On the evening of April 24, the much-anticipated original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" opened its first performance at the Qilu Shule Grand Theater in Shule County, Kashgar Region, Xinjiang.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
"Ban Chao", jointly planned and created by the Aid to Xinjiang Headquarters of Dongying City, Shandong Province and the Propaganda Department of the Shule County Party Committee, is a high-quality literary and artistic work created for the solid and effective implementation of the "Cultural Run Xinjiang" project, and has been selected as the 2022 Literary and Art Support Incentive Fund Project of the Autonomous Region.
Ban Chao was a famous military and diplomat during the Eastern Han Dynasty, who was sent by the central government to garrison the Western Regions for about 30 years. With both political and military talents, he helped the city-states in the Western Regions to stabilize the chaotic situation, led the people to expand the fields, revitalized the hundred industries, and restored the effective management of the Western Regions by the central government of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" is based on the historical facts of the Eastern Han Dynasty that Ban Chao made the Western Regions and garrisoned Shule as the theme, and under the premise of respecting history, it is appropriately dramatized with artistic techniques, and combined with the unique ethnic customs and folk song and dance art forms of Shule, reproducing the prosperous scene of in-depth integration, unity and harmony among the various ethnic groups in China during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The stage design of "Ban Chao" is unique, the whole scene is dominated by the four typical elements of the Han Dynasty, Namely Han Jian, Chinese characters, Han Ma and Han painting, combined with the Cultural Relics of the Han Dynasty unearthed in various parts of Xinjiang and the artistic elements represented by the murals of the Kyzyl Grottoes, the entire stage scene is constructed, so that the historical scene of 2000 years ago has thickness, temperature, and aesthetic value of contemporary stage art.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
"Parents are here, not far away. But my son insisted on staying outside Saiwai, I bowed to Chang'an, I bowed to the four directions..." The atmosphere at the performance was warm and the applause continued. Stage lighting, lyrics, costumes, etc. are outstanding, and Ban Chao's patriotic spirit and pioneering quality deeply infected every audience on the scene.
"The performance is very wonderful, the repertoire is pleasing to the ear, the dance is pleasing to the eye, the poetry is pleasing to the heart, and the rich and condensed audio-visual language conveys the broad and long-standing wind and bone of Chinese culture, and also fully embodies the emotions of exchanges and blending of various ethnic groups." Spectator Kaiser Maimaiti spoke out about the audience.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
"Through the effective integration of different styles and types of cultural and artistic elements, the song and dance drama "Ban Chao" strives to achieve the artistic goal of harmony and unity and a hundred flowers, which must be good to hear and look good, but also complete and appropriate, with the shaping of characters as the core, and use the sense of truth and reality to create a fine work full of the spirit of the times and practical significance, which can continue to guide the masses of all ethnic groups to firmly establish the concept of solidarity, honor and disgrace, life and death, and destiny." General director Chen Wei said.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
The main creative team of the play is composed of first-class stage drama experts and performers from the Xinjiang Art Theater and the Shule County Cultural and Labor Troupe. Drama director Chen Wei as the general director, Qian Xiaotian and Xie Mei as screenwriters, China Conservatory of Music professor Yu Yongyi composed, central opera bass singer Tian Hao starred as Ban Chao, and Xinjiang Art Theater Film and Television Production Department Director Anivar Saimati served as music director.
It is understood that after the premiere of "Ban Chao", expert seminars and exchange meetings will be held according to the feedback of the performance, and after further modification and promotion, it will tour to Urumqi, Beijing, Shandong and other places.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)
In recent years, kashgar region has thoroughly implemented the spirit of the Third Central Xinjiang Work Forum, completely and accurately implemented the party's strategy for governing Xinjiang in the new era, and gathered forces from many parties to actively create literary and artistic masterpieces with local characteristics in Xinjiang under the background of the regional party committee's emphasis on the creation of fine literary and artistic works.
Stills of the original song and dance drama "Ban Chao" (photo by Liu Mengxin, issued by CCTV)