Five characteristics of Beijing opera

Although Peking Opera was born in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty, it is not a local opera in Beijing. In the early years of Qing Dynasty, Kunqu Opera and Beijing dialect prevailed in Beijing. Kunqu opera, also known as Kunqu opera, is a popular folk opera tune in Jiangsu Province. Peking Opera is developed from Yiyang Opera in Jiangxi. Here are five characteristics of Beijing Opera that I brought to you. Let's get to know them!

1, comprehensive.

That is to say, people often say that Beijing opera is a comprehensive art, and there are many artistic factors in the whole art of Beijing opera. Including literary music, opera and dance, acrobatics, martial arts, dance beauty, embroidery and so on. , and the integration of various artistic factors, so that they are integrated and complement each other.

2. virtuality.

The emptiness in Beijing opera refers to the truth and falsehood that Beijing opera circles often say. The first is the virtuality of role behavior. For example, riding up the mountain, sailing, going upstairs and downstairs, opening and closing doors, and feeding chickens to drink are all carried out in a virtual way. During the performance, some real props, such as handkerchiefs and fans, are sometimes used, but the whole performance is still virtual. In addition, it is also virtual in scene and time and space. It is often said in Peking Opera: "Three or four people take a thousand troops and take six or seven steps to Qian Shan." This sentence means that there are four walk-on actors on the stage, so you can represent thousands of troops invisibly; When an actor runs several "rounders" on the field, it means that he runs dozens of miles or more. Then there is the virtual technique of spiritual temperament, that is, as long as it is conducive to the performance of characters, you can use actions and pictures that are impossible in real life. This virtual artistic technique makes the performance of Beijing Opera very vivid and vivid.

3. Procedural.

As the saying goes, there is no Fiona Fang without rules. The most important thing in Beijing opera is the rules, and the "rules" here are the procedures. In the art of Peking Opera, there is a set of rules, from the writing of script lines, the handling of scenes and plots, the accompaniment of bands, the design of beautiful dances, to the singing, chanting, action performances, masks, costumes and so on in the performances of actors. Generally speaking, everyone must follow these rules, and it can't be done without procedures.

4. technical.

Beijing opera performance is skillful, and there are certain skills in singing, reading, doing and playing. Many skills need long-term and special basic training to meet the requirements. In the performance of Beijing Opera, if you don't master a set of skills, let alone performing, I'm afraid you will be unable to "walk" even on the stage.

5. entertainment.

Because Beijing opera is comprehensive and technical, it is highly ornamental and entertaining. No matter from the perspective of hearing or vision, the performance of Beijing opera can provide the audience with beautiful enjoyment.

Practice methods of singing in Beijing opera

(A) Beijing Opera Dan Jiao articulation skills

If you want to pronounce words clearly and sweetly, you must find the specific pronunciation part of each word in your mouth. First of all, a word should be fixed in a certain part, which should make the sound broad and bright; Secondly, because of the cadence of singing, it is necessary to use gas tactfully, and it is necessary to have the skills of breathing and breathing. Simply put, it is to collect and release. Articulation is a matter of pronunciation and mouth shape. Although the total * * * song is required to be in a fixed position, due to the limitation of characters, the theme and the secondary * * vibration should be separated. Regardless of these, it is impossible to have a good effect by singing every word in the same way (not in a completely appropriate position). The problem of pinyin is very important for the pronunciation of words, because any word is nothing more than a combination of initials and finals. Because Beijing opera is always dragging its feet, vowels are particularly important here. Sometimes, because of the relationship between mouth shape and position, the mouth shape has changed unconsciously, so the vowels have also changed, which will make you feel that the words are inaccurate and do not rhyme. Here are some ways to practice the pronunciation of words:

1, as soon as the prefix comes out, it will stop. When pronouncing, the mouth should be round, the upper soft palate should be lifted up at the same time, the lower palate should not be forced (viewed from the side, the upper palate is forward, and the lower palate is slightly retracted), the tongue should be relaxed, and the pharynx should not be blocked, and the voice is curved. Take the word "Tian" as an example, first get out of the ladder (Ti sound, circle I sound, vertical word sound, and then transition to overtone ian). The intensity of words will pop up before the exit. If the word is unblocked, it will be weak; if the word is blocked, it will stand. Spelling and enunciation, mouth movements should be fast, delicate and agile; Don't open your mouth too wide. It's more important for Dan Jiao to have a beautiful mouth. After the word comes out, there is a transitional sound in the middle, which is the belly of the word. The transition from middle tone to suffix is called tongmai. From the belly to the end, there is rhyme. For example, the word "city" and "looking at the city" in the song "Mei Lanfang" look for the sound of cha (cha), and then slowly rhyme to the sound of en (um), which is the so-called "if the word comes out, it will return."

2. Get into the habit of exhaling gently when you start singing any sentence or word, and make the voice from light to heavy. This method can also achieve the effect of exercising diaphragm breathing. Light breathing must make the diaphragm move slowly, which will help to achieve the purpose in the above item (1). On the other hand, the sound from light to heavy does not hurt the sound line, making it tired and lasting. If you practice this method for a long time, you can get a loud voice even if you exhale consciously from your mouth without subjective control. At first, you practice slowly. After you master the voice from light to loud, the breathing process will be shortened and the pitch of singing speed will not be affected.

(B) in Beijing Opera, the atmosphere of Dan Jiao.

In fact, the flavor of Beijing opera is the use of "Qi", which is the so-called Tian Dan Qi. The use of breath plays an important role in Beijing opera singing, which is the driving force and support of Beijing opera singing. The rational use of breath is the key to achieve "full of sound and emotion, full of cavity gas" Beijing opera singing should not only exert strength on the vocal cords, but also make the voice elastic, so as to last. This is the tradition of ancient vocal music art in China, and the theory of breath belly actually refers to "the method of controlling breathing with diaphragm". Breathe slowly for a long time, breathe freely, pronounce with the least breath, improve your vital capacity during exercise, and sing with long breath. In the process of singing, I often feel that my breath is not enough, so my voice will gradually become tight and sharp. Breathing through the diaphragm and exerting force on the abdomen will continuously convey my breath upwards, allowing me to control my breathing freely during singing. Generally speaking, the same goal is to control the free delivery of air to the mouth: more is more, less is less. In this way, we can find the most suitable air volume needed to make a sound, and we will not use up all the air unplanned, or be nervous because of uncontrollable exhalation, or even affect the muscle tension near the vocal cords to make a sound.

(3) The singing volume of China Dan's role in Beijing Opera.

* * * Ming is "the key and pivot to amplify the sound, adjust the range, change the pronunciation and beautify the timbre". As a result, enough overtones are generated to amplify and beautify the sound, and the effect is that the song has a beautiful timbre and is pleasant to listen to. Although the key to pronunciation mainly lies in the change of sound, people's mouth and surroundings are a natural cavity, which also has a certain influence on the loudness, width and thickness of pronunciation. Take "the back of the head" as an example, "the back of the head" refers to a singing method in the high-pitched area. When singing, "stabilize the larynx, open the posterior pharyngeal wall, improve the soft palate, and send the sound into the head cavity". Its essence embodies the complementary relationship between singing and singing. In order to pursue a specific sound or sound effect, there will be singing methods to make it appear; On the contrary, the use of singing is to pursue a certain singing effect. The use of qi mentioned just now has basically created conditions for this vibrating part. If the muscles of the whole mouth are relaxed, it is easy to find this position. If you find this position, you will feel that the whole upper head cavity and nasopharyngeal cavity are vibrating at the same time, which is the so-called whole singing. It should be noted here that the only place that cannot vibrate at the same time is the larynx. The best vibration position is in the palate and pharyngeal cavity, and the sound is crisp and round, which is the most accurate pronunciation of Mei School.

The above three skills complement each other and have their unity. Because using the wrong gas will affect muscle tension and mouth shape. If the mouth is wrong, the vowel must be changed. On the other hand, if the mouth shape is wrong, or the vowel can't find a suitable part, it also means that there is something wrong with muscle control or gas use.

Methods of practicing Peking Opera: Similarities and differences between Peking Opera and singing.

1, from the analysis of gas consumption, the biggest similarity between singing opera and singing is that you are not allowed to breathe on your chest, and you are required to suck the gas deeper, but you are opposed to floating on your chest. Singing opera is about "Shen Dantian" and singing that qi should be sucked on the diaphragm. Both singing methods require gas below. Inhale when singing. Leave your chest and inhale a little deeply, but not necessarily as deeply as singing. Because the breath is too deep, it becomes a fixed figure, and the legs can't move, so it can't be performed, and it will affect the singing of Beijing opera.

The purpose, strength and method of singing Beijing opera are not exactly the same as singing. When singing, the breath goes down, which is not only difficult to sing high notes, but also unable to adapt to the characteristics of Beijing opera because it loses its elasticity. In addition, the air supply volume is also different. When singing Beijing opera, the amount of breath to be given should be adjusted at any time and constantly changed in order to play a small tune. This change is quite frequent. The breath of singing is different, it's a breath. Beijing opera needs a lot of air outlets, so the intensity will also change.

2. When singing Peking Opera and singing, you should use the whole song, and it should be changed according to different occupations and voices. Beijing opera has changed more than just singing. Beijing opera itself uses different songs in the same industry, because there is still a genre problem in Beijing opera. Singers are not used to the use of alternating songs when singing Beijing opera, except that the timbre is not enough. Because Beijing opera needs to get rid of the ability to sing at any time, such as singing high notes. Singing bass and old notes needs to be hung on your chest. Because the vocal music theory of singing is very systematic and scientific, Peking Opera should learn from the analytical methods and enlightening means of singing in the application of singing. Because singing Beijing opera, like singing, needs to use various sounds such as head cavity, nasopharyngeal cavity, oral cavity, chest cavity and their mixture. There are many methods, although different, but the content is very close or even exactly the same.

Therefore, learning a little singing, especially its training methods and theoretical analysis, is beneficial to learning and singing Beijing opera.

(1) differences in pronunciation and clarity

Everyone thinks that Beijing opera pays special attention to articulation, but it is not so strict with singing. In fact, it is ok to say that Beijing opera has a unique pronunciation or is particular about words, but singing is also very particular about words. The articulation of Beijing opera is nothing more than syncopation, that is, the prefix is bitten forcefully and for a long time, the phoneme is bitten tightly and slowly, and the rhyme at the end is heavier. It is an indisputable fact that singing requires a more delicate voice than singing Beijing Opera.

In fact, no matter whether singing or singing, good actors are very particular about pronunciation and articulation, although they are all particular about each other. The real difference is that the transition time from prefix to suffix in Beijing Opera is slower and longer, and it takes more time to stay in the first phoneme. The whole process of singing words not only changes quickly, but also sings words in a very short moment, giving people a complete feeling of a word. So, you can listen to songs without subtitles, but watch Beijing Opera with subtitles.

(2) The difference between moistening cavity and decorative sound

Singing opera and singing is one of the biggest differences in ornament and decoration. This difference is well known. It is necessary to distinguish between the vibrato of Beijing opera and the vibrato of singing. (See video) In short, the vibrato in singing opera is relatively stable and the frequency is slightly slow, while the vibrato in singing is relatively strong and the frequency is relatively fast. Although Beijing opera has fast vibrato, it is not lasting.

Secondly, no matter what kind of business Beijing opera is, the interval is mostly smooth and there are no obvious edges and corners when singing. Therefore, solfeggio in Beijing Opera is not stepped, but like a rheostat in Meguiar's Light, and its transition is very small and even. And singing, we must make every voice (unless there is a special singing method with symbolic records) angular and not smooth.

The Artistic Features of Peking Opera

Through the long-term stage practice of countless artists, the stage art of Peking Opera has formed a set of standardized and standardized programs, which restrict and complement each other in literature, performance, music, singing, gongs and drums, makeup and facial makeup. As an artistic means to create a stage image, it is very rich and its usage is very strict. If you can't master these programs, you can't complete the creation of Peking Opera stage art. Just as Peking Opera entered the court at the beginning of its formation, its development and growth are different from local operas. It is required to show a wider range of life, create more types of characters, be more comprehensive and complete in skills, and have higher aesthetic requirements for its stage image. Of course, it also weakens its folk local flavor, and its simple and rude style is relatively weak.

Therefore, its performing arts tend to combine reality with reality, which goes beyond the limitation of stage space and time to the maximum extent, thus achieving the artistic realm of "expressing the spirit with form and having both form and spirit". The performance requires exquisiteness and exquisiteness, and it is everywhere; It is required to sing melodiously and euphemistically, and the voice is full of emotion; Martial arts is not won by bravery, but by "martial arts singing".

technique of expression

The four artistic skills of Beijing opera performance: singing, reading, doing and playing are also the four basic skills of Beijing opera performance.

Singing means singing, and chanting means chanting with music. They complement each other and form a "song", which is one of the two major elements of singing and dancing in Beijing Opera. Doing refers to the body movements, fighting and tumbling skills of dance, which are combined with each other to form a "dance", which is one of the two major elements of the performing arts of song, dance and Beijing opera.

Opera actors should be trained from these four aspects since childhood, although some actors are good at singing (singing to the old age), some are mainly engaged in work (Hua Dan), and some are mainly engaged in martial arts (Jason Wu). But every actor must have four basic skills: singing, reading, doing and acting. Only in this way can we give full play to the artistic characteristics of Beijing opera. Better express and portray all kinds of characters in the play.

Beijing opera is a highly comprehensive art, with singing, dancing, dialogue, martial arts and various symbolic movements.

;