On January 5, the 2024 Songjiang District Public Cultural Content Distribution Resource Procurement Review passed the directory and was announced. 68 private theater troupes from all over the country stood out from 253 campaign teams, including 12 Songjiang territorial private theater troupes. "The 68 troupes have a total of 141 plays, an average of 2.1 per troupe, while the 12 troupes in Songjiang have 40 plays, an average of 3.3 per troupe. From a comprehensive perspective, the development trend of Songjiang opera is good." Yun said. Huang Xueyang, director of the Cultural Resources Department of Jianhuitang Cultural and Art Center, introduced.
On January 15, members of the presidium of the Songjiang District Dramatists Association held a preparatory meeting for the performance of "Drama Gathers in Songjiang, Enjoying the Clouds" in the conference room of the Humanities Songjiang Activity Center. Four days later, artists of the Songjiang Drama Association gathered here, young and old, and happily gathered together. Among them, a large number of exciting performances performed by young members and new members were also presented at the annual meeting. "These programs not only include Shanghai opera, Yue opera, and Huangmei opera, which are very popular among Songjiang audiences, but also elegant Kunqu opera and Xinbangtian folk songs with strong local characteristics. They have both local characteristics and contemporary characteristics." Chairman of the Songjiang District Dramatists Association and Humanistic Songjiang Creation Chang Yong, deputy director of the institute, said.
Market shrinkage, brain drain, capital shortage, lack of innovation... On the long and difficult road to revitalization, can Songjiang Opera buck the trend and break out of its cocoon and become a butterfly? At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, Songjiang opera people gave the answer with their actions.
To nourish the heart with art, inherit the opera culture from childhood
html Early in the morning on January 14, Ma Shichun, the leader of the Shanghai Huashui Yue Opera Art Troupe, rushed to the rehearsal hall of the Songjiang District Youth Activity Center. A group of children who love opera have gathered in the rehearsal hall, and 75-year-old Ma Shichun is helping them rehearse the ancient Yue Yun poem "Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum". "In opera performances, every move has a formula, and each formula contains the actor's profound artistic skills." Ma Shichun explained and demonstrated while many parents were holding up their mobile phones to take pictures. In addition to rehearsing for an hour and a half every week, the children have to practice repeatedly following the videos at home every day to keep up with the progress.
In 2016, with the support of Ma Shichun, the Songjiang District Youth Activity Center opened a Yue Opera club with the purpose of selecting "good seeds", cultivating "good seedlings", and gradually cultivating a group of "little flowers" of Yue Opera. In the past few years, under the guidance of Ma Shichun and several other young teachers, the Yue Opera Club has made great achievements. From 2020 to 2023, the Yue Opera Club took home the Shanghai "Little White Magnolia Outstanding Collective Program" and also won the "Chinese Children's Opera Little Plum Blossom" Collection" and the title of "Best Group Program in the Heritage Category".
"Whether children can succeed in their studies depends on their own conditions, and the persistence of parents is also important." Ma Shichun said, "Children drop out every year, but new children are recruited every year. This is normal. I don't expect this. Children can all pursue a professional path in the future, but this experience of learning opera will definitely plant a seed of love for opera in their hearts. If they can understand opera and like to listen to opera when they grow up in the future, this is a kind of inheritance. "
8-year-old Xue Jiayuan has been studying opera with Ma Shichun for more than three years. Xue Jiayuan's mother said frankly that the reason why she brought her children to opera lessons was because they liked it, and because they could get more opportunities to be on stage. "My child has been studying with Teacher Ma since she was more than four years old. During the years of studying drama, she, who was originally introverted, has participated in many performances and won many awards, and her self-confidence has become stronger and stronger." Xue Jiayuan's mother said.
To educate people with beauty, young people are needed to develop the opera industry
The Spring Festival is approaching, and Huangmei Opera actor Yang Shuxing, a "post-90s generation", has an increasingly busy schedule. In addition to attending some annual meetings, she also travels frequently to participate in exchange performances in several cities around the Yangtze River Delta.
Yang Shuxing is a student of Huangmei Opera artist Xu Ziyou and the third generation disciple of Huangmei Opera master Yan Fengying. In ancient times, opera studies emphasized orderly inheritance. Being from a major and studying under famous actors gave her the courage to come to Shanghai to develop her career. In 2014, Yang Shuxing, who was only 24 years old, came to Shanghai from Anhui to develop. In 2017, she founded her own Huangmei Theater Troupe in Songjiang.
“There were quite a lot of performances in the two years when the troupe was first established. In recent years, due to the impact of the general environment, the performance has dropped sharply, but we have to survive first."Yang Shuxing said, "On days when I can't receive performances, I start to go to schools and let students experience the charm of opera culture up close through various forms such as 'lecturing, performing, and teaching'. After class, I also started my own live broadcast, singing Huangmei Opera on the Internet, and now I have about 90,000 fans. But all the accumulation is to have more opportunities to stand on the stage and "sing a big show". "
"Big plays" are not easy to sing, and rehearsals require money. Hu Qian, another Xinsongjiang native, did not choose to wait for opportunities. Instead, she created her own opportunities and used her many years of savings to stage a big play.
Hu Qian graduated from a prestigious school majoring in finance After graduation, she worked in finance for more than 20 years, but she has been obsessed with opera since she was a child. She has never let go of her dream of acting. When she reached middle age, Hu Qian resolutely resigned and switched careers to establish an opera club. Huangmei Opera, Shanghai Opera, Kun Opera, Yue Opera, Hu Qian She can both sing, but her favorite is Huangmei Opera. In 2021, she raised 600,000 yuan of her own money to find scripts, hire directors, composers, and find actors, and she just put together a Huangmei Opera "A Talented Woman in Troubled Times" based on Songjiang historical figures. ”, this is also the first original Huangmei Opera in Shanghai. The simple and smooth singing and lively and delicate performances were well received after the performance. The play was selected as the opening drama of the third Yangtze River Delta G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor Nine Cities Private Theater Outstanding Play Show. .
Gathering people through drama, and building a "hometown of drama" must innovate.
Inheriting opera culture and building a "hometown of drama", talents are the foundation and the audience is the foundation, and these are inseparable from the support of the government. In 2019, Songjiang District The first exchange performance of outstanding plays by private theater troupes in nine cities in the Yangtze River Delta g60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor was held. The second and third performances were held in the following two years, and the fourth will be held in 2024. Shanghai Opera, Yue Opera, Lu Opera, Wu Opera, Xi Opera, Huangmei Opera, Henan Opera, Wannan Flower Drum Opera, and Shadow Play, a total of 9 local operas from the south of the Yangtze River are blooming in the "Shanghai Roots" and "Cultural Cloud" clouds. "We are going to build a good communication platform for Songjiang opera people, and compete with masters on the same stage. Improve yourself. "Yang Yuqing, Chief of the Public Service Section of the Songjiang District Culture and Tourism Bureau, said, "At the same time, we provide certain financial support to private theater troupes through support funds, government procurement, cultural distribution, etc., so as to create a business card of opera culture and promote major private theater troupes. It is developing vigorously and producing excellent works frequently. "
In terms of creation, the Songjiang District Dramatists Association has also worked hard to actively participate in the construction of the "Hometown of Drama". According to reports, in recent years, Songjiang District has successively created and launched the dramas "Lu Ji" and "Dong Qichang", Huangmei Opera "Wanli" "Homeward Bound", Yue Opera "A Talented Woman in Troubled Times", Shanghai Opera "Ding Lady", Wuyin Opera "Green Mountain Testimony" and many other drama works. At the same time, a number of new exhibition and communication spaces have been opened up and created, "Jiangnan Qusheng Memorial Hall" The construction of drama exhibition halls, drama brand construction and exhibition activities such as Xu Linxiang Small Opera Art Exhibition Hall, Ludiaowan Theater Town, and Jiangnan Xinshe Opera have greatly enhanced the reputation and popularity of the "Hometown of Drama".
Source: Shanghai Songjiang
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