A Brief History of Lei Ju's Opera

Lei Ju originated from Leizhou Peninsula. "leizhou song" is an old Han folk song with self-singing and self-expression in Leizhou dialect. It is said that in the 12th year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (AD 1734), a dead man was drowned in a dragon boat race on the Nandu River in Haikang. The following year, the old village of Mafu was changed to the "singing platform" of the singing competition. From then on, Leizhou Song stepped onto the stage (villagers told him to step on the floor). Later, through the free combination of folk singers, Greban was gradually formed. Because of the participation of women, it was called "girl song". In those years, girls' songs were generally composed of two stone mills (commonly known as Shi Niu) erected side by side, with a cart board in the middle to form a stage. The lyrics of the songs are oral literature, astronomy, geography, local conditions and customs, answering questions, and competing for beauty. Girls' songs are responsive, close to life and full of local flavor. Some girls also have songs in their songs, the content of which is roughly "to persuade the world to quit smoking" and "to persuade people to be loyal". Even some girls' songs have characters and storylines, which are very popular with the masses. For example, the oldest Leizhou Song "Breaking the Machine to Teach the Son" was written by Chen Changqi, a scholar of Haikang during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Soon, the exhortation songs of girls' songs further developed into class songs (Song Team). At the end of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, the first reggae class-Beihe Reggae Class was established. Since then, the native Grayban has been active in Leizhou.

At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the cultural department of the people's government took measures to foster the development of Leizhou Opera, such as supporting artists to form professional troupes, striving to cultivate talents in Lei Ju, and encouraging repertoire creation and vocal music reform. The most outstanding achievement is to develop leizhou song into a traditional opera cavity with two loud cavity systems of Gao Tai and Fu Lei, to establish a plate-type variation cavity structure combined with Qupai, and to create the main musical instrument Lei Hu. Lei Ju officially used in 1964. Great achievements have also been made in repertoire creation and performance, including traditional repertoires Fu, Thousand Li Chop, Qin Xianglian and Zhang Wenxiu, and newly created repertoires Release the Offender, Leizhou Robber, Wu Auntie's Farewell Car, Leizhou Tiger Wisdom Training and Dragon Ball. A number of popular actors such as Li, Lin Fen and Huang stepped onto the stage. In 1980s, professional Zhanjiang Experimental Lei Troupe, Haikang Lei Troupe and xuwen county Lei Troupe performed nearly 200 performances every year. Every year, there are more than 100 performances of folk professional thunder troupe, with an average of more than 5,000 performances per year, and the audience ranges from several thousand to 10000. Some people praised Leizhou as a "green opera state".

Lei Troupe is state-owned, run by township enterprises, and dominated by one family. Both husband and wife are the owners of the troupe, Hua Dan. They have formed hundreds of folk art groups, which are active in Leizhou, enriching the cultural life of local people and even performing in other provinces, Europe and other places at home and abroad. Nowadays, Chinese opera is heading for a low ebb, but this wonderful flower of Lei Ju is blooming in a hundred gardens.

Lei Ju originated in Leizhou Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 300 years. Lei Ju is a local opera in Guangdong, and it is also a unique opera popular only in Lei Ju District of Leizhou Dialect in Leizhou Peninsula, with strong and distinctive local characteristics. Zhanjiang is the hometown of Lei Ju. Lei Ju, rooted in Leizhou Peninsula, is a native of Leizhou. Because its language is easy to understand and can reflect real life well, it is more and more loved by Leizhou people. The other refers to a buzzword. Lei Ju developed from leizhou song, where people like to sing in Leizhou Peninsula. It has deeply influenced generations of Leizhou people and is deeply loved by them. Lei Ju is a local cultural and artistic treasure in Leizhou and a wonderful flower of traditional culture in western Guangdong. Lei Ju often performs in Leizhou (formerly known as Haikang), Suixi, Xuwen, Lianjiang, Zhanjiang suburbs and Dianbai five counties (cities) of Maoming City under the jurisdiction of Zhanjiang City. In 2008, through the continuous exploration and reform of Lei Ju workers, Lei Ju has more than 80 accents, many characters, a wide range of scenes and rich content, and is deeply loved by the masses, becoming one of the four major operas of Cantonese opera. In 2009, Lei Ju became the third batch of Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage List. 20 10 is listed in the national intangible cultural heritage protection list.

Lei Ju performed in Leizhou dialect, with Lei Hu as the main accompaniment instrument, with a complete vocal system and beautiful tunes. Vocal music works are mainly of plate-type change structure, with 65,438+065,438+0 types of plates, such as original Lei San, Allegro slow in middle, Allegro high on Lei San, Allegro medium, Gaotai Feather Slow, Middle Plate, Gaotai Gongdiao Middle Plate, and Adagio mixed with original cavity. According to the plot and different artistic conception, female voices and male and female voices are adopted.

From 1950s to 1980s, Lei Ju kept innovating. In particular, the transformation from amateur troupe to folk professional thunder troupe has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Culture. Lei Ju's reform was interrupted by the destruction during the Cultural Revolution. After the downfall of the Gang of Four, Lei Ju accelerated the pace of reform and made rapid progress. After entering the new century, Lei Ju, a local opera with more than 8 million audiences, is as full of vitality as the rising sun.

From February 65438+ in 2006 to May 65438+ in 2007, Lei Ju Art Festival was held in Leizhou, which was an unprecedented art event with the largest scale, the highest specification, the largest audience and the longest time in the history of Lei Ju. Lei Ju Art Festival has put out 52 Lei Ju duets in a month, with great stage, big scene, great momentum and great influence, offering a rich cultural feast for Leizhou people. During the festival, the Centennial Lei Ju Forum was held, and 100 experts and scholars made suggestions for the development of Lei Ju. Lei Ju Art Festival has received rave reviews, and Leizhou art rooted in the masses has infinite charm.

Lei Ju is a wonderful flower in the Hundred Flowers Garden of China's drama, which has a broad mass base and is an important part of the people's cultural life in Leizhou Peninsula. After continuous reform, outstanding plays emerge one after another, and groups of outstanding Lei Ju actors emerge. Lei Ju's theoretical research and vocal music research have made continuous achievements, and Lei Ju has prospered in Leizhou fertile soil.