At 19:30 on December 31, 2023, as the beginning of a series of activities for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater Company (troupe), "Seventy Colorful Continuing the Past and Forging the Future—The 70th Anniversary Opera Gala of the Founding of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater Company and the 2024 Cantonese Opera New Year Gala 》Kicked off at the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Art Center, the 703 seats were packed.
Many famous artists have performed more than 600 plays in the past 70 years.
The evening party first played a 5-minute celebration video, reviewing the glorious achievements of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater in the past seven decades. The Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe (the predecessor of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater) was established in February 1953. In May 1956, the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe went to Beijing to perform "Sou Shu Yuan" starring Cantonese opera master Ma Shitsang and Hongxian Nu. After watching the performance, Premier Zhou Enlai praised Cantonese opera as the "red beans of the South" and presented the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe with a book of "Criticism" We should comprehensively accept the national cultural heritage, creatively develop local opera and music, and make the culture and art of the motherland shine with new brilliance." In November 1958, based on the Guangdong Provincial Cantonese Opera Troupe, the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe was established by merging Cantonese opera troupes such as Ever Bright, New World, Dongfanghong, Nanfang, Sunrise, Guannanhua and Guanghua. The first director was Ma Shizeng, deputy director Luo Pinchao, and chief artistic director Bai Jurong. For seventy years, the theater has insisted on being deeply rooted in people's lives and has achieved fruitful results. Over the past seventy years, it has created, adapted and performed more than 600 Cantonese opera plays in more than 30,000 performances. Through the efforts of generations of Guangdong Cantonese Opera Operators, Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater is known as the highest artistic palace of Cantonese opera. Cantonese opera shines here and is passed down from generation to generation.
"The video of the anniversary celebration is full of vivid faces: Ma Shizeng, Hongxian Nu, Bai Jurong, Luo Pinchao, Lu Yulang, Wen Juefei, Lang Junyu, Luo Jiabao, Lin Xiaoqun... In the past seventy years, these The group photo of everyone has allowed us to have the beauty we have now." Zeng Xiaomin, director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre, said in his speech, "Today we share the fruits of 70 years of Cantonese opera art, which is reshaping the development space of Lingnan culture. In this rare occasion, we are rebuilding the development space of Lingnan culture. In the face of great changes in the cultural ecology of the times, and in response to competition and development, we are determined to inherit better, develop faster, and make greater breakthroughs. Innovate works with new concepts, cultivate new people on new stages, and express with new media New voices. Big dramas, big plays, big movies, new ways, new words and new ideas: adhering to the mission is the foundation, innovation is the responsibility of the future."
Zeng Xiaomin, a national first-class actor, winner of the Wenhua Performance Award and the Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award, sang Guangdong and Guangdong The theme opera song for the 70th anniversary of the theater's founding - "Victory".
Later, Lin Xiaoqun, a Cantonese opera performing artist, and Wen Ruqing, leader of the first troupe of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater and a national first-class actor, spoke on behalf of the older generation of artists and young actors respectively, sharing their unforgettable experiences of growing up with the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre, and as a The warmth and happiness of the people of Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre, and I wish that Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater will remain young forever, have numerous talents and be famous all over the world.
70 years of classic opera treasures and art schools have been combined into one pot.
The performance that night was divided into "Prologue", "Famous Arts", "Troublesome Years", "Very Drama", "One Flower and One Leaf", "Thriving", "Eternal Life" and The eight sessions of "Epilogue" combine the classic opera treasures, art genres, cross-border integration and other contents of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater in the past 70 years since its establishment in an upright and innovative way, and are committed to presenting to the audience a performance that highlights the top art of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater Strength, the inheritance and development of the old, middle and young echelons, a grand opera ceremony full of warmth, strength and depth.
A reporter from Nandu saw from the program list that the entire evening party was star-studded, and the performers were all well-known top actors in the Cantonese opera industry today. In addition to Ding Fan, Chen Yunhong, Cao Xiuqin, Liang Yaoan, Jiang Wenduan, Mai Yuqing, and Zeng Xiaomin , Peng Qinghua and other "eight plum blossoms", there are also Guo Fengnu, Wen Ruqing, Lin Jiabao, Li Hongtao, Guo Jianhua, Liu Jianke, Wang Yanfei, Huang Chunqiang, Xian Jiantang, Cen Haiyan, Wu Zedong, Liang Xiaoying (one group), Zhu Hongxing, Qiu Xiaona, Liang There are 16 national first-class actors including Jun Ling and Yan Jinfeng, as well as a group of outstanding young and middle-aged actors on the job, as well as students from the dance school of the Guangdong Vocational Dance and Drama College and children from the Haizhu District Children's Palace.
performs selected excerpts from the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre’s popular and timeless classic plays, such as "Song of the Moon" from "Searching the Academy" in the "Famous Arts" section, "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress", "Baolian Lantern" "The Second Hall Fangzi", "Jing Ke"'s "Zhuang Farewell"; in the "Troublesome Years" section, "Mountain Village Storm"'s "Looking at the Mountains", "Shajiabang"'s "Struggle of Wisdom", "Aspirations" in "Azalea Mountain", "Love in Veils" in "Legends of Lun Wen Xu", "Dream Meeting" in "Mrs. Flower Stamens", "Inscriptions on the Wall of the Garden" in "Forty Years of Dreams", "Flowers" Mulan Camp Tour" and "The Love of Watering Flowers" in "Souls in Pearl Alley"; "Lin Chong"'s "Fengxueshan Temple" in the "Very Drama" section, "Moon Worship"'s "Umbrella Grabbing", "Zhang Fei" Examining Melons" (selected excerpt), "Huang Feihu's Rebellion against Five Passes" (selected excerpt), "The Flowers Are Beautiful" in "Liu Yi's Biography", "The Full Moon" in "Lalang Pei", "Liu Jinding Kills Four Gates" (selected excerpt), and "Thriving and Prosperous" "The Legend of White Snake: Love" (excerpt), "Mrs. Qiaoguo" (bow dance), "Bahe Guild Hall" (excerpt), "Hongsheng Hall" (excerpt), "Zhang Jiuling" (excerpt), " "Red Turban" (excerpt), "Dream Red Boat" (excerpt), etc.
Ding Fan and Jiang Wenduan, two winners of the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Drama, jointly performed the excerpt "Watering Flowers" from Guangdong Cantonese Theater's classic opera "Souls in Pearl Lane".
National first-class actor Wen Ruqing and young actor Su Guojin performed excerpts from the newly adapted Cantonese opera "Zhang Jiuling".
Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award winner Mai Yuqing (middle) and Cantonese opera masters Lam Jiabao (left) and Zhu Rongfa perform the "Battle of Wisdom" in the new Cantonese opera "Shajiabang".
Nandu reporter learned that the series of activities for the 70th anniversary of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater (troupe), in addition to the opera party on December 31, 2023, also include seven consecutive operas from January 1 to 7, 2024. There are "The Legend of the White Snake: Love" which has become popular in both the north and the south, the heart-stirring "The Red-maned Horse", "Selected Works of the Four Great Classics" and "Huang Feihu Returns to the Five Passes", as well as the beautiful and majestic "Guanyin". Love in the Veda Heaven", the ever-changing "Dream Broken Fragrance Sells for Forty Years", and "Legends of Legends" which are full of fun and suitable for both refined and popular tastes. There are endless good plays and exciting ones.
The "Guangdong Cantonese Opera Cultural Center" is expected to start construction in the first half of 2024.
In order to celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater has upgraded the lobby of the theater. As long as theater fans walk into the lobby, they can see a "History" display area of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater with pictures and texts, which "freezes" the major events and classic moments of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater in the past 70 years in terms of "producing people, producing performances, and producing benefits". At the same time, there is also a Cantonese Opera Red Boat Exhibition Area in the lobby, which displays costumes, props, musical instruments, etc. commonly used in Cantonese opera, allowing citizens to get a closer look at the history of Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater and Cantonese Opera culture.
In addition, the much-anticipated renovation and upgrading project of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater complex is expected to start in the first half of 2024. According to Zeng Xiaomin, director of the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theatre, the project is called the "Guangdong Cantonese Opera Cultural Center". Upon completion, it will include an opera cinema, a Cantonese opera small theater, a Cantonese opera experience center and a Guangdong Cantonese Opera theater history museum. The goal is to create a Cantonese opera-themed check-in point. .
It is worth mentioning that the establishment of a cinema dedicated to showing excellent opera films is the first of its kind in China. This is not unrelated to the Guangdong Cantonese Theater’s repeated achievements in the creation of opera films in recent years. Nandu reporters learned that the theater has successively filmed Cantonese opera films such as "The Legend of the Number One Scholar", "The Romance of Liu Yi", "The Legend of White Snake" and "The Lady of Qiao", which has greatly expanded the communication channels of Cantonese opera, and the art of Cantonese opera and film art complement each other. , received widespread praise. Among them, "Legendary Number One Scholar Lun Wen Xu" was nominated for the Best Drama Film Award at the 31st China Film Golden Rooster Awards; "The Legend of White Snake: Love" broke the box office record for opera movies in Chinese film history and won the "Huabiao Award" at the 19th China Film Awards. "Outstanding Feature Film Award"; "Mrs. Qiaoguo" won the "Best Drama Film Award" at the 36th China Film Golden Rooster Award.
Message from famous artists
“Cantonese opera is appearing on the stage of Chinese opera with a youthful and beautiful artistic attitude.The new generation of Cantonese opera performers represented by Zeng Xiaomin, such as Peng Qinghua, Wen Ruqing, etc., form a group of artists with diverse professions, and present artistic works of multiple styles on the Cantonese opera stage, from revivals of ancient southern martial arts to classic operas. There are many innovative interpretations of Bao, especially classic operas that are packaged in a new era to meet the aesthetic needs of the times, such as "The Legend of White Snake: Love", and even online games are adapted into operas, such as "The Decisive Battle of Tiance Mansion", These plays have attracted the attention of young people to varying degrees. This is a surprise that only a young and diverse talent team like the Guangdong Cantonese Theater can bring. ”
——Wang Kui, Director of the Institute of Opera Research at the Chinese Academy of Arts and President of the Chinese Opera Society
“I remember that in the 1950s, I watched “Sou Shu Yuan” co-starred by Teacher Ma Shizeng and Ms. Hongxian in Beijing. , and later also watched Teacher Luo Pinchao perform "Guan Hanqing" in Guangzhou and Xi'an. The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and I like to see that there are already newcomers in the art world. I know that there are many outstanding young talents standing out in the art of Cantonese opera, which is very gratifying. I wish these young talents work hard, forge ahead and achieve good results. I wish the beautiful art of Cantonese opera to stay young forever and create greater glories. "
- Shang Changrong, winner of the "Plum Blossom Award" of the Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award and a first-class actor at the Shanghai Peking Opera Theater
"The audience of the Guangdong Cantonese Theater is not only in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Pearl River Delta. I think the theater company has reached Southeast Asia. Also a darling. Moreover, in recent years, the Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater has taken a lot of steps in the operation of the cultural industry, and there is a lot worth learning from. "
——Wu Fenghua, winner of the Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award for "Second Plum Blossom" and first-class actor of Shaoxing Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe
"I have followed our Guangdong and Guangdong opera on many self-media platforms and even many communication media platforms. Many of the theater's productions, especially "The Legend of White Snake: Love", left a deep impression on me. The White Snake and Xu Xian are both so beautiful. They present the characters in the opera to the audience through a modern freehand technique, which makes our opera attract many young audiences. ”
——Li Xiaoxu, winner of the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Drama and first-class actor of Nanjing Yue Opera Troupe
