“Beijing opera “Teahouse” used to be our dream. The shocking memory of watching the predecessors perform “Teahouse” for the first time is still fresh. After 23 years, “Teahouse” has opened again today. I am very lucky to be able to participate in it!”9 On the 14th, the Beijing Opera Troupe’s rehearsal drama “Tea House” premiered at Tianqiao Theater. When the curtain was closed, every actor was so excited that he could not calm down for a long time. Wang Yu, who played Kang Shunzi in the play, even had a dream come true. Eagerly sent a few circles of friends.
▶Aftertaste the classics◀
“Inspired the yearning for Beijing opera”
The drama “Teahouse” is familiar to everyone, and the Beijing opera “Teahouse”, which was brought to the stage by the older generation of Beijing opera artists such as Zhang Shaorong, Xu Di, and Sun Ning in 1998, was also highly acclaimed. On the basis of respecting the spirit of the original work, Beijing opera “Tea House” makes full use of the unique rap art methods of opera and the singing voice that is rich in Beijing local music charm to further excavate and present the profound meaning of the opera. The whole play basically retains the style and features of Lao She’s original works. The strong rhythm of the Beijing accent and the rhythm of the stage are relaxed, humorous and profound, and the humor reveals helplessness and sadness. The play won many awards that year, and was staged at the Taipei Theater in Taiwan, China in 2001, creating a precedent for Taiwan to publicly stage Lao She’s works. In the same year, it participated in the third Shanghai International Arts Festival. This time, the Beijing Opera Troupe invited Gu Wei, the original director, and Dai Yisheng, the original composer and art consultant, to be adapted by Wang Xinji, who has a deep connection with Beijing opera.
The wonderful interpretation of the older generation of artists on the stage not only conquered the audience, but also conquered a group of young people. At that time, all the students of Beijing Opera Troupe’s “Class 99” were still studying at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera. This time, Li Yongde, who played Wang Lifa in the play, said that the feeling of watching the Beijing opera “Teahouse” was so shocking, “it inspired us The yearning for Beijing opera has greatly warmed our love for Beijing opera.” Wang Yu, who played Kang Shunzi in the play this time, cried when he saw Kang Shunzi and Wang Li bid farewell to each other. I can’t help myself, “The performances of Teacher Zhang Shaorong and Teacher Xu Di are so wonderful.” However, at that time, they never thought that one day they could stand on stage and perform this play, and they could play their favorite roles.” At that time, I really couldn’t even think about it.”
Wang Yu said that the Beijing Opera Troupe had planned to reissue “Tea House” a few years ago, but director Gu Wei said, “They are not ready yet!” It wasn’t until the previous two years when he talked about the play, Gu Wei let go. “almost!”
▶Extremely lucky◀
“Riveting enough to make a good show”
At the beginning of this year, I heard that the Qu Opera Troupe was going to arrange “Tea House”, and everyone was very excited. But when I took over the role, I was nervous again, “I was so happy and nervous to hear that I was asked to play Wang Lifa. Such a plump character can be said to be a classic in the classics. It is really an actor who can interpret him. Fortunately, the performance level of the drama version and the opera version has been raised too high by the senior artists. I feel that I cannot meet the requirements of the seniors.” In his view, it explains how Wang Lifa’s role clearly performs in different ages and ages. The role of Wang Lifa is a big difficulty. For this reason, he has set different keywords for Wang Lifa of different ages. When he is young, he is handsome, and when he is middle-aged, he is often helpless. When he is old, he must grasp his sad psychology.
During the rehearsal, Gu Wei also said to them that we must do our best to arrange this play. “It is not difficult for you to get out of the shell of this play, but you need to work harder if you want to perform the inner things. “Gu Wei understands that today’s cast of actors and the 1999 version of the actors are not only a little younger, but also completely unfamiliar to the old era. Therefore, during the rehearsal, he asked them to look for the times and the characters. Each role is different. Write biographies. During that time, Wang Yu could obviously feel the unique atmosphere in the crew of “Tea House”, “When you walk into the rehearsal hall, everyone’s hearts are twisted together, and you want to put out a good show.”
The rehearsal was the hottest summer. There was only one air conditioner in the huge rehearsal hall. Although the director said that there was no need to wear clothes, everyone insisted on rehearsing in cotton-padded clothes, cotton trousers, and boots. A big fan cools down the rehearsal hall, “Everyone doesn’t feel tired after joining this crew. Everyday is very exciting. You know this is a dream of our generation of opera performers. No one dares to slack off.” Wang Yu said. Gu Wei was touched by their efforts, but still kept his face straight from beginning to end, hoping that they could work harder.
What’s more rare is that they are accompanied by many old artists. Zhang Shaorong and Xu Di spend a lot of time rap for them, and Director Gu Wei also polishes them bit by bit. At the first performance, everyone was performing in front of the stage. Teacher Zhang Shaorong played the rhythm in the background. At the end of the performance, they shed tears with excitement. When “Kang Shunzi” stepped down, Wang Yu saw a student who was still in the opera class of the Chinese Opera Academy crying in the side scene, as if he had seen himself back then, walked over and touched her head.
At the end of the premiere, Gu Wei was still satisfied with the performance of these young people, but he still didn’t give them a score. He had to wait for them to run into a better state after more than ten games. The play will be performed until September 18. (Our reporter Niu Chunmei)
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