2024-09-29
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where should you go to see a high-level opera in beijing?
chang'an grand theater will become the subconscious first choice for many people. with its history of nearly a hundred years, this theater has witnessed the prosperity and revival of opera art. it connects the history of opera and integrates tradition and modernity. it also builds a cultural bridge, linking china with the world.
today, the xidan intersection is busy with traffic. time has obscured the grandeur of the opera garden. in the past, the chang'an grand theater, which was well-known in beijing, was located on the southeast side of the intersection. chang'an grand theater was built in 1937 and was converted from a warehouse.
at that time, the five characters "chang'an grand theater" had to be read from right to left, and a small blackboard was often used at the entrance to write the dramas performed every day. many famous people have performed here. take an evening performance in august 1943 as an example. that night there were li duokui's "fishing for golden turtles", xiao changhua and ye shenglan's "continuous upgrading to three levels", sun yukun, hou xirui and others' "serial set". ", an excerpt from "royal stele pavilion" co-starring shang xiaoyun, xi xiaobo, jiang miaoxiang and others. the main theme is "second entering the palace" co-starred by tan fuying, jin shaoshan and zhang junqiu, which received overwhelming applause.
after the founding of new china, in the summer of 1950, chairman mao, premier zhou and other older generation party and state leaders appreciated li shaochun and ye shengzhang's "sanchakou" and mei lanfang and liu lianrong's "farewell my concubine" here. chang'an university the theater once again became famous.
the broad and profound peking and kunming art shines brilliantly at the chang'an grand theater.
in the 1950s and 1960s, as soon as you enter the theater, you can see five large photos of artists on the east and west walls. on the west wall are ma lianliang, tan fuying, zhang junqiu, qiu shengrong, and zhao yanxia from the beijing opera troupe. on the east wall are they are han shichang, bai yunsheng, hou yongkui, li shujun and cong zhaohuan from the northern kunqu opera theatre.
the grand occasion of your singing and my debut has influenced several generations of audiences, many of whom later became the mainstay of our country's literary and artistic creation.
for example, wang shiguang, the late famous composer and former director of the central opera house who wrote "song of the yangtze river", was deeply immersed in traditional opera. he recalled that when he was studying at the central conservatory of music, baojia street, where the school was located, was close to xidan. there was the chang'an theater here, and further south, there were guanghe theater and zhonghe theater in qianmen. whenever the masters appear on stage, wang shiguang is always present in the audience. the grace of the famous masters and the rhythm of the opera greatly broadened his horizons and were a major source of nourishment for his future creations.
sun yumin, a famous peking opera performing artist and educator, also has a deep connection with chang'an grand theatre.
she once wrote an article in "beijing daily" and recalled that when she was studying drama at the beijing theater school, she went to the theater every weekend. poor students had no money and could only "play". one time, uncle li, who was checking the tickets, refused to let her in. during the stalemate, two old men came and just nodded and smiled at uncle li and said, "master li, thank you for your hard work!" uncle li replied very politely. "you're here, please! please!" sun yumin asked, and uncle li had to answer that the two people who just entered were the famous actors ma lianliang and tan fuying. sun yumin argued: "if i learn well, won't i be a famous actor in the future? if you don't let me learn, how will i become famous in the future?" uncle li was finally moved by this persistent little girl.
after that, the art of opera fell into a trough, and the chang'an grand theater was deserted and its facilities were outdated. in the early 1990s, the chang'an grand theater was demolished to accommodate the construction of the xidan subway project. in september 1996, the chang'an grand theater, which was relocated to no. 7 jianguomennei street, dongcheng district, reopened, and the sound and drama resounded throughout chang'an avenue again.
the newly completed chang'an grand theater combines classical national architectural style with modern science and technology.
the theater hall is spacious and bright, all inlaid with italian natural marble, and the escalator leads to the second-floor auditorium. the 850-seat theater auditorium is simple and elegant, decorated in ming and qing style. there are 26 mahogany tables and 156 mahogany comb-back chairs in the front area on the first floor; there are also 40 seats for vips in the front area on the second floor. private seats.
the stage design of the theater is advanced. the canopy is 13 meters high and 24 meters wide. the stage is composed of a liftable orchestra pit, a carriage, a lift and a rotating stage. there is also a dressing room in the backstage that can accommodate 100 people putting on makeup at the same time. the lighting and sound equipment are all excellent.
on september 27, 1996, the night of the mid-autumn festival, the drums were beating loudly in the chang'an grand theater. the opening ceremony of the "china chang'an drama culture week" and the opening ceremony of the new chang'an grand theater were launched. beijing's opera performances once again ushered in an exclusive world.
that night, zhao baoxiu and kang wansheng co-starred in "chisang town", yu kuizhi and wang shufang performed "up to the rooftop" and "shaqiao farewell" successively, 77-year-old martial arts master wang jinlu led his three disciples to perform "pick the pulley", shang changrong, yang shurui, tan yuanshou , ye shaolan, zhang xuejin, liu changyu and other famous actors competed to perform with good plays. after mei baojiu's "the drunken concubine" was sung, the atmosphere of the performance was pushed to a climax. flower petals were flying up and down the stage, telling infinite blessings to the theater and national art...
from xidan to dongdan, from shabby faces to new theaters, is the soul of "old chang'an" still there?
zhao hongtao, the former manager of the chang'an grand theater, took the opportunity to ask mr. wu zuguang to inscribe the title of the new play "the legend of white snake" and asked wu zuguang and xinfengxia for advice.
"first of all, the market cannot be low." xin fengxia said. in her heart, "i always know that not everyone can go to chang'an. the audience in chang'an is great, and the venue staff are all of high quality. one day i performed, and the audience kept applauding. i was very proud. after the performance, there was a the waitress said to me, "thank you for your hard work, new boss!" as soon as i heard what she said, i asked her for advice. she told me that your accent is really good, but the better you are, the less you can give. if you have too much, you will be poor. after all, the popularity of art is gone... this sentence made me suddenly realize it and benefit it for life. i am naturally in awe of 'chang'an'."
as xin fengxia said, the "market price" of chang'an grand theater has never been low. deeply cultivating opera, especially peking opera, has always been the foundation of the theater for decades.
at the beginning of the re-opening, the resident dramas "the legend of white snake", "scent of plum blossoms", "forged sword" and "blue waves and golden scales" were staged one after another, warming up the venue and gathering popularity.
later, the chang'an grand theater and the national graduate class of outstanding peking opera actors jointly launched the "graduate class performance special", which was full of performances at one time and sold out. the chang'an grand theater has since become a treasured place for many new generation famous actors to make their fortunes.
by the 20th anniversary of its re-opening in 2016, the chang'an grand theater had performed more than 7,000 performances, received 4.35 million audiences, had 45 types of operas, and more than 100,000 actors showing off their talents.
so many unforgettable moments were witnessed by this theater, including laughter and tears. in 2004, the chang'an grand theater participated in the premiere of the large-scale peking opera symphonic poem "mei lanfang". the then-young beijing peking opera theater starred hu wenge as mei lanfang in the "play within a play", that is, yang in the play. yu huan and other opera roles, it was with this play that he entered the beijing peking opera theater and became a member of mei lanfang's peking opera troupe.
in 2016, master mei baojiu passed away suddenly. the day before his funeral, hu wenge performed "the red-maned horse" at the chang'an grand theater. "i really gritted my teeth and used all my strength to perform that scene. when the curtain opened, i was already crying. all our actors and audiences faced the direction of union hospital and bowed to master three." hu wenge said.
since mei baojiu and her father mei lanfang had performed at the chang'an grand theater many times during their lifetimes, the next day, mei baojiu's hearse slowly set off from union hospital and made a special detour in front of the chang'an grand theater to meet the staff waiting there. holding white chrysanthemums in hand, i watched mr.’s hearse pass.
in the changing times and market environment, the care and warmth retained by chang'an grand theater are often touching. over the years, the chang'an grand theater has held commemorative activities for tan xinpei, the four famous dandans, the four xushengs, and art masters such as wang shaolou and meng xiaodong. in march 2024, a series of activities to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the birth of mr. mei lanfang and the 90th anniversary of the birth of mr. mei baojiu will also be grandly launched here.
in addition, the chang'an grand theater is also home to the descendants of the declining yan (jupeng) school, xi (xiao bo) school, huang (guiqiu) school, xu (biyun) school, and qi (zhou xinfang) school, as well as male dan actors, the martial arts actors were given special care. the focus on old artists has led to the formation of the highly acclaimed performance brand "frost leaves red in february flowers".
"frost leaves are as red as february flowers" peking opera old artists concert on the double ninth festival was founded in 2007. it is a model of chang'an festival opera performance. every year when climbing high and looking into the distance, old artists gather from all over the country. over the years, , apart from the impact of the epidemic, the performance of "frost leaves red in february flowers" has never been interrupted.
the invited veteran artists have all been the mainstays of various industries, schools, and academies. they have top artistic standards and stage experience. so far, more than a hundred people have performed on the stage.
in 2023, "frost leaves red in february flowers" was launched again, and 18 famous artists appeared together, with a complete range of professions and diverse schools. on the stage, they showed off their talents. in the lounge, old friends who had not seen each other for a long time shook hands and hugged each other tightly.
81-year-old fan yuyuan appeared on the stage with excerpts from "the phoenix returns to the nest". this was her eighth time on this stage. "i have been practicing constantly. after singing this year's song, i start preparing for next year's song." fan yuyuan lives in yancheng and makes a special trip to beijing every time. "beijing audiences like peking opera and know peking opera very well, so i chose the arias are not repeated, but they must all be mei school operas. "as a disciple of mr. mei lanfang, fan yuyuan regards promoting mei school art as her lifelong pursuit. "i feel very lucky to have such an exhibition space at this age. "
it is easy to make a decision, but it is difficult to stick to a promise. the "frost leaves red in february flowers" that has lasted for more than ten years is a microcosm of chang'an grand theater's original intention of adhering to tradition and promoting national art. not forgetting the past and looking forward to the future, the story of chang'an grand theater and chinese opera continues...
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