A successful attempt of an original folk musical
——The story behind “The Flower and the Trumpeter” winning the Wenhua Award
Guangming Daily reporter Wang Jianhong Zhang Wenpan Correspondent of Guangming Daily Yang Yunjie
Do you still remember the Red Army trumpeter on the cover of American journalist Edgar Snow’s book “The Red Star Over China”? This photo was taken on the city wall of Yuwang Fort in Tongxin County, Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
With this as the background of the story, Ningxia Performing Arts Group Song and Dance Theatre created the musical “Flowers and Trumpeters”. At the 13th China Arts Festival held in September this year, the musical won the Wenhua Award, the highest government award for stage arts in China.
“Hua’er and the Trumpeter” tells the story of the Red Army trumpeter Li Ruijin who was injured in battle. He recuperates at the doctor Bai Yuanze’s house in Liupanshan District. He got acquainted with his daughter Huaer through music. After being discovered by the enemy, the two struggled to cope. A touching story of giving their young lives to save the common people.” Wang Xiaoying, vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association, national first-class director, and chief director of “The Flower and the Trumpet” excitedly told reporters that this is the first time the Wenhua Award has been awarded to the reporter. The musical is an attempt to tell the story of the Long March with a folk musical.
Small troupe prop up big repertoire
“We want to use an original national musical to show the deep affection of the army to love the people, the people to support the army, the family of the army and the people, as well as the ideals, beliefs and emotional journey of the Red Army soldiers on the Long March.” Chen Liyun, director of the Song and Dance Theater of Ningxia Performing Arts Group, said.
But when it was proposed to create the play, the whole group was in an uproar. At that time, the troupe was not only completely inexperienced, but also had no funds and no actors, making it difficult to perform normal rehearsal.
A qualified musical actor must have the skills of vocal music, dance, performance and lines at the same time. The troupe initially recruited actors across the region, and many came to apply, but few stayed. “Those who can dance can’t sing, even those who can’t sing, and those who can sing but can’t dance well. There are a lot of jokes in the performance. In short, I can’t pick an all-round actor.” Chen Liyun said.
In the end, the troupe had to pick out a group of potential actors and start training them for a long time.
“The training before the shooting is often exhausting, and everyone is out of breath and sweating profusely, and the performance requires a set of dances to be completed, and then a section of singing starts immediately. It is particularly important to adjust the breath and lift the spirit.” Li Ninggang, who plays the trumpeter At first, he played multiple roles, switching back and forth between the company commander, the horse bandit and the Red Army, and often performed a pas de deux with a companion who weighed more than 100 pounds.
Actors exercise and improve themselves through a lot of singing, dancing, and acting training, finely honing every line, every emotion, every movement, and even every subtle expression. After systematic training, the actors not only made up for their shortcomings, but also raised their spirits.
“Actors must integrate into the characters, integrate into the plot, deeply grasp the psychology of the characters, and act well and lively, so that the audience feels that you are the person in the play, not the actor.” Former director of Shanghai Opera House, “The Flower and the Trumpeter” ” said executive director Xin Honghai.
“Imported products” into Chinese rhythm
“Musicals were born in European society in the 19th century. As an imported product, the problem of incompatibility has plagued everyone for a long time. To make a musical with Chinese characteristics, we must solve the problems of localization and nationalization.” Wang Xiaoying said that these Over the years, people in the industry have been trying to launch original ethnic musicals on the basis of learning from and absorbing the experience of Western musicals, telling ethnic stories in the form of musicals, conveying national emotions, and showing Chinese charm.
“Flower and Trumpeter” uses Ningxia minor, Shanhuaer and other music as material, combines opera, classical music, pop music and other means, adopts solo, duet, lead singing, chorus, trio, multiple singing and other singing methods to bring Ningxia “” The ingenious integration of Hua’er and Jiangxi folk songs enriches the form and content of the music. In particular, the original “Mountain Flowers” in the Liupanshan area before the opening, with regional characteristics and ethnic customs, attracted applause from the audience.
“Every character has a musical image, which is expressed through singing on the basis of the content of the lyrics and the melody of the music. Hua’er’s innocence and courage, Ruijin’s ambition and firmness, Master Ma’s gentleness and insidiousness, etc. The tone and mood are very particular.” Xin Honghai said.
Mainly based on drama, carrying the story, the dance of the musical is also very important. “Dance is for the advancement of the story, not the stage display.” Xin Honghai said that everyone has been trying to integrate localized and nationalized dance into this national musical.
In the end, the dances in the play are based on national folk dances, and the “shattering heads” and “quending steps” with national characteristics and the “foot dancing” at the foot of Liupan Mountain fully reflect the regional customs. The elements of modern popular dance are interspersed among them, which fully reflects the dance characteristics of musicals.
The subtleties show off stage skills
A good show never tires of making changes, repeatedly scrutinizing the best products. The craftsmanship after each performance is even more “common”.
“There have been more than a dozen changes to the plot, structure, aria, dance, performance, etc. In the past, many complete arias were adjusted and deleted to speed up the progress of the plot and make the rhythm more compact. The removed arias can be combined to perform a small play. .” Xin Honghai said with a smile.
“How can the organized and disciplined Red Army troops stay with the soldiers at will?” After the plot was completely finalized, the experts invited by the troupe from the troops questioned this detail. This is a bolt from the blue! This problem has never been noticed before. This modification affected the whole body. The director team held a meeting overnight to discuss it. In the end, it was set that the bugle was blown up during the battle, and was later picked up by the children of the village sheep herding.
In the past five years, the Ningxia Culture and Tourism Department has organized seven expert forums and invited well-known domestic experts to conduct demonstration and guidance. The main creative team has integrated the opinions and suggestions of experts and audiences, and has repeatedly polished the entire drama to continuously improve its ideological, artistic and ornamental qualities.
Not long ago, as one of the 39 final evaluation works of the 17th Wenhua Awards, the play appeared at the Poly Grand Theater in Hengshui, Hebei Province. The high-pitched “Hua’er” voice, the enthusiastic folk dances, the passionate and loud bugles, the affectionate hymns, and the vivid scenes infected every audience at the scene. When the actors called the curtain, the applause lasted for a long time.
“This award is the best compliment to us. The play has been polished many times, and it is inseparable from the key support of national projects, the strong support of the leaders of relevant departments in Ningxia, and the hard work of the main creative team artists and cast members.” Chen Liyun said. , even if we won the Wenhua Award, there is no reason to relax, we will continue to work hard and climb the peak.
“Guangming Daily” (October 31, 2022 08 edition)
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责编：徐皓 ]