Chapter 51 Beijing Opera and Children Performing Peking Opera

I have liked watching theater since I was a child, although I don't know much about theater, and I don't go to theater often.My play begins like this: When I was a child, I lived in a quiet mountain corner between Tianlianhai and Hailiantian - Yantai Dongshan; because I had no playmates, I read a lot when I was seven years old.At that time, there were no children's books, so I had to read those familiar books repeatedly, such as,,,..., to remember the characters in the books vividly, and the stories were familiar.Once, a friend of my father invited us to see a theater in Yantai City. From the perspective of a child who has lived in the valley for a long time, what a big deal it is to go public!Watching this play left a deep impression on me.I still remember that this theater is called "Qunxian Tea Garden". That day happened to be the performance of the whole "Three Kingdoms". From "The Meeting of Heroes" and "Borrowing Arrows from Straw Boats" to "Huarong Road", it was the most exciting and lively drama section!I really like seeing the characters I know and love stepping onto the stage one by one.I stood on the railing for several hours, and my father patted me on the shoulder from behind and talked to me, and I didn't bother to answer.

Since then, I have fallen in love with Peking Opera deeply, and I never let go of the opportunity to watch it only once or twice a year, because only on the stage, I can see my old friends Zhuge Liang and Monkey King and Lin Chong. When I was twelve years old, I came to Beijing, the birthplace of Peking Opera.Our landlady, Mrs. Qi, is a fan of operas, and she "listens" to operas once or twice a week. She also often invites my mother to go. My mother is too weak to sit for a long time, so I will go instead.My first impression of watching a play in Beijing was also very deep.This theater is an auspicious theater in Dong'an Market. At that time, the "couriers" sat upstairs, and the "official guests" sat downstairs. The pool was full of hot towels, and there were melon seeds and candied fruit on the tea table. Something like that; today's big axis play is "Fenhe Bay" by Mr. Mei Lanfang and Mr. Wang Fengqing. Even a child like me who doesn't know how to play will report when I go home: "Today's "Fenhewan" The Bend in the River is really good!"

From now on I will go to school, and I may watch operas twice a year, but my interest in Peking Opera has never diminished.I looked for notes and books about Peking Opera, as well as "drama codes" and review articles in the daily newspapers.From these words, I learned something about the tradition of Peking Opera and the lives of actors. Twenty years ago, Mr. Jiao Juyin ran an opera school in Beijing, and I sometimes went to Jixiang Theater to watch performances by students.I really appreciate children's play!They are energetic and energetic, and they don't even relax in their tricks.Moreover, no matter what kind of character, the smaller one always looks particularly interesting.The rough little Zhang Fei has a big head and face, but his hands are small, and he yells out of his small mouth, which is really charming and cute.

For many years, I have always wanted to visit an opera school to see how the children live and study.It was only on July 3rd this year that I had the opportunity to visit the Beijing Opera School, and my wish was fulfilled, and I was very happy. Our car stopped in front of a building inside the gate of Beijing Opera School.While waiting for the comrade in charge, I looked up and saw the posters on the corridor wall, and the children with red scarves walking in and out. I couldn't feel that I was in a school specializing in opera.When Dean Hong came, he said that Principal Hao was giving an exam to the first-year students, and asked us to go over there and have a look, okay?

Of course we would.Walking out of this building and walking towards another big house, the sound of huqin and gongs and drums can be heard from a distance. "Drama" The atmosphere gradually became more intense. This is the rehearsal field of our school. There are first-grade students on the stage who are "rehearsing", and there are two rows of teachers sitting below the stage to "appraise" them.The person who came forward was a rosy-faced and energetic old man. He is Mr. Hao Shouchen, who I watched with Mr. Yang Xiaolou more than 20 years ago. I have admired him for a long time!

I sat lightly on the chair next to him.Mr. Hao immediately turned to look at the stage intently.There were four eleven or twelve-year-old students on the stage, who were performing "The Great Baoguo". Xu Yanzhao and Yang Bo started a sharp struggle with Li Liang in front of Concubine Li Yan.Mr. Hao’s lips kept moving, as if he was leading them to sing silently word by word, and he kept knocking on his knees with a folding fan. People respect. After listening to a piece of "Da Baoguo", we went out to visit the school building. The original school building was just a temple-like courtyard.Outside the gate is the Liyuan Cemetery. It is said that Yang Xiaolou and Mr. Jin Xiushan were buried here, but they have moved away now.The predecessor of this school, called Yipei School, was originally founded in 1952 by the Peking Opera Association.The chairman, Mr. Mei Lanfang, together with Mr. Hao Shouchen, Mr. Xiao Changhua and other charity performances, raised more than 5,000 yuan and recruited dozens of students, 40% of whom were children of actors.At that time, there were only professional teachers and no cultural teachers. Due to insufficient funds, some students performed on stage after four months of study, and used their income to make up for the expenses.The Party has always attached great importance to the cultivation of Peking Opera actors, which are loved by the majority of the people. After the government took over the school, the school building has been expanded and the number of teachers has increased...Now the students are half-day studying business and half-day studying culture, which is similar to a regular school .Now there are three classes in grades one, four, and seven, with a total of more than 170 students. Among the school-age students, 80% of them wear red scarves.There are sixty-two actors in this year's graduating class, and the rest are music students. They will be assigned to the three troupes of Mei, Xun, and Shang. I heard that Mr. Mei and the others have already come to select apprentices.

We walked into another gymnasium-like building, and inside some students were somersaulting on thick plush cushions, passing dicks.They are all only eleven or twelve to thirteen or fourteen years old, with flushed faces and smiling faces. We ended up meeting with a couple of eighth graders in an office. These young men and women are all under the age of twenty, and the youngest is only seventeen.We talked very cordially and warmly.Some of them are the children of actors and have a natural interest in Peking Opera; some of them have liked Peking Opera since they were young. Ba Jinling, who studied Huadan, said: "I loved singing and dancing when I was in elementary school, especially Peking Opera. When the school recruited for exams, I signed up Here I come. My mother is afraid that I will be beaten when I learn opera, so she won't let me come.

After three months of trial study, it was proved that there was no corporal punishment, so the family agreed. "They also talked about many contradictions and difficulties in their studies, but they were all overcome with the teacher's teaching and their own efforts. For example, Wang Xiaolin, who learned from Lao Dan, didn't like playing Lao Dan. She laughed Zhuo said: "When I was assigned to play Lao Dan, I really didn't want to, because at that time I myself liked the role of wearing powder and wearing flowers.Later, the teacher said that my voice is suitable for singing Lao Dan. I trusted our experienced teacher, so I calmed down and studied hard. Now I-I really like this kind of role! "

Their efforts were successful.I saw their performance on the second night. Several students who met us were on the stage all night, such as Lin Maorong who played Zhou Yu in "Luhua Dang" and Lian Jinfeng in "The Clam". Li Yufu, Zhang Xuejin who plays Liu Bei in "Yellow Crane Tower".Thinking of their expressions off stage, I feel very appreciative of their performance on stage. Wang Xiaolin played the role of Kou Zhun's wet nurse Mother Liu in "The Banquet". She could describe the characters and identities of the characters in the play in detail, with a playful face and a good voice.

This performance is successful, there are no empty seats in the audience, and people are crowded outside the door; the audience loves this group of young actors, a good singing voice, and a few close fights will be appreciated and encouraged Applause...Peking opera is one of the most popular national art forms, and the actors of Peking opera will always be admired and cared by the masses.But who doesn't know the miserable days the actors lived before liberation?Ba Jinling's mother's concerns were not without reason.In the past, how much beating, scolding and torture did children have to suffer when they learned to play?The art has become famous and established, and the evil old society has tried every means to force them onto the road of humiliation and degeneration... The young actors in Mao Zedong's era were happy, they were like thriving flowers in broad daylight.I hope that they will live up to the love and care of the Party and the people, cherish their peaceful and happy environment, and under the guidance of famous teachers, they will continue to practice diligently and consciously, learn their skills well, and tell the vivid stories of life and struggle in our history. As well as the people's favorite and familiar characters, they are more concentrated and prominent on the stage, and they are strongly and vividly expressed.

Woke Up Spring". )