Text/Lohan
165438+1October1July saw a special performance of Shaanxi Opera at Maxim's Theatre, including a play called "Zhong Kui Marries a Sister". I have watched it more than three or four times since it was first released last year, and each time has left a profound impact on me. When communicating with some opera fans, I found that many viewers didn't really understand the play. I think it is necessary to talk about my personal superficial understanding of the play in order to share with you.
? "Zhong Kui Marries a Sister" tells the story of Zhong Kui, a son from the countryside, who went to Beijing to try. On the way, he strayed into a ghost hole and became ugly. Scientific research has been successful. As a result, Gong Kao was surprised and lost his fame. In a rage, he ran into the steps and died. Zhong Kui's good friend, Du Ping, was brave and took out a silver coin to help Zhong Kui have a try. After Zhong Kui's death, he gave Zhong Kui a grand funeral. After Zhong Kui became the ghost king, in order to repay Du Ping's kindness before his death, he took the naughty five ghosts home and married his sister to Du Ping, thus realizing his wish to marry her. This is the famous "Zhong Kui Marries a Girl"? .
The drama Zhong Kui Marries a Sister includes Beijing Opera, Sizhou Opera, Sichuan Opera, Yunnan Opera and Kunqu Opera. For the first time, I saw the legendary lonely Yuan Zaju and the noisy World Music by Zhong Kui and Zhang Xinqi. He Guishan's masterpiece, as well as all Zhong Kui, are also the characteristics of Tongzhou Bangzi. This is a very beautiful story about ghosts and people in ancient China, and it is also the most tender story, which has been handed down from generation to generation and widely circulated. "Marrying a younger sister in Zhong Kui" has become an important theme in China's painting, drama, film and other artistic fields, and has been widely welcomed by people.
? This is a drama with mixed feelings of sadness and joy, and the joyful scene can't hide the sadness and sadness. Zhong Kui studied hard at the cold window for ten years and lived alone with her sister. He suffered from the cold and warmth of the world and finally became famous, but his appearance was destroyed and he became a victim of the secular society that judges people by their appearances. This is a sad and helpless story that happened on earth. People say ghosts are fierce, but they say ghosts are better than human feelings. It's as if the dead are as green as powder and picturesque as mountains and rivers. In fact, power is treacherous and human feelings are cold.
? Zhong Kui, who failed to become an adult and became a ghost, was ugly, but he was not spurned by the ghost world, and he was also named "General of Town Evil". After becoming a ghost, the first thing to do is to go home and visit my sister Zhong Hua. The jack-o'-lantern flashed, the road ghost cleared the way, and four little devils surrounded him. Along the way, I saw mountains and rivers on earth, beautiful scenery on earth, insects singing and birds singing, peach blossoms and willow blossoms, and the heat was charming. I think I have become a different person and a ghost hero. Seeing that scene, I felt sad and sad, and I couldn't help crying.
Think of my lonely little sister, Zhong Kui anxious to return. Arrived at the door, but difficult to break Zhong Kui. The little sister he cares about day and night is close at hand, but he doesn't have the courage to knock. He was afraid that his ferocious face would scare his little sister. This is the most touching part of the play. Zhong Hua was overjoyed to hear that his only relative had gone home, and went to open the door. She was terrified out of her wits when she saw a ghost standing in front of her. Zhao Kao's brother, who was full of pride and eager to run away from home a few months ago, is now separated by yin and yang and beyond recognition. The two brothers and sisters wept bitterly and were deeply grieved. The desolation and loneliness conveyed by Zhong Kui's Going to the Door, as well as the profound artistic conception that people and ghosts are separated by different paths and yin and yang are separated, are like a serial; His strange accent and strange figure endow Zhong Kui with extreme beauty under extreme ugliness. A ghostly stage, a heartless and affectionate stage ―― Zhong Kui's complex emotions and situations are gathered and focused here. The pure beauty of traditional drama and the beauty of stage programs are displayed in this drama in an unobstructed view, which is also the scene of great joy, great sorrow and inner bitterness that Qin Opera is best at expressing.
? Zhong Kui chose his sister's former friend as her husband and led the children to marry her. On a sunny night, accompanied by drum music, Zhong Kui sent his sister to marry Du Ping. On the surface, this is a typical musical. The dance scene of Zhong Kui and Five Ghosts is like dancing all over the stage. Zhong Kui and the Five Ghosts are also dazzling, and some funny plots are designed to be interspersed in the play. The children are all smiling faces, which makes the audience very excited. Coupled with singing and dancing, it is also a change of people, ghosts and gods, and it is also a real, virtual and illusory scene, which is exciting and intriguing ... The wonderful stage performance is even more refreshing and overwhelming.
? Zhong Kui, played by Song, an outstanding young actor in Gansu, basically conforms to the characters on the stage of drama. Shaping clothes such as chest pads and fake buttocks are characterized by weird and heavy images, rough and charming dancing, and special effects such as fire breathing and tooth punching are also used. Finally, he lifted his chest, shoulders and hips, put on red official clothes and a helmet, erected double-pointed ear hair tufts on both sides of his temples, held a fan in one hand and stroked his black satin thick-soled boots in the other, and lifted his shoulders, just like Zhong Kui's paintings in previous dynasties, just like other operas on the stage. Both dignified bearing, but also a little less martial spirit, in line with Zhong Kui's unique image of ugliness as beauty.
? Song's performance in this play showed me another side of him, and his excellent performance also added a lot of color to this drama. This play is a test of the comprehensive strength of the actors. Watching the fun, it's too difficult to act well. Don't say that there are words in martial arts, and there are joys and sorrows. Even the grasp of the characters' emotions and the performance of their personalities are beyond the grasp of ordinary actors. Shao Feng artistically showed Zhong Kui's body movements. By twisting his shoulders, hips, pinching his arms, shrinking his neck, stretching his abdomen and pouting his hips, he showed a series of dance movements such as Zhong Kui asking ghosts to get on the sedan chair, carrying dowry and carrying lanterns. It not only shows some martial arts styles such as turning over and slapping, but also shows a festive and peaceful wedding atmosphere. At the same time, Zhong Kui was a scholar before his death, but he became like this after his death. The most difficult thing for actors to grasp is how to integrate the two. Shao Feng's handling of characters' emotions and temperament is also in place. Spit fire color, even and full, showing delicate tenderness and sad feelings. It can be seen that the actors don't know how much hardships and efforts they have made under the stage. Zhong Kui worked closely with these kids to form a sculpture, which not only showed a sculpture-like picture on the stage, but also showed the audience Zhong Kui's charming demeanor, literati temperament and resolute character.
? On the whole, Zhong Kui's Qin accent is amazing, accurately grasping the characters' personalities, brilliantly portraying the characters, and making Zhong Kui a good man, a good ghost and a good god full of human feelings. Zhong Kui is also a ghost, a ghost and a god. Zhong Kui is honest, hateful and kind-hearted. Is an artistic image, with distinct nature, and can stand on the stage. The whole play has achieved humorous, unique and elegant artistic effects.
For any art form, we should evaluate it from the perspective of appreciation and objectivity. Similarly, the play is not perfect, which requires the actors to have a deeper understanding of the script and some details need to be carefully polished.
? First of all, Zhong Kui's inner play should be the biggest attraction of this play. To truly create a character with flesh and blood, you must be able to impress the audience from the heart of the character. As mentioned above, the play is funny on the surface (mainly caused by five ghosts), but Zhong Kui is bitter inside, and his performance should be strong and vivid. If the audience understands it and their hearts are heavy, they will not laugh easily, and they will burst into tears when they laugh. In addition, to express the inner feelings of the characters, Qin Opera has always been good at touching vocals and music, but this drama lacks such vocals and music design.
? Secondly, as a drama, the narrative of the drama is too straightforward, and there is no drama conflict and climax. The expressive force of punishing evil and promoting good and pure human feelings is not enough, the emotional portrayal of characters is not deep enough, and the performances of the main actors are not delicate enough.
? Thirdly, this drama is of great practical significance and can be used to lash and satirize the value controllers who judge people by their appearances in today's society. Whether people or ghosts, kindness is fundamental. On the contrary, under those beautiful appearances and values, a dirty inner world may also be hidden, which may be a ghost that harms people. This theme is not prominent enough.
Although Zhong Kui's plays did not become the mainstream repertoire on the stage of drama, they praised ugly faces, kind hearts and upright humanistic qualities because of their storyline and value orientation, and were deeply rooted in the hearts of the audience. Zhong Kui hated evil, and was ordered to eradicate evil in the world, becoming an exorcist in people's minds, and "blessing the sage in the town house". He has always been the patron saint of ordinary people, and I believe he will never quit the stage. (Draft 2018.11.19)