Hengzhou ancient painting opera

Hengzhou ancient painting drama is a kind of local traditional drama that spreads in Hengyang, Hunan Province. Its predecessor is the lanterns in Hengyang, Hengnan, Leiyang and Changning, the ancient painting lanterns in Hengshan and Hengdong, the ground flower drums in Youxian and Chaling, the lanterns in Anren, the lanterns in Yongzhou and Jiangyou. 1982, when compiling Hunan Volume of China Dramas, after expert argumentation and consultation, the ancient painting dramas popular in southern Hunan were collectively called Hengzhou Ancient Painting Drama, thus becoming the most important ancient painting drama in Hunan.

Hengzhou ancient painting drama originated in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, formed in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty, and gradually formed on the basis of Lantern Festival, tea picking and Nuo dance, with a history of more than 560 years. In terms of artistic features, its vocal cavity is dominated by "Suona brand" and "Chuanzi tune", and the stage language of the performance is generally Hengyang dialect. The characters in the play are mainly Xiao Sheng, Xiaodian and Clown, and the music is famous for being active, cheerful, high-pitched and passionate, full of enthusiasm, singing and dancing, with strong folk songs.

There are more than 300 traditional plays and new plays of ancient paintings in Hengzhou, which mainly include three aspects: first, based on folk life, reflecting labor and love life, such as grinding bean curd, Shaking, double picking lotus flowers, seeing off cousins, pretending to be crazy and selling stupidity, quarreling and so on; The second is to persuade bad habits. Second, it is based on myths and legends, or stories in paying sacrifices to the gods, such as the iron bridge, the big plate cave, and the four immortals descending to earth. Third, the traditional repertoires of local opera or shadow play and puppet show are absorbed and processed by artists, such as the story of Yang Chunlong, the brick-patting brother, the bee, the five rats making trouble in Tokyo, selling silk shoes, stealing family and losing sisters, etc.

Hengzhou ancient painting drama has the following basic artistic characteristics:

First, the dependence on folk customs. Such as "grinding bean curd" and other plays show strong regional folklore.

Second, a relatively fixed repertoire has been formed, such as Xi Yingmen.

Third, it originated from the inheritance of classical opera. The ancient paintings in Hengzhou inherited the artistic features of Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera and other classical operas, such as stylization and virtualization of performances.

Fourth, the performance is mainly aimed at the "three small" camp, which constitutes a unique popular beauty. Its simplicity, simplicity and conciseness are especially suitable for performing in rural areas.