobian). Red-faced kings Tang Yucheng, Cao Wu Zhang Yan, etc. Since the appearance of actresses, famous actors are: Wang Yuzhi, Chen Suzhen, Chang Xiangyu, Cui Lantian and so on. The famous actors after liberation are: Wei Yun, Wang Shanpu, Gao Jie, Chen Xinli, Marin and Liu Lanfang.
Jin Opera, namely Zhonglu Bangzi, is a representative opera in Shanxi Province and one of the four major bangzi in Shanxi Province. Because its activity area is in central Shanxi, especially near Taiyuan and Jinzhong, and this kind of drama has always been welcomed and loved by the people in central Shanxi, it is called Zhonglu Bangzi.
Zhonglu Bangzi is characterized by euphemistic and smooth melody, beautiful, mellow and cordial melody, clear and simple, with strong Jinzhong local flavor and unique style.
Zhonglu Bangzi originated from Zhou Pu Bangzi and was popular in the Qing Daoguang and Xianfeng years. It has absorbed many characteristics of Pu Opera and gradually formed its own style through the enrichment and development of many artists. It can be said that it is a unique Bangzi opera formed on the basis of the bold breakthrough and innovation of Pu Opera.
Over the past century, some predecessors and old artists of Zhonglu Bangzi have made positive contributions to the development of this kind of drama, such as Meng Zhenqing (stage name "San Er Sheng"), Zhang Jingyun (stage name "Thirteen Red"), Gao (stage name "Pingshuhong"), Qiao (stage name "Lion Black"), Tian Guizi and so on. Especially, Ding Guoxian, a famous actor of Shanxi Opera, has made new progress in singing, speaking and acting since he took office, which has played an important role in the formation of the style of Shanxi Opera today.
The earliest main activity of Zhonglu Bangzi was in Taiyuan, and it was easy to absorb the advantages of brother operas and achieve mastery through a comprehensive study. Therefore, the performance scope of this kind of drama has gradually expanded. Before War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it had spread to western Hebei, northwestern Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places. In the above-mentioned areas, fixed Zhonglu Bangzi troupes have been set up to sing Jin Opera. In War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, many Bangzi artists took part in the heroic struggle to save the nation from peril under the leadership of China, and performed in revolutionary bases such as Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, Shanxi-Suiyuan and Taihang. They perform not only traditional dramas, but also modern and new dramas. Performing in the front and base areas was praised by the people and played a certain role in inspiring people's morale. Jin-Sui July Drama Club (Zhonglu Bangzi) once went to Xi, Chengdu, Tianshui, Gansu and other places to perform with the troops for a long time.
After liberation, the number of Zhonglu Bangzi Troupe increased gradually, especially in Jinzhong, Lvliang and Taiyuan. Almost all counties have professional troupes, and many townships have amateur troupes. The famous drama "Golden Skill" has been made into a movie.
Shanxi Jin Theatre is the main performance group of Shanxi Jin Opera. Established in February 1959. This troupe has a long history of performance. Over the years, he has trained many young actors and accumulated rich practical experience on stage. Many outstanding actors gathered here and won the support of outstanding actors in Shanxi Province.
Shanxi Jin Theatre is located in Taiyuan, with 287 cast members. Historically, the theater has gathered a number of old artists of Shaanxi Opera, such as,,, Liang, and Ji Meilian. Through the painstaking management of stage life, these old artists have formed their own unique performance style and singing style, leaving a deep impression and high prestige among the masses.
At present, the famous actors in this theater are,, Jiping, Ma,,, and so on. The representative plays of Jin Opera include traditional plays, such as Beating Golden Branches, Han Yan, Little Banquet, Killing Palace, Counting Grain, etc.