The Formation and Characteristics of Huangmei Opera

Huangmei Opera, formerly known as Huangmeidiao or tea-picking opera, is one of the five major dramas in China. Huangmei Opera originated in the rural areas bordering Hubei, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, and originated in tea-picking operas in eastern Hubei and northeastern Jiangxi. Its original form is the tea-picking song of Huangmei, Hubei Province. Around Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, Huangmei Tea Picking Tune, Jiangxi Tune, Tongcheng Tune and Fengyang Tune, which were produced and spread in Anhui, Hubei and Jiangxi, were influenced by Qingyang Tune and Huizhou Tune of traditional operas, combined with folk arts such as Lianxiang, stilts and dry boats, and gradually formed some operas. After a period of development, on the basis of absorbing the performance contents and forms of "Luohanzhuang", Qingyang tune and Huizhou tune, a repertoire with a complete story is produced. In the process of the transition from small drama to this drama, a performance form called "string drama" appeared by old artists. The so-called "string play" refers to a group of small plays that are both independent and interrelated. Some of these plays are "strung together" by events, and some are "strung together" by people. The story of "cross-dressing" is richer than that of a small play, and the characters appear in it have also broken through three small areas: Clown, Xiao Dan and Xiao Sheng. Some old roles in the play need to be played by Zheng Dan, Lao Sheng and Lao Jiao. This created conditions for the production of this play. Huangmei Opera, formerly known as "Huangmei Tune", is a folk opera formed in Huangmei in the neighboring areas of Anhui, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces in the late18th century. One of them gradually moved eastward to Anqing, Anhui Province, and combined with local folk art, sang and spoke in the local language, forming its own characteristics, known as "Huaiqiang" or "Huangmei Tune". This is the predecessor of Huangmei Opera today. The name "Huangmei Opera" was officially put forward for the first time in Susong County Annals (192 1) published in 0/0.

In terms of repertoire, Huangmei Opera is known as "36 major dramas and 72% small dramas". The play mainly shows the people's dissatisfaction with class oppression, the disparity between the rich and the poor and their yearning for a free and beautiful life. For example, The Story of Buckwheat, Guan, Tian Xianpei, etc. Traditional Chinese operas mostly show the life segments of rural laborers, such as ordering barley, spinning cotton yarn and selling buckets.

After liberation, a number of traditional plays such as Fairy Descent, Ma Xu, Luo Afraid, Zhao, Mother's Tears, Three Searches for the State House were adapted successively, and a number of divine dramas such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Historical Drama, Slippery Words, Yutangchun and modern dramas were created. Among them, The Match of Heaven, Ma Xu, Yutangchun and The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have been put on the screen one after another, which have had great influence at home and abroad. Yan Fengying, Wang Shaofang, Zhang Hui, Huang Xinde, Wu Qiong, Malan and Han Zaifen are famous Huangmei Opera actors.

Huangmei Opera has become a famous drama deeply loved by the national audience. Huangmei Opera has a history of more than 200 years. In the early days, it was called Huangmei tune, which was a kind of folk art of "singing and enjoying oneself".