Stills from Qin Lu's "Chinese Soul" (1963 edition).
Excellent theatrical works reflecting the history of China's red have touched generations of people. Nowadays, red theme dramas emerge in an endless stream, in these works, red stories are re-told in a way with a sense of the times, stirring up touching ripples in people's hearts; red characters are reshaped with new artistic techniques, vividly presented in front of people, so that the red tradition and revolutionary spirit can be passed on from generation to generation.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, which is not only the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, but also the historical intersection for the realization of the "two hundred years" goal. At such a time node, a large number of red-themed masterpieces have become the best gifts offered to the party by the literary and art circles. Creating red classics belonging to this era and letting red drama win the market and audience is the direction of the efforts of literary and art workers in our province.
Tell the history and spread the red culture
In September 1940, the Northwest Literary and Art Work Troupe (the predecessor of the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater) was born in Yan'an. At that time, the Northwest Literary and Art Work Group was like a baby in the cradle of the revolution, growing up under the cultivation of the people in the border areas and growing under the influence and baptism of red culture; at that time, the Northwest Literary and Art Work Group took the mission of publicizing the party's policies and inspiring the fighting spirit of the fighters as its mission, and its footprints spread all over the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and it was a red revolutionary literary and art group with important influence that was active in the revolutionary holy land of Yan'an and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
All along, the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater with red genes has insisted on carrying forward the spirit of Yan'an. Since the reform and opening up, the theater has created and performed a large number of excellent plays that highlight the spirit of national culture and the main theme of the times. On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the party, under the guidance of the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee and jointly produced by the Shaanxi Radio and Television Rong Media Group, the Shaanxi Performing Arts Group, and the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater Co., Ltd., the large-scale classic national opera "Sister Jiang" interpreted the heroic image of Jiang Jie and other revolutionary martyrs, as well as their firm ideals and beliefs, lofty value pursuit, selfless dedication and the spirit of courageous sacrifice, bringing a spiritual red baptism to the audience.
This year, the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Theater will also create and launch a large-scale sitcom epic musical "The Great Journey" and the national orchestra concert "Radiance" to praise the glorious history of the Communist Party of China and celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Party. Among them, the large-scale sitcom epic musical "The Great Journey" presents the history of the Party with unprecedented integration and innovation, and praises the glorious course of the Communist Party of China from 1921 to the present, which is a stage symphonic poem closely integrated with ideology and artistry.
The Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Opera, which also came from Yan'an, has injected red genes into traditional art from the very beginning, created a large number of excellent works that are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and provided rich spiritual food for the masses. From the gunfire and smoke of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the artists of the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Opera created and performed excellent plays such as "Chinese Soul", "Twelve Sickles", and "Blood and Tears Vengeance", to the early days of the founding of New China, "Liang Qiuyan", "Zhao's Orphan", "You West Lake", "Jin Wanchao" and other plays went to Beijing to perform and toured 13 provinces (cities) in Jiangnan. From a large number of outstanding plays created and performed since the reform and opening up, such as "One Emperor in The Ages", "Yang Guifei", "West Lake Resentment", "Apricot Blossom Village", "Leaving True Feelings", "Yang Qiniang", etc., to "Late Blooming Roses", "Big Trees Moving West", "Xijing Story" and other realist masterpieces in recent years, they have aroused strong repercussions from all walks of life and highlighted the vitality of theater artistic creation.
This year, the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Opera will bring the Qin Opera "I Came from Yan'an" based on the People's Theater Troupe and the large-scale original play "Proud Yang" with Yang Kaihui as the protagonist of the story, as a gift to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Party. "I Came from Yan'an" will reproduce the red culture and Yan'an spirit of the revolutionary war years, describe the fighting style and faith pursuit of revolutionary literary and art workers under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and artistically tell the stories of the vast number of literary and art workers, showing their spirit and struggle. "Proud Yang" takes the magnificent and tragic life story of the martyr Yang Kaihui as the main line, and through the real story and Yang Kaihui's loyalty to the ideal, the spirit of the revolutionaries is displayed vividly and vividly.
Adhere to innovation to create the classics of the times
In recent years, the market performance of red repertoire has been surprising. Not long ago, the revised large-scale red show "Yan'an Yan'an" opened the 2021 performance season in Yan'an, the holy land of revolution, and the play has been watched by more than 1 million tourists at home and abroad since its premiere in 2016. According to Huang Yunsong, director of the red show "Yan'an Yan'an", the revision focuses on the overall improvement of the two aspects of creative content and stage effects. In terms of creative content, the newly redesigned Red Show has added a large number of voiceovers, while increasing the presentation of local culture with regional characteristics such as folk songs and folk customs in northern Shaanxi. In terms of stage effects, not only a large number of red sets and hanging scenes are added, combined with props, but also four laser projections are used to increase the feeling of virtual space, bringing immersive visual effects to the audience.
Today, the artistic and ideological red repertoire is widely praised by audiences. A few days ago, the drama "Communist Manifesto" is undergoing a nationwide tour, and it is expected to perform 37 performances in 20 cities in 3 provinces and 1 municipality. The play is an important play in our province to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and tells the story of the revolutionary ancestors who defended their faith with blood in the early days of the founding of the Communist Party of China, used courage and wisdom to deal with the enemy, and interpreted the story of the realistic version of the Communist Manifesto with selfless and fearless dedication and heroism under the tests of life and death, glory and shame, fame and profit. The play fully shows the full passion of a Communist Party member for the party and the strong affection of a mother for her child, so that the audience can experience the importance of ideals and beliefs and feel the power of the original heart.
The drama "The Communist Manifesto" was originally rehearsed by the former Guangzhou Military Region Political Department Soldiers' Literary and Labor Troupe, with a strong creative lineup, written by famous screenwriters Tang Dong and Pu Xun, and won many awards. The audience was greeted by the rearranged version of the Xi'an Drama Theatre, with Ren Xueying, president of the Xi'an Drama Theatre, as the producer, and Zhai Weiguo, artistic director of the Xi'an Drama Theatre, as the director of the Xi'an Drama Theatre, which is a tribute to the Xi'an Drama Theatre to relive the history of the Party and commemorate the revolutionary martyrs, and it is also a work of adhering to faith, strengthening ideals, and observing reality.
Win the market with red repertoire, infect and impress people with positive energy. Literary and art workers in our province are actively taking action to comprehensively create and upgrade the red classics of the new era, inherit the red classics, carry forward the red culture, and enrich people's beautiful lives.
Inheritance and development Focus on talent training
As an important part of China's excellent traditional culture, opera art occupies an extremely important position in culture and history. Among them, Qin Cavity has a very wide audience and profound cultural soil in our province, and has been the most sought after art form in the local area for hundreds of years.
In order to carry forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, protect and inherit the Qin Cavity, and let the artistic charm of the Qin Cavity carry forward in the new era, on May 15, the excellent Chinese Qin Cavity plays hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, and undertaken by the Art Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism will be opened in Xi'an, and next, 11 Qin Cavity dramas and 17 Qin Cavity Folding Plays from 5 provinces (regions) in the northwest will meet with the audience one after another.
"Eight hundred miles of Qin Chuan are dusty, and thirty million sons and daughters roar in unison." This performance made the exciting melody of the Qin Cavity resound throughout the land of the Three Qins, and also awakened people's memories of the Qin Cavity, so that more people could understand and appreciate the Qin Cavity.
How to make traditional opera, including Qin Cavity, better inherited and developed, and rejuvenate with new vitality in the new era is a problem that every drama worker should think about. "Xiqu is a unique national art of the Chinese nation, a traditional skill that includes literature, music, dance and performing arts, and is deeply loved by the people. As one of the most distinctive dramas, Qin Cavity shows the charm of Qin Feng to the world. The revitalization and development of Qin Cavity must adapt to the needs of the times, maintain and carry forward the traditional essence, and constantly introduce new ideas. It is necessary to continuously create works with deep emotions that are close to reality, close to life, and close to social groups. Hui Minli, president of Xi'an Yi Folk Society, said.
Hui Minli believes that the revitalization and development of Qin Cavity is inseparable from the innovation of content and form and the combination with modern science and technology. Modern science and technology provide favorable conditions for theatrical performance to broaden the road and increase the means. In terms of sets, makeup, costumes, props, lighting, sound, sound, sound cavity, subtitles, stage art, action, stage changes, etc., we can learn from the forms and means of cultural communication such as film and television, song and dance, animation, network, digital, etc., improve and innovate around content needs and audience preferences, and increase the modernity and ornamentation of Qin Cavity, as well as its attractiveness and competitiveness.
The protection, inheritance and innovation of Qin Cavity depend on many factors, but the most important thing is talent training. According to Li Mei, president of the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Opera, in recent years, the Provincial Academy of Opera, known as the "highest institution of learning in Qin," has made early plans and scientific layouts in the cultivation of talents, recruited and trained ten students, and as a powerful supplement to the reserve talents of opera, has built a "reservoir" for the development of the contingent of talents in Shaanxi opera. This year, the Provincial Academy of Opera also planned a series of activities of "Passing on the Torch and Passing on the Art of Famous Artists", and successively carried out the inheritance of teachers and apprentices and performance activities to benefit the people in various categories such as non-hereditary inheritors, old artists, plum blossom award actors, outstanding performers, and directors. This activity concentrates superior resources, so that the valuable inheritance resources of Shaanxi opera can be most effectively exerted, and also lay a solid talent foundation for the high-quality development of Shaanxi opera. (Reporter Zhang Jiazhen)