How to inherit and innovate opera?

Author: Mo Bank Hong

Opera is the essence of China's traditional culture, watching and listening to opera once became one of the people's favorite forms of entertainment in a long history. However, in the contemporary society of the 21st century, traditional opera is not very popular in the cultural and entertainment market. Although the state has been giving strong support to the inheritance and development of opera, and although the major types of opera continue to push forward, new operas have come out one after another, it is an indisputable fact that traditional opera is obviously at a disadvantage compared with popular songs, film and television dramas, animated films, opera, online games, etc. in the cultural entertainment market. However, the new Cantonese opera "The Battle of Tianzefu", which came out in 2015, has been a surprise at the box office, and has continued to receive favorable and enthusiastic reviews from the audience for the past three years.

Stills from the Cantonese opera film "Liu Yi Qi Yuan"

"The Battle of Tianzefu" is China's first "Internet + Opera (Cantonese Opera)", produced and rehearsed by Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre, and is based on the 3 D martial arts online game "Sword Art Online 3", on which the production was adapted and created. Reportedly, the creative team aimed to use traditional Cantonese opera culture and art combined with modern and fashionable online game elements to create an innovative Cantonese opera with a positive thinking and martial arts style for a young audience, striving to create a cultural brand with Guangdong characteristics, as well as to attract and cultivate a new generation of Cantonese opera audience. In terms of market results, "The Battle of Tianzefu" has achieved its creative purpose and achieved considerable success. It has reportedly been performed over 30 times in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan and other cities, with more than 50,000 people coming in to watch the show, and a single box office of about 200,000 RMB. This is a very good achievement in the box office of the performance of opera art. From the Cantonese opera "The Battle of Tianzefu", we see the hope of revival of traditional opera, and can also get the inspiration of how traditional opera can be inherited and innovated.

The gradual decline of traditional opera in the market originated from the 1980s, with the rapid economic and social development of the country, the entertainment market has also been developing rapidly, with all kinds of arts and entertainment forms emerging, especially with the development and popularization of film and television dramas, which have been popular and sought after by the people, and have had the greatest impact on the opera market. Over the past thirty years, the opera market has gradually shrunk to the point where the audience is mostly middle-aged and old. Although this is objectively true, we should not be pessimistic and negative about the opera market. Because with the gradual strengthening of China's national strength, the national cultural self-confidence is also gradually increasing. And in recent years, the country has increased efforts to promote traditional culture, in the cultural construction, at all levels of education to increase the popularization and promotion of traditional culture, therefore, the national, especially the new generation of young people on the appreciation of opera must also be gradually improved. Then, the opera market will not fall to the point of "no one asks for it". However, in the contemporary cultural background favorable to the opera, our pear practitioners must "think of danger in times of peace" and do something in order to shoulder the heavy responsibility of revitalizing the opera. Opera practitioners, including playwrights, choreographers and directors, opera actors and so on, how can we make a difference? In the author's opinion, that is to work on the inheritance and innovation of traditional opera.

The inheritance and innovation of opera are one and the same and cannot be divided. Inheritance is to inherit the artistic essence of traditional opera, maintain the artistic characteristics of our opera, and innovate on this basis. For example, China's theater is imaginative and aesthetic, which is different from the Western theater, and this must be maintained and promoted. There is also the traditional opera singing, should also inherit the essence and characteristics, can draw on popular songs or American singing method for innovation, but can not extinguish the characteristics, otherwise it will not become opera. In the cavity innovation, in recent years, such as the popular "Beijing song" and other "opera song" is a very good artistic innovation, which is the combination of opera singing and pop songs, by many audience's favorite and respected.

Innovation, is to maintain the characteristics of the opera on the basis of innovation of traditional opera performance content and art form. On the one hand, the opera should be boldly innovative in performance content and keep pace with the times. Traditional opera, interpretation of most of the emperors and generals, talented and beautiful stories, the expression of the thoughts and feelings of the ancients, although the main theme is to punish evil and promote virtue, but for some of the audience in modern society, inevitably seem out of date, should be more to make up some of the plays and repertoire that can express the lives and feelings of modern people, so as to attract contemporary audiences. Even plays that interpret the stories of the ancients should be grounded in their ideological connotations. the Cantonese opera film The Legendary Scholar Lun Wenxiu, released in 2015, has achieved notable success at the box office and has been well-received by many audiences. Although it is an adaptation of the popular Cantonese opera "Legend of Lun Wensu" in recent years, it conforms to the social psychology of the contemporary audience, depicting the story of Lun Wensu, a "poor student" in rural Guangdong, who is hardworking and thrifty, self-respect and self-improvement, sells vegetables in the daytime and studies at night, and ultimately becomes the top student due to his good character and academic performance, which is quite inspiring for the contemporary young audience, and can be called a youthful inspirational movie in ancient costume. This story is quite inspiring to the contemporary young audience, and can be called a youthful inspirational movie in ancient costumes. Therefore, the adaptation of the traditional opera and new, should be responsive to and performance of modern social psychology, the main theme should still adhere to the punishment of evil and promote virtue, but to make the traditional virtues close to the lives of modern people, to be able to cause the contemporary audience's emotional **** song.

On the other hand, opera in the art form should also be market-oriented, and constantly explore innovation. From the history of the evolution of traditional opera, opera has always been in the process of survival of the fittest, innovation and evolution. Some people in the opera industry express regret that some types of Chinese opera have already disappeared or are on the verge of disappearing, and call for the state to vigorously support them. In the history of China's opera, there was the "Flower and Elegance Controversy", and in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the "Elegance Department" of Kunshan and Yiyang were vigorously supported and protected by the Qing Government, while the local operas of the "Flower Department of Chaos" were vigorously supported and protected by the Qing Government, while the local operas of the "Flower Department of Chaos" were vigorously supported and protected by the Qing Government. Although the local operas were banned and suppressed by the Qing government, they flourished in the folklore, and eventually the "Flower Part" won an overwhelming victory over the "Elegant Part". Therefore, under the modern market economy, practitioners of all kinds of operas and operatic songs should enhance their market awareness and continue to explore and innovate in their art, so as to make operas stand firm in the entertainment market. The artistic innovation of opera can not only work on the script, "singing, reciting, acting and playing", but also combine with modern popular movies, TV dramas, cartoons, online games and other forms of art and entertainment to explore new ways to popularize and promote opera. For example, the new Cantonese opera "The Battle of Tianzefu" mentioned at the beginning of this article creatively combines traditional Cantonese opera with online games. In order to create a Cantonese opera that meets the aesthetics of young people, the creative team of Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre spent a year making many adjustments and innovations, from the packaging of the characters' images to the music, as well as the stage space. During the performance, although the singing and acting movements are still traditional Cantonese opera, the language presented on stage and the traditional cultural barriers have been eliminated, leaving only the dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty's rivers and lakes, and the story of love and hate intertwined with the story, which makes the audience scream for more. Although the play has also been subjected to some skepticism, the artistic innovation of the play is undoubtedly successful in the opera market, and is worth learning from and further exploring.

Guangdong Cantonese opera has also made efforts to explore and innovate in opera cartoons and opera films since the new century. Opera film is a variety of film art that developed rapidly after the founding of New China, but needless to say, with the marketization of Chinese films, opera films are declining. 2004, the world's first Cantonese opera animated film, "Difficult Princess and Emperor's Son-in-Law" opened, and once again, Red Thread Woman brought the Cantonese opera film back to the stage screen. In addition to the Cantonese opera movie "The Legendary Scholar Lun Wenxiu" mentioned above, there is also the Cantonese opera movie "The Strange Fate of Liu Yi", which was released in 2017 and was welcomed by the audience in this year's Spring Festival movie theater openings, and achieved success at the box office. Therefore, the inheritance and innovation of Cantonese opera in its art form is worthy of reference and further exploration and development for other opera varieties across the country. The author believes that the future innovation and evolution of opera, but also to produce new types of theater, traditional opera in the entertainment market in the big waves of sand, to stay must be "gold".

The author believes that as long as the practitioners of opera can face the market, the market survival and competition awareness boldly carry out the heritage and innovation of the art of opera, then the downturn in the market status quo not only can be changed, the opera's new spring will also come. (Mo Bank Hong)

Source: China Art Newspaper