Category: Culture/Art >> Literature >> Drama
Analysis:
The accompaniment instruments of Cantonese opera are divided into two parts: orchestral and percussion. The former uses gaohu, erxian, dulcimer and throat as the main leading instruments. It is divided into two different combinations: "hard bow" and "soft bow". The instruments used in "hard bow" include two-stringed instruments, short-throated pipes, long-throated pipes, bamboo fiddles, small three-stringed instruments, yueqin, coconut cocoons, horizontal flutes, etc., which are matched with percussion instruments and high-side gongs. The sound and timbre are loud and hard, and are mostly used to accompany scenes and more intense scenes in traditional dramas. The musical instruments used in "soft bow" include Erhu (Nanhu), Zhonghu, Gaohu, Yehu, Dahu, Yangqin, Pipa, Xiaosanxian, Zhongsanxian, Zhongruan, Daruan, long throat pipe, Dongxiao, etc. In addition to national musical instruments, Cantonese opera music also boldly uses Western musical instruments, such as violin, cello, saxophone and other mid-bass instruments. In conjunction with the percussion instrument Wenluogu (or Su gong and drum, mid-bass Jingluogu), the sound and timbre are slender and soft, and are used to accompany lyrical arias and detail the inner feelings of the characters. Percussion instruments include boyu (board), test board, sand drum, double skin drum, big cymbal, wen gong, high side gong, Su cymbal, Su gong, single (treble small gong), war drum, big drum, etc. It also has a relatively complete set of gongs and drums with various types of rhythms.
It is one of the local operas in Guangdong Province and a very influential opera in southern my country. Because it originated in Guangdong, it is called Cantonese opera. It first emerged in Guangzhou and Foshan, and is now mainly popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Since many overseas Chinese are descendants of Cantonese, Cantonese opera performances are often performed in areas where overseas Chinese live together. Cantonese opera mainly focuses on the singing of Bangzi and Erhuang. It also retains Kunshan, Geyang and Guangzhou tunes and absorbs folk music and tunes from the Pearl River Delta. The singing and chanting are all in Guangzhou dialect, so it is also called "Guangdong Banghuang" and "Guangdong". "Big Opera" and "Guangfu Opera".
Historical evolution
In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Yiyang tune, Kunshan tune, Bangzi, Hui tune, Han tune, etc. were introduced to Guangdong. The tunes performed by local theater troupes in Guangdong were influenced by these foreign tunes. It had a great influence, and the singing tune was called "Guangqiang" because it was sung by one person and all the people sang together. Traces of Yiyang tune and Kunqiang can still be seen in the music of current Cantonese opera. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou's opera troupes were divided into local troupes and foreign troupes. Most of the Waijiang troupes perform Anhui opera, while most of the local troupes perform Bangzi opera. The early activity center of the local class was in Foshan. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, many opera troupes from other provinces came to Guangdong. The local troupes absorbed rich nutrients from the troupes from other provinces. The art became increasingly mature and gradually formed its own characteristics. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, Gao Qiang and Kunshan Qiang gradually declined, and "local classes" used Bangzi as the main singing tune. The influence of the Hou Hui Troupe expanded day by day, and "Banghuang" (i.e. Xipi and Erhuang) was used as the basic singing tune. At the same time, some Kunshan, Yiyang, and Cantonese accents were retained, and Guangdong folk music and tunes were absorbed. At this time, the local troupe was "completely different" from the Waijiang troupe, and Cantonese opera gradually formed.
In the fourth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1854), Cantonese opera artist Li Wenmao led the Liyuan children and Chen Kaisuo of the Tiandi Hui to respond to the Taiping Rebellion and proclaimed himself king. The Qing Dynasty therefore ordered a ban on local opera performances. After the ban, the local class fell silent for 15 years. During this period, Cantonese opera artists could only join troupes of Han opera and Anhui opera, or perform under the name of Peking opera and other other operas. In this way, the bangzi tune and the reed tune in Cantonese opera began to merge. Later, the role of Erhuang in Cantonese opera even exceeded that of Bangzi. In the 11th year of Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1861), the ban was slightly relaxed, and local classes emerged again. During the Tongzhi period (1862-1874), Cantonese opera artists began to perform in public troupes. Their troupes have performed in Henan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Anhui, Hong Kong, Macao and other places.
After the resumption of Cantonese opera performances, major changes have taken place in the repertoire content and performing arts. During the Revolution of 1911, Cantonese opera artists were influenced by Chunliu Society's new drama (civilized drama, that is, early drama) and organized "Patriot Class" to promote revolutionary democratic ideas. Under the wave of this new thought, Cantonese opera began to improve, and its content and form have undergone great changes. Around 1920, Cantonese opera was completely localized in terms of language, changing from "Stage Mandarin" to Cantonese. The singing method was also changed to native voice, and the falsetto singing method of Bangzi tune was abandoned. Bangzi and Erhuang both sing an octave lower, making Bangzi and Pihuang unified in style and singing method.
Around 1920, with the increasing development of capitalist commerce in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and other places, some Cantonese opera troupes also based their activities in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and other big cities, which are customarily called " Provincial and Hong Kong classes". The "Provincial and Hong Kong Classes" perform in large theaters in major cities such as Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macao. They absorb a large number of techniques from civilized dramas, dramas, and movies. They have undergone tremendous changes in terms of music singing, role roles, performance routines, stage layout, and repertoire. changes. Its basic tune is dominated by bangzi and erhuang, but it also retains other folk rap tunes and introduces pop songs and jazz music. The accompaniment also includes violins, saxophones, electric guitars, jazz drums and other Western instruments. The performance program is greatly simplified. The role professions have been changed from the original ten professions to a "six-pillar system", namely civil and military students, niche students, Zhengyin Dan, Erbang Huadan, ugly students and martial arts students. The choreography of the play should take into account the roles of the six main characters. There are a lot of new plays written and performed in the repertoire, and traditional plays are rarely performed.
A large number of new plays are adapted from movies, foreign novels, popular novels, plays, and some made-up plays.
The 1930s was a time of major changes in Cantonese opera, and it was also known as the era of "Xue Ma vying for supremacy". Both civil and military students Xue Juexian and ugly student Ma Shitsang made great contributions to the innovation of Cantonese opera. Xue Juexian is close to the Peking Opera style, and his performance skills are relatively comprehensive. He is omnipotent when he is born and ugly, and is nicknamed the "Universal Old Man". The jockey won with a buffoon. In the drama with the "solitary" (miser) as the protagonist, he fully exposed the ugliness of the feudal rich and capitalists, in the style of Molière. It is not only popular among audiences in Guangdong, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia, but has also been very popular in the United States for many years. They, together with Xiaosheng Bai Jurong and Xiao Wu Gui Mingyang, are known as the "four major schools" or "five major schools" of Cantonese opera (plus the ugly Liao Xiahuai). After the implementation of joint male and female classes, Shanghai girls created the unique lyrical singing style of Cantonese opera women, and later the red line girls had the greatest influence. At the same time, Guangzhou's Luo Pinchao, Wen Juefei, and Chen Xiaofeng, as well as Hong Kong's Xinma Shitsang, Ho Feifan, and Lam Jiasheng, etc. are also good at each and have considerable influence.
After the founding of New China, it vigorously promoted the traditional style of Cantonese opera. While innovating, it also inherited the excellent traditions of Cantonese opera. In the early days of the founding of New China, the Shengli Yue Opera Troupe premiered the Cantonese opera "Nine Pieces of Clothes" adapted from the liberated areas in Guangzhou, which was hailed by critics as "the first trumpet of the Yue Opera revolution." From the liberation of Guangzhou to 1952, more than 1,700 performances were performed in Guangzhou Theater. The Cantonese opera community has actively explored and inherited excellent traditions, carried out comprehensive artistic innovations, and made improvements in reflecting contemporary life and making performances more life-like. It has not only performed many excellent plays, but also cultivated a number of new talents. In 1958, the Guangdong Cantonese Theater was established. By 1982, there were more than 70 Cantonese opera troupes in Guangdong Province.
Over the past thirty years, traditional plays with high ideological and artistic quality that can withstand the test of time include "Pinggui Farewell Kiln", "Luo Cheng Writes a Book", etc. Transplanted and adapted plays account for the largest proportion, among which the better ones include "The Legend of Liu Yi" and "The Lotus Lantern". Among the newly compiled plays with historical themes and modern themes, those that have been made into films and have great influence include "Sou Shuyuan" and "Guan Hanqing".
Artistic characteristics
The artistic characteristics of early Cantonese opera are similar to those of Han opera, Peking opera, Qi opera, etc. Later, a unique artistic style gradually formed during the development process.
The basic tune of Cantonese opera is "banghuang", and it retains some tunes of Yiyang tune and Kunqu tune, as well as tunes of Guangdong folk rap such as Nanyin, Yuegu, Muyu, Longzhou and Banyan, as well as folk songs, music and eras. Songs, ditties and other folk songs. The "banghuang" of Cantonese opera is sung in dialect and absorbs and integrates local folk songs and ditties. It is different from the general skinhuang opera and has a strong local flavor.
Cantonese opera singing music is mainly Banqiang style, supplemented by Qupai style. There are two types of banqiang: bangzi and erhuang. Bangzi has the first board, adagio, middle board, hibiscus, sigh board and shaban. Erhuang has the first board, adagio, second flow and rolling board. In addition, there are Xipi (equivalent to the "Siping tune" of Peking Opera), Liantan, Nanyin, Banyan, Muyu, Cantonese and other tunes. Although the lyrics structure of Nanyin, Muyu and Banyan are different from Bangzi and Erhuang, the method of singing melody is the same; Xipi and Liantan write lyrics according to the music, but their lyrics and sentence pattern are similar to Bangzi and Erhuang. There are two types of Qupai: Paipai and Xiaoqu. Most of the tunes are drawn from Kun Opera and Yiyang tunes, and a few are folk ceremonial tunes from Guangdong; the ditties include opera transition music, Jiangnan silk and bamboo, and Cantonese music, such as "Liu Qingniang", "Dressing Table", "Selling Groceries", "Jade Beauty" ) as well as the new songs created, such as "Looking for Needles", "Urge to Return", "Hate Fills the Chest", "Playing with Daji", etc. In addition to the new songs created in these two categories, most of them are instrumental music with relatively fixed melodies.
The martial arts performance art of Cantonese opera maintains the rough and simple characteristics of the early "mountain troupe". Many famous actors have unique tricks such as one-leg, somersault, zipline, step on, eye movement, hair flip, beard and so on. Martial arts are based on "Southern martial arts", including powerful target, hand bridge, Shaolin boxing, and difficult chair skills and high platform skills. After the characters appear on the stage, men often "jump" and women often "bend their waists" in their performances, which is also quite rare. The repertoire of Cantonese opera is mostly Shengdan opera, with heavy singing and light acting, and more literary operas than martial arts. It refines and creates some new performance routines from real life, and borrows and absorbs performance techniques from movies and dramas to form a free and flexible style. Popular yet delicate, with a realistic performance style.
Character professions
Originally divided into 10 major professions: Mo, Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou, Wai, Xiao, Fu, Tie and Za. In the future, the professions became more and more numerous. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, according to the customary arrangement of "theatrical positions", they were: Wusheng, Xiaowu, Huadan, Zhengdan, Zhengsheng, Zongsheng, Xiaosheng, Gongjia, Dahuamian, Erhuamian, male ugly, female ugly, in addition There are also Wudan, Fudan, Liufen, Lala, Five-Function Tiger, and Men. In fact, the troupe only valued the five elements of Wusheng, Xiaowu, Xiaosheng, Huadan and Chou, and the other professions became secondary.
武生:
Also known as Xu Sheng, similar to the old student in Peking Opera.
Most of the middle-aged or elderly characters who play the beard are important figures in the play, such as civil servants and military generals with status, roles with both civil and military skills. The repertoire of Wu Sheng is mostly in the category of robed armor, with complex scenes, rich performances, and emphasis on martial arts and singing skills. , requiring martial arts students to have solid basic skills, strong waist and leg skills, and moderate and appropriate gestures. For example, when expressing a character's angry mood, one has to kneel down and walk unilaterally with left and right whisker movements, as well as special effects such as "shaking wings", "shaking faces", and "shaking hands". Wusheng is a profession known as "riding the dragon's head" in the troupe, and can be divided into "soft skills" martial arts and "hard skills" martial arts. Soft kungfu martial arts students pay attention to singing, chanting and martial arts performances. They play characters such as Yang Liulang in "Liu Lang Sinzi" and Su Wu in "Su Wu Shepherd". Famous actors include Xinhua, Xinbaicai, etc.; hard kung fu martial arts students focus on waist, leg and kung fu. Kung Fu performance, with characters such as Gongsun Yan from "The Prime Minister of the Six Kingdoms".
Xiao Wu:
Also known as "Bi Tie Wu", it is equivalent to the Wu Sheng in Peking Opera. They play the roles of young and middle-aged heroes, chivalrous knights, and martial arts heroes. They are mostly positive or negative characters in martial arts dramas. Xiao Wu is good at performing martial arts, and he should be good at jumping, jumping, long and short strikes. He also regards Shaolin martial arts as the authentic one and pays attention to the use of "Southern Fist". Complete in one breath and clear in every word. Xiao Wu can be divided into two types: "white-faced" Xiao Wu and "red-faced" Xiao Wu. Red-faced Xiao Wu has a powerful figure and fiery movements. He pays attention to martial arts and the use of his eyes. He plays characters such as "Ma Fulong Selling Arrows" Ma Fulong, Zhao Yingqiang of "Xihe Hui", etc.; white-faced Xiaowu sings duets without focusing on martial arts, and performs suave and gentle, such as playing the romantic Confucian general Zhou Yu, highlighting Zhou Yu's narrow-mindedness,
Hua Dan:
The roles of young women are played by Hua Dan, who may be noble or humble, civilized or military, righteous or evil. Hua Dan can be divided into Zhengyindan and Erbang Huadan. Zhengyindan mostly plays ladies, famous ladies and heroines, such as Chen Xingyuan in "Two Plum Blossoms", Cui Yingying in "The Romance of the West Chamber", Fan Lihua in "Hanjiang Pass"; Erbang; Hua Dan generally plays cunning and lewd women, such as Pan Jinlian in "Uncle Golden Lotus".
Zhengdan:
Mostly play dignified and graceful female roles, such as Wang Chun'e in "Sanniang Godson" and Bai Suzhen in "Shilin Sacrifice Tower".
Zhengsheng:
Play the roles of mature and prudent scholars, courtiers and emperors. Most of them are positive characters, such as Su Qin in "The Prime Minister of the Six Kingdoms" and "The Jade Emperor Ascends the Palace". The Jade Emperor and others.
Chief Student:
Originally played major roles in some plays, focusing on singing skills, such as Li Keyong in "Borrowing Soldiers from Shatuo Kingdom", Lu Su in "Borrowing the East Wind", etc. , can wear white beards, black beards, gray beards, etc.; later, they gradually turned to supporting roles such as emperors, courtiers, and ministers.
Niu Sheng:
Often plays the role of a gentle, elegant young scholar or bachelor. Sing more kung fu operas, focus on raising the voice, requiring a round and crisp tone, a combination of real and false voices: body movements should be free and generous, soft yet strong. The characters played include Jia Baoyu in "Baoyu Resentful Marriage", Wang Daru in "Wang Daru's Confession", and Lu Mengzheng in "Ping Xue Bian Zong".
Male foot:
Mainly plays the role of an old and kind-hearted positive character, including various roles of high and low. The character he plays is old but healthy, kind and upright. The chanting requires desolation and vigorousness, the words are clear and the pronunciation is clear, sonorous and powerful. The movements pay attention to the use of eyes and facial hair. The characters played are Baili Xi in "Baili Xi Meets His Wife" and Xue Bao in "Sanniang Godson".
Dahuamian:
Also known as "outer feet", they play the roles of powerful ministers, or deceitful and vicious villains, such as Yan Song in "Ten Pieces of Yan Song", "Lian Ji" 》Dong Zhuo et al.
Erhuamian:
Play the role of a loyal, bold, or irritable and surly character. The movements are rough, and the fingers are mostly in the shape of tiger claws. When pulling the mountain, the hands are above the head. Usually, they stand on the side with splayed or T-shaped feet and look straight ahead. The characters they play are such as Wang Yanzhang in "Wang Yanzhang Holding the Crossing" and "Luhua Dang". Zhang Fei in "Jing Ke" and Qin Shihuang in "Jing Ke".
Male Chou:
Also known as "Net Scarf Bian", they mostly play characters with funny personalities and cunning behavior, and are divided into two categories: literary Chou and martial Chou. Wen Chou played characters such as Mr. Guangdong in "Shandong Thieves" and the blind man in "The Blind Man Asks for Rice"; Wu Chou played characters such as Shi Qian in "Shi Qian Stealing Armor" and Jiao Guangpu in "Blocking the Horse".
Female Chou:
Also known as "bamboo shoots" and naughty women, they specialize in playing humorous old women, or dishonest matchmakers, madams, evil housemaids, etc.