On the evening of April 2, Hebei Bangzi's "Miyun Ten Sisters" with the theme of Miyun Reservoir construction and protection had its first performance after a new upgrade at the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater. "Good to listen to, good to watch, exciting and touching!" The audience was deeply affected by the more than 60 years of historical changes in Miyun Reservoir and the artistic charm of Hebei Bangzi modern opera.
Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" selected the "Ten Sisters Commando" who participated in the construction of Miyun Reservoir in 1958 as representative characters from among the countless characters and deeds worthy of praise that emerged from the construction and protection of Miyun Reservoir. Through the contemporary life of captain Wang Xiulan perspective, looking back at the great achievements in reservoir protection and construction from the beginning of reservoir construction to the present, and panoramicly constructing a vivid epic spanning more than sixty years.
Poster of Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" Photo courtesy of Beijing Performing Arts Group
Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" is produced by the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, produced by Beijing Performing Arts Group, performed by Beijing Hebei Bangzi Theater Troupe, and supported by the Propaganda Department of Miyun District Committee. After its premiere in January and its tour in the suburbs of Beijing in March, the play has undergone all-round "deep cultivation, refinement, and enhancement" from the first creation of the text to the second creation of the stage, singing, music, costumes, etc. Successful new appearance.
This revival has made a comprehensive and refined upgrade to the play, making the whole play more refined, with clearer themes and more fleshed-out characters. On the one hand, screenwriter Wang Yong carefully sorted out the script, deleted and purified it, strengthened the literary nature of the text, highlighted the poetic expression, and made the story of the whole play interlocking, more vivid, touching, compact and smooth. In particular, important scenes and important arias have been rewritten and reset to make the diction more beautiful, the emotional expression more accurate, and the emotional concentration higher. On the other hand, director Li Jie emphasizes polishing word by word, sentence by sentence, and tune by tune, amplifying the different personalities of the characters, and enhancing the excitement of the opera's movements. At the same time, he works with the main creators on stage design, makeup, clothing, shoes, hats, and accessories. A large number of details such as colors are used to enhance the beauty of the stage picture.
Stills from Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" Photo courtesy of Beijing Performing Arts Group
Actors from Beijing's Hebei Bangzi Theater Troupe, represented by Wang Hongling, the lead star of "Ten Sisters of Miyun", performed in the revival, and performed heart-warming, emotional and rational performances. , with the goal of being more fascinating, deeply understanding the characters and experiencing the spirit of the times into stage performance. Wang Hongling said, "It is actually a bit stressful to break away from the traditional water sleeves and hands, eyes, body, method, and steps, and create the character of Wang Xiulan completely from life. Through face-to-face communication with the prototype character Wang Jianhua, and a more life-oriented With the new arias, I can better understand their inner motivation, which is presented on the stage to impress everyone." In addition, in order to make the scene more vivid, the "Small cart, don't make trouble, you can't hold it up day and night" scene of building a reservoir is in full swing. , taking the audience back to that fiery era through the live singing of all the actors. The actors wore loop belts and used a large number of stylized opera action techniques such as skewers, front bridges, and spins to interpret vivid labor scenes. Although the actual trolley was not visible, the metaphor was clear, and the virtuality of traditional opera was fully utilized. Local inheritance and use.
In terms of singing and music, the singing designer Li Shitiao focused on improving the soft and lyrical parts of the play. "Ten Sisters of Miyun" has the heroic fighting spirit as well as the concerns and expectations of the sisters. The premiere version was slightly less soft and beautiful. , "There are ups and downs, highs and lows, so that they can highlight each other and complement each other." The music designer Zhu Weiying deliberately increased the changes in rhythm, and the band arrangement was expanded by one-third compared with traditional operas, and the multi-part melodies are rich and colorful. , highlighting the image of modern drama. While inheriting the old charm of Hebei Bangzi tune, it can also reflect the modernity and fashion sense of modern opera, striving to leave a aria that can be sung for a long time.
Hebei Bangzi, as a national intangible cultural heritage, combines high-pitched and passionate singing with delicate and euphemistic singing. It has won the love of many theater fans with its heart-warming appeal, penetrating power and intimacy.Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" is a modern drama with realistic themes. Although it is not as gorgeous as the costume drama and has long tunes, it is closer to life. Through the creative use of modern technology and innovative development of opera programs, it has shortened the distance with the audience. Theater fans commented that "tradition is useful and innovation is not obtrusive."
Stills from Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" Pictures provided by Beijing Performing Arts Group
The recurring phrase "Mu Guiying fought on this land, and we built paradise here..." was originally "Mu Guiying" when the reservoir was being built. The team song of "British Commando" is also the traditional singing style of Hebei Bangzi. The play incorporates new tunes and big band, multi-part, chorus and other configurations, highlighting the high degree of compatibility between Hebei Bangzi and the plot and characters of "Ten Sisters of Miyun". When the counter-melody "Forgive Mom for taking risks" sounded, from high to low to low-key, when Wang Xiulan, a reservoir builder, learned that her son Daneng's upcoming business had the risk of contaminating the reservoir, she was willing to be misunderstood but still wanted to persuade him. Giving up temporary gains and singing the determination to protect green waters and green mountains.
Hebei Bangzi "Ten Sisters of Miyun" stills Photo courtesy of Beijing Performing Arts Group
"Plum Blossom Award" winners Wang Hongling and Wang Yinghui, national first-class actors Yang Xiuqin and Jin Minhao joined hands with a group of young actors, and three generations of the old, middle and young people in the troupe performed the performance passionately. Not only is the protagonist a hit every time, but the other characters also have distinct personalities that are impressive, demonstrating the vitality of the troupe's vigorous heritage. Just as in the play, the three generations of Wang Xiulan, her son Daneng, and her grandson Shuiqing all protect the Miyun Reservoir in their own way, the Hebei Bangzi actors are also using their own efforts to inherit and develop the drama, presenting a series of "stand-alone and legendary" plays. A work that can be opened and sung loudly.
Stills from Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" Photo courtesy of Beijing Performing Arts Group
Once upon a time, more than 200,000 builders from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei worked day and night to achieve the goal of "blocking floods in one year and building it in two years" for large reservoirs, creating a A miracle on earth; now, Hebei Bangzi's "Ten Sisters of Miyun" will conduct a tour of more than 10 shows in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region for a period of more than 60 years, once again telling the story of the people's epic of Miyun Reservoir for more than 60 years. Huang Zaimin, the artistic director of the play, said, "Miyun Reservoir is a very important event in history, which promotes the spirit of the times and builds a bridge between the past, present and future. I hope that "Ten Sisters of Miyun" can infect everyone and bring this spirit to the world." "Continue."
Dong Ning, deputy general manager of Beijing Performing Arts Group and producer of the play, said, ""Ten Sisters of Miyun" is a major creation of Beijing's realistic-themed stage play in the new era. It is an inheritance and development of Hebei Bangzi Opera. It is our responsibility and mission as literary and artistic workers to express and extend the spirit of the times and inspire more audiences.”
