The National Centre for the Performing Arts and Ningbo Performing Arts Group jointly produced the premiere of the dance drama "Xian Xinghai"

Stills from the dance drama Xian Xinghai. This newspaper reporter Fang Fei photographed

When the curtain opened, a strong beam of light came, and Xian Xinghai slowly rose from the orchestra pool, directing the music of life between heaven and earth. His back is fluttering in the corner of his clothes, and the sense of sculpture is spontaneous. The scene turns back to snowy Moscow, in the Kremlin Hospital, Xian Xinghai on his deathbed looks back at life in his sleep, the bed held up by relatives and friends becomes a sail, he dances with the waves, and becomes the first sea teenager...

On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the 14th anniversary of the establishment of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, last night, the original contemporary dance drama "Xian Xinghai", jointly produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Ningbo Performing Arts Group, ushered in its premiere, paying tribute to the "people's musician" Xian Xinghai. First-line artists such as general director Xiao Xiangrong, screenwriter Xu Rui, and composer Guo Sida formed a strong creative team to reproduce the important nodes in Xian Xinghai's life with the structure of "musical symphonic narrative".

Throughout the performance, the simple and modern stage with rich metaphors is extremely impactful. The third act, "Homeland", which shows Xian Xinghai's exile in a foreign country, is particularly impressive. With the "ticking" of the metronome, the music of his life entered the countdown. Xian Xinghai repeatedly climbed the slope of the triangular structural device, trying to grasp the red line that symbolized the national border, but repeatedly slipped down, and more than 20 group dancers formed a human wall "national border line", constantly turning clockwise on the stage, blocking him from his hometown again and again, and also showing the gradual passage of life. Red lights and white snow flakes poured down from the stage, full of visual and emotional tension.

The premiere was led by young dancers such as Wei Shenzhou, Li Yu, and Wang Jinge, after the entire crew had conducted closed rehearsals at the Taihu Dance Art Center of the National Centre for the Performing Arts for the Performing Arts for nearly four months. The current round of performances of "Xian Xinghai" will last until December 22, and the chief actors of Ningbo Song and Dance Theatre, Xia Xia and Wang Yu, will also play two important roles of Xian Xinghai and his wife.

Digging into the side stories of musicians resonates with the audience

Why did the work featuring "People's Musician" Xian Xinghai be made into a dance drama instead of an opera or musical?

"When we first set up the project, we considered making Mr. Sin Xinghai's ups and downs in life into a grand opera." General director Xiao Xiangrong said. But how to use the precious musical wealth left by Xian Xinghai is a challenge that must be full of awe and extremely difficult, compared to the opera, the opera is more operable. Many encounters in Xian Xinghai's life are full of strong drama, and the dance of "longer than lyrical" is very suitable for expressing his inner emotions, his "passion and dedication", "Singing still has a pitch limit, but the dance can go further, coupled with the background of group dance, it will be very explosive." ”

Overall, music creation is still a fairly important part of the dance drama Xian Xinghai. "To write a musician, there's a lot of pressure. This dance drama cannot become a simple simulcast of Xian Xinghai's works, otherwise our creation will lose its meaning. Composer Guo Sida said, "How can we make the music of the dance drama depict this character and integrate his works into our creations, which is the most difficult." Guo Sida chose the well-known "Yellow River Chorus" as the main source of inspiration, and its theme ran through the whole play. There may be some details that are not easily noticed by the audience, but from the level of compositional technique, tributes are almost everywhere.

In the epilogue, "Defending the Yellow River" appears in its entirety, accompanied by the classic melody that is sung endlessly, and on the stage, a red sun rises, and the masses move forward firmly towards hope. This version of the male chant "Defending the Yellow River" is slow-paced, deep and dignified, and is very different in style from the version most often heard. "We will throw away some traditional concepts and interpret Mr. Xian Xinghai's works from the perspective and means of the present. The concept of the main creative team has always been very unified, and blindly restoring is not the original intention. "Guo Sida has integrated quite a variety of elements such as symphony and electronics into the music, and when showing the revolutionary dance of national disasters, the music even has a light rock style. This is not an eye-catching move to innovate for the sake of innovation, but because in Guo Sida's view, rock and roll is warm and impactful, just right to drive emotions, "We have tried many other ways, but they are not as good as rock and roll." Rock and roll is the expression habit of modern people to vent their emotions, as long as it can conform to the spirit and concept of creation, we do not reject any means. ”

Including diversified and compatible music, the dance drama "Xian Xinghai" is a work based on the present. As a creator, Xiao Xiangrong believes that works born today must resonate with contemporary audiences. Based on the heavy identity of a musician, Xian Xinghai further explores many aspects of Xian Xinghai that can resonate: he is a son, husband, father, student, close friend, and wanderer who misses his homeland. When he was studying in Paris, he was once snubbed, depressed and melancholy; in the last moments of his life, stranded in a foreign country, he eagerly looked forward to returning to his homeland and returning to his relatives and friends... "I believe that the audience does not just want to see Xian Xinghai with a standard answer in the dance drama. Xiao Xiangrong said.

Source Beijing Daily

Reporter Gao Qian

Process Editor Wu Yue