Li Mei: Qin Opera art in the new era should be closer to the times
2022-06-18 15:15:39Source: Xi’an News Network
She is well versed in Qin Opera, Meihu, Wanwan Opera, etc., and has starred in dozens of large-scale and excellent plays such as “The Late Blooming Rose”, “The Big Tree Moves Westward”, and “The Red Plum Fate”. Beautiful and solid, she has won the “Plum Blossom Award” and “Wenhua Performance Award” in Chinese dramas twice, and the “Magnolia Protagonist Award” in Shanghai drama three times; she is an excellent actor and the “head of the Qin Opera Academy”. “, the continuous “artist” and “inheritance” of Qin Opera art – she is Li Mei, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Shaanxi Academy of Opera, and a famous opera performance artist.
In the hot atmosphere of the 9th China Qin Opera Festival, the reporter recently conducted an exclusive interview with Li Mei, to perceive the years of her life devoted to the cause of opera for more than 40 years, and to listen to her “keeping the people and the times of opera” The original intention of opera and the path of adherence.
Reporter: Looking back on your career in art, how did your artistic life begin? How to go to glory?
Li Mei: My relationship with Qinqiang was a coincidence. When I was a child, learning opera did not cost money, and it was also subsidized. At that time, the situation at home was special. There were three younger siblings under me. In addition, when I was a child, I loved singing and dancing. I was regarded as a “little capable person” with “multi-talented talents” in the school. Therefore, sending me to study drama when I was young was a relief for my parents. An important way of burden, and thus embarked on the road of art. And it has been more than 40 years since we went all the way.
When my father brought me to the Shaanxi Opera Research Institute to sign up, I only knew that I was going to study art, but I didn’t know it was to learn to sing Qin Opera. Although I was fortunate to be selected by “one out of a thousand” after passing five trials and killing six generals, the pressure of talent pooling, the hardships of training, and the gap between dreams and reality once made me doubt my original choice and persistence. When I graduated, I had the opportunity to play the leading role in “Yang Qiniang” and performed more than 60 consecutive performances. After that, according to my own conditions, the teacher rehearsed traditional plays such as “The Regret of the West Lake” for me, which was well received by the audience.
In the 1990s, my first modern play, “Leave True Love,” portrayed a female entrepreneur in a wave of reform. How to shape a 40-year-old businesswoman, I not only lack such life experience, but also overcome the inertia of traditional opera performance thinking and the immaturity of modern opera performance. During the performance, with the help of the director, I read the script repeatedly, carefully figured out the psychology of the characters, carefully captured the characters’ personalities, carefully pondered on the performance, and carefully handled the singing. Next, I not only successfully completed the characterization of this play, but also made a major breakthrough in my performance, winning the “Plum Blossom Award” in one fell swoop.
The performance of my second modern drama, The Late Blooming Rose, sparked discussions among dozens of college students about their outlook on life and values. , and won all the awards in the Chinese drama category, including the 2005-2006 National Excellent Stage Art Project “Top Ten Excellent Plays”, and the first National Ministry of Culture “Excellent Reserved Play Award”. And I have also grown and matured continuously during the nearly 1,000 performances of “The Late Blooming Rose”. In the end, with Qiao Xuemei’s successful shaping, I won the “Second Plum” Award and the Wenhua Performance Award in my artistic career. Shanghai Drama Magnolia Protagonist Award, China Drama Award Performance Award.
When I entered the golden stage of my artistic life, I ushered in the creative task of “Moving Westward Trees”. Meng Bingqian in “The Big Tree Moves West” is a very challenging role. The first challenge lies in the defamiliarization of the themes of high-level intellectuals in opera, and the overall performance lacks empirical basis. The second is the span of 50 years, which brings enormous difficulties to an actor to shape a character. But the more challenging it is, the more it can stimulate the creativity of an actor. The shaping of the character Meng Bingqian has allowed me to achieve a greater breakthrough in performance art.
In 2019, I ushered in the 40th anniversary of my art career. This year, with the young and beautiful lineup of the Xiaomeihua Qin Opera Troupe, I launched the traditional Qin Opera drama “Renewing the Love of the Red Plum”, which won the 29th Shanghai Magnolia Drama Performance Art Award in one fell swoop. Organizing Committee Special Award. When I stood on this familiar stage for the third time and held up this heavy trophy, in addition to being filled with deep gratitude and infinite awe, what I felt more was the heavy responsibility and responsibility on my shoulders.
Reporter: In your opinion, as a Qin Opera performer, what is the original intention that you should keep to Qin Opera art? How did you stick to this original intention in your long-term stage life?
Li Mei: In my more than 40 years of opera performances, I mostly played ordinary characters. This creative experience has shaped my strong people’s character, and the thought of rooting at the grassroots and serving the masses has always guided my practice. In recent years, I have starred in many plays such as “The Rose that Blooms Late”, “The Big Tree Moves West” and “Love of Pride Yang”. The responsibility of the elder sister, the unrepentant dedication of the intellectuals taking root in the west, and the selfless feelings of the revolutionary martyrs are all writings to the common people and singing of people’s nature. The performance of “Late Blooming Rose” sparked dozens of discussions on values and outlook on life that year. “Big Trees Moving Westwards” has been selected for the “Elegant Art Entering Campus” activities of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Finance for three consecutive years, and has toured more than ten colleges and universities across the country. From knowing oneself, seeking oneself, realizing oneself, to sacrificing one’s ego and fulfilling one’s magnificent life, “Love of Pride Yang” demonstrates the lofty character of the Communists’ adherence to ideals and beliefs, and is widely welcomed.
Reporter: The Qin Opera Art Festival was held in Xi’an. The Academy of Chinese Opera has presented a lot of good plays to the audience. What are the principles and paths we have used to create traditional operas such as Qin Opera over the years? In your opinion, how should Qin Opera art better enter the contemporary audience and stay close to the times in the new era?
Li Mei: In the new era, Qin Opera art should better enter the contemporary audience and be close to the times. On the one hand, keep up with the pace of the times, walk in the same direction with the party, keenly capture the development of the times and the needs of the people, so as to achieve the purpose of recording the times with plays and praising the people. On the other hand, always put the people in the highest position in the heart and insist on performing for the people.
Over the years, the Provincial Academy of Opera has always been adhering to the essential attributes of public cultural services, based in Shaanxi, radiating the whole country, and taking “multiple performances” as an important indicator to measure the development of theaters. In the urban market, the theater has insisted on carrying out the “Qin Opera every day in Xi’an” activity for 15 consecutive years, with a total of more than 4,000 performances and more than 100,000 free tickets for migrant workers; There are more than 600 performances on average; on the national platform, we also actively practice the “going out” strategy of Shaanxi culture, convey the voice of Shaanxi, and promote Shaanxi culture.
In recent years, under the influence of the epidemic, the Xiqu Research Institute has turned the “crisis” into a “new opportunity”, using the Internet and multimedia to actively develop online performance channels, and has gradually formed a new online and offline performance format. In addition to continuing to build our “Qin Opera every day in Xi’an” performance brand, while doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, we still insist on performing well for the people. There are also online simultaneous live broadcasts of new dramas, and various online high-quality drama exhibitions. In addition, we also hold a series of commemorative performances in conjunction with important time points such as the centenary of the founding of the party, the Spring Festival, and the National Day.
Reporter: What significance do you think the holding of this art festival has on the development of Shaanxi Qin Opera and even traditional opera culture?
Li Mei: The China Qinqiang Art Festival is held in Xi’an for the third time. On the one hand, it uses this platform to showcase and test the outstanding achievements of the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s Qinqiang in recent years. On the other hand, the theme of the 9th China Qin Opera Art Festival is “the festival of Qin Opera, the people’s festival”. As the spiritual and cultural symbol of the people of the five northwestern provinces, Qin Opera has a solid mass foundation. This grand event will surely further guide Qinqiang art to write and sing for the people better, and will also provide a strong impetus for the high-quality development of Qinqiang art in the new era.
Zeng Shixiang, an all-media reporter from Xi’an Press