Characteristics of Yue Opera

Any drama has a development process from immaturity to maturity. The development track of the performance art of Yue Opera and the formation of its performance style can be roughly divided into three important stages.

This is a stage before the reform in the 1940s. Someone once compared the situation of a drama stage to the hunger of a baby, saying that she was "born with congenital deficiency before birth and lacked milk after birth". This is a comprehensive statement, quite vivid. According to the memories and records of the older generation, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the first generation of Yueju opera actresses, represented by Shi, Zhao Ruihua, Wang, Xiao Dangui, made many explorations and improvements in art, which greatly improved and developed their performances compared with those of men's classes. However, due to subjective and objective reasons and historical conditions, the women's Yueju opera on the Shanghai stage at that time was basically a "curtain play" and a "roadshow" without scripts and accurate words. According to the master's simple storytelling and knowing a plot, actors can improvise and play freely on the stage. Sing more and perform more, and say "bend" backstage; Sing less and act less, and shout "Malay" backstage. The play can be long or short, things can go up or down, and the rhythm can be tight or loose. The actors are very casual on the stage, and the exquisite living habits in the period of "sitting and singing" are still very strong. The stage movements are extremely simple, and the performers are rough and conceptual. When crying, the sleeves are three inches away from the eyes, only crying, not moving feelings; After crying or singing in the middle, the actor can take the teapot from the inspector to drink water to moisten his throat, spit and clear his throat, and even whisper. During the performance, you can simply apply some Beijing opera programs, or copy life movements in a naturalistic and formalistic way, with lyrics. Therefore, when you cry, just put some soap on the corner of your eyes and wipe it when necessary; Poor students simply wear shoes on stage; When playing a beggar, he painted eye defects in the corners of his eyes and snored under his nose; Playing a pregnant woman with a big bag on her waist, in addition to these early inevitable rough stage performances, there are also many yellow, horrible and unhealthy performances in such bad dramas as Zombie Yue Bai and River of Yin and Yang.

Being in the "isolated island" of Shanghai, where ethnic contradictions and class contradictions are increasingly acute, facing the bad habits that can be seen everywhere on the stage of Yue Opera, the question of how this young opera survives and how to develop and grow is historically placed in front of the seriously thinking Yue Opera workers. Yuan Xuefen, a sister of Yue Opera, is determined to break out of the old art world with a strong sense of responsibility for society and career. When Yuan Xuefen first loudly put forward the method of "I will perform unless I change", she took the lead in saying so and doing so. In order to reform, Yuan Xuefen took the initiative to reduce his sponsorship of the performance reform of the new Yue Opera; In order to reform, she and her sisters in Yue Opera are on guard against the damage and persecution of the boss's hooliganism and reactionary rule, and oppose to compromise and bow to the evil forces at home. In order to reform, they tried their best to study sister art and brother drama hungrily. They reached out to Beijing opera with one hand; Kunqu opera and other ancient operas; Contact with new literature and art such as drama and movies, widely adopt, melt and absorb, slowly nourish and enrich yourself and make up for the shortcomings. It is for this reason that traditional Chinese opera and Kunqu opera are called "adoptive parents" or "two wet nurses" in Yue Opera. This stage is also the stage of reform in the 1940 s, which is often said in the Yue Opera circle.

Of course, it is impossible to be very clear from the beginning about how to change and what kind of reform this spontaneous stage will be. Therefore, reflected in artistic expression, there will inevitably be a lot of mechanical imitation and mechanical copying. For example, the improper movement of Kunqu opera once made it difficult to reconcile the movement and singing; In order to learn drama, they also canceled the beautiful sleeves and replaced them with short and wide sleeves, which affected the unique dance beauty of their own drama; They once moved the piano into the band, so that some actors could hardly take a step when they came on stage, and so on. However, no matter how many detours have been taken or how many jokes have just passed, the pioneers of Yue Opera innovation are bent on transforming the old Yue Opera into a new one that meets the needs of the times. They strongly demand that the bad things in the old Yue Opera be eliminated, and hope that the new Yue Opera will become a serious, decent, beautiful and healthy art, which can play a "high platform education" role for society and people. It has good intentions and valuable spirit. Therefore, in the reform, they can pay attention to absorbing while learning, and improving while changing. For example, Yuan Xuefen, who advocates innovation, is very open-minded in her performance, learning beautiful dance and program skills from Kunqu Opera, an ancient and elegant drama, in order to enhance the aesthetic feeling of Taiwan Province Yue Opera performance. At the same time, she pays special attention to drawing nutrition from progressive dramas and excellent films and learning their realistic expressions. She has seen several plays praising Wen Tianxiang's noble national integrity. She watched and studied many progressive films, such as Madame Curie and La Traviata. Her upright and tenacious character, coupled with her unique artistic views, made her give up tedious and false graphic movements and rough and vulgar artificial performances very early. What she pursues tirelessly is simple, noble and delicate realism and deep, implicit, beautiful and elegant artistic beauty. For example, when Yuan Xuefen performed the patriotic poet Lu You's love story "Broken Heart", she skillfully applied the pause of Mrs. Li Cheng's inner shock and grief after hearing her husband's death to Tang Huixian: when her aunt blamed her for breaking off her love with Lu You and ended decisively, Yuan Xuefen first showed Tang Huixian's extreme consternation and pain as if she had been struck by a huge lightning strike with a heart-wrenching silence; Then, holding her breath and suppressing her sadness, she moved the catwalk disconsolately and walked half a circle; Then, suddenly, she saw the wooden fish on the prayer platform. Suddenly, she couldn't help but jump on the prayer platform and trembled and lifted the wooden fish that would be her life's destination from now on. First, she looked at it with sadness and patience, and then she let the crying surge like the tide. This gripping pause, like the reverse stroke in calligraphy, contains powerful momentum; It's like leaving a blank in a painting, leaving a grand artistic conception. This novel and original realistic performance, which wants to promote the old and suppress the old, not only digs up the complex feelings of the characters, but also ties the heartstrings of the audience's anxious expectations with explosive momentum, making it closely combined with the emotions of the people in the play, which has strong artistic appeal. This unprecedented innovative performance was really refreshing at that time. No wonder old actors and audiences still admire them. Yuan Xuefen's innovative demonstration has further promoted the neighbors who are also trying to explore new performance paths. Other members of the "Ten Sisters" of Yue Opera, as well as many independent pillars, have also established a system of directing and editing, updated their repertoire, and gradually embarked on the road of realistic performance in seeking beauty and truth in the reform. Innovative spirit has injected new blood into this young drama, opened up a new road for this young drama, and finally opened up a new situation for the performing arts. Therefore, as early as 1946, Comrade Tian Han confidently predicted that Yue Opera "will be divided into three parts: peace drama (that is, Peking Opera-the author) and drama". This cannot but be said to be far-sighted.

However, it was after the founding of New China that the performing arts of Yue Opera were truly integrated with choreography, guidance, sound and beauty, thus making it truly form its own unique style.

Since the founding of New China, the Party's literary policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom, bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new" has illuminated the way forward for Yue Opera, and made the spontaneous reform enter the conscious reform. In the down-to-earth efforts of "changing people, dramas and systems", a number of operas have grown rapidly in business; A group of writers and artists who directed, recorded and scripted in the United States further enriched the team. Since the new arrangement of butterfly lovers, a number of outstanding traditional plays, historical dramas and new historical dramas have entered the stage with a new look. Therefore, after the East China Opera Concert and the National Opera Concert in 1950s, Yue Opera gradually expanded its influence, won more audiences, and developed from a local opera to a national opera. Since 1955 visited the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union, Yue Opera has moved from the China stage to the world stage. Therefore, this young drama can broaden its horizons, improve its level, further develop its own expertise and finally form its own unique performance style through continuous artistic practice.