Characteristics of Cantonese Opera

It is one of the local operas in Guangdong Province, and it is also an influential opera in southern China. Because it is produced in Guangdong, it is called Cantonese Opera. It originated in Guangzhou and Foshan, and now it is mainly popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan Province, Hongkong and Macau. As many overseas Chinese are descendants of Cantonese, Cantonese opera is often performed in areas where overseas Chinese live in concentrated communities. Cantonese opera mainly sings Bangzi and Huanger, while retaining the dialects of Kunshan, Geyang and Guangqiang, and absorbing the folk music and tunes of the Pearl River Delta. Singing in Guangzhou dialect, it is also called "Guangdong Banghuang", "Cantonese Opera" and "Guangfu Opera".

The development of history

In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, Yiyang, Kunshan, Bangzi, Huizhou and Han dialects were introduced into Guangdong. The tunes played by Guangdong local troupe are greatly influenced by these foreign tunes. The music they sang was called "Guangdiao", and traces of Yiyang's harmony with Kunqu opera can be seen from the music of Cantonese opera. During Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou's troupes were divided into local troupes and Waijiang troupes. Most classes in Waijiang perform Hui Opera, while most local classes perform Bangzi Opera. The early activity center of the local class was in Foshan. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, many provincial troupes came to Guangdong, and local troupes drew rich nutrients from Waijiang troupes, and their art gradually matured and gradually formed their own characteristics. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty, the tunes of Gaokang and Kunshan gradually declined, and the local classes mainly sang clappers. The influence of the post-Huizhou class is expanding day by day, with "Bangzichun" (namely Xipi and Huanger) as the basic singing. At the same time, some Kunshan, Yiyang and Cantonese operas were retained, and Guangdong folk music and popular tunes were absorbed. At this time, the local class has been "completely different" from the Waijiang class, and then gradually formed Cantonese opera.

In the fourth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1854), Cantonese opera artist Li led the children of Liyuan and Chen Kai, a member of the Heaven and Earth Society, to respond to the Taiping Rebellion and become king. Therefore, the Qing government banned local operas. After the ban, the local class was silent 15 years. During this period, Cantonese opera artists can only join the troupe of Han Opera and Hui Opera, or perform in the name of Peking Opera and other operas. In this way, Bangzi and Chunqiang in Cantonese opera began to merge. Later, the composition of Huang Er in Cantonese opera even surpassed that of Bangzi. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (186 1), the ban was slightly relaxed and local classes rose again. During the Tongzhi period (1862- 1874), Cantonese opera artists gave public performances, and their class clubs visited Henan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hunan, Anhui, Hong Kong and Macao.

After the resumption of Cantonese opera performance, great changes have taken place in the repertoire content and performing arts. During the Revolution of 1911, influenced by the new drama (civilized drama, that is, early drama) of Chunliu Society, Cantonese opera artists organized "Shi Zhi Class" to publicize revolutionary democratic ideas. Under the wave of this new concept, Cantonese opera began to improve, and its content and form have undergone great changes. Around 1920, Cantonese opera was completely localized in language, changed from "Mandarin in the opera studio" to Cantonese, and the singing method was also changed to the original sound, giving up the falsetto singing method of Bangzi opera. Both Bangzi and Chun Er sang in a low octave, which unified the style and singing method of Bangzi and Leather Spring.

Around 1920, with the development of capitalist business in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao, some Cantonese opera clubs also take Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao and other big cities as their activity bases, which are customarily called "provincial and Hong Kong classes". "Provincial and Hong Kong Class" has performed in theaters in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and other metropolises, and has absorbed a lot of techniques of civilized dramas, dramas and movies, and has undergone great changes in music singing, roles, performances, stage layout, performances and so on. Its basic vocal cavity is dominated by clappers and two springs, but it also retains other folk rap tunes and introduces pop songs and jazz music. Western instruments such as violin, saxophone, electric guitar and jazz drum are also used as accompaniment instruments. The performance was greatly simplified. Role trades have changed from the original top ten trades to a "six-pillar system", namely Wen Wusheng, Xiao Sheng, Andrew Hua Dan, Erhua Gangdan, Ugly Student and Wu Sheng. The arrangement of the play should take into account the drama points of the six pillars. There are many new plays in the repertoire, and traditional plays are rarely performed. A large number of new plays have been adapted from movies, foreign novels, popular plays, plays and some fabricated plays.

The 1930s was an era of great changes in Cantonese opera, also known as the era of "learning from horses for hegemony". Xue Juexian, a martial arts writer, and Ma Shiceng, an ugly female student, have made great contributions to the innovation of Cantonese opera. Xue Juexian is close to the style of Peking Opera and has comprehensive performance skills. He is called "all-round old man", but as a young man, he is outstanding. His representative works include Hu Bugui and four other tragedies. The jockey won with a clown. He exposed the ugliness of feudal rich capitalists in a group drama featuring "lonely and cold species" (miser), which was quite Moliere's style. Not only in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia, but also in the United States for many years. Together with Gui, they are called the "Four Masters" or "Five Schools" of Cantonese Opera (plus Liao Xiahuai who plays the clown). After co-education, Shanghai sisters created a unique lyric singing method for the Cantonese opera Women's Football, among which Xian Nvhong had the greatest influence. At the same time, Luo Pinchao, Wen Juefei, Sun, Ma Sizeng,, etc. They all have their own strengths and are quite influential.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China vigorously fostered the traditional features of Cantonese opera, and while innovating, it also inherited the excellent traditions of Cantonese opera. In the early days of the founding of New China, Shengli Cantonese Opera Troupe premiered the Cantonese opera "Nine Clothes" adapted from the liberated areas in Guangzhou, which was praised by critics as "the first horn of the Cantonese opera revolution". From the liberation of Guangzhou to 1952, there were more than 1700 eye lifts in Guangzhou Theater. Cantonese opera circles actively excavate and inherit excellent traditions, make comprehensive innovations in art, and make improvements in reflecting contemporary life and making performances more lively. Not only performed many excellent plays, but also trained a group of new people. 1958, Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupe was established. By 1982, there were more than 70 Guangdong Cantonese Opera Troupes.

For more than 30 years, the traditional plays with high ideological and artistic quality that can stand the test of time include the creations of Pinggui Bieyao and Luocheng. Transplanted dramas account for the largest proportion, among which Liu Yichuan and Lotus Lantern are better. Among the newly edited historical dramas and modern dramas, Sou Shen Yuan, Guan Hanqing, etc., which have been made into movies, have great influence.

Artistic feature

The artistic features of early Cantonese opera are similar to those of Han opera, Beijing opera and Qi opera. Later, in the process of development, it gradually formed a unique artistic style.

The basic tune of Cantonese Opera is "Bangchun", which retains some tunes of Yiyang and Kunqu, as well as Guangdong folk rap tunes such as Nanyin, Cantonese, Muyu, Dragon Boat and Banyan, folk songs, music, contemporary songs and minor tunes. The "Bang Huang" in Cantonese opera is very local because it is sung in dialects and absorbs and integrates local folk songs.

Cantonese opera singing is dominated by banqiang, supplemented by Qupai style. There are two kinds of board cavities: bangzi and Huanger. Bangzi has the first board, adagio, middle board, hibiscus, sigh board and shaman board. Huang Er has the first board, adagio, second board and rolling board. In addition, there are Xipi (equivalent to the "four tones" of Peking Opera), love altar, Nanyin, Banyan, Muyu and Cantonese accents. Although the structure of Nanyin, Muyu and Banyan is different from that of Bangzi and Huang Er, the method of singing is the same. Xipi and Lian Po write lyrics according to music, but their singing styles are similar to those of Bangzi and Huang Er. Qupai has two kinds: brand and ditty. Most brands are absorbed from Kunqu opera and Yiyang, and a few are Guangdong folk etiquette brand music; Xiaoqu includes traditional opera clippings, Jiangnan music, Cantonese songs, such as Liu Qingniang, Dressing Table, selling groceries, Jade Beauty, and new songs, such as Searching for Needles, Urging Home, Hating Chest, Beating da ji, etc. Except for new songs, most of them belong to instrumental music with relatively fixed melody.

The accompaniment instruments of Cantonese opera can be divided into orchestral music and percussion music. The former mainly plays Gao Hu, Er Xian, dulcimer and larynx. There are two different combinations of "hard bow" and "soft bow" The musical instruments used in the "Hard Bow" are Erxian, Short Throat, Long Throat, Bamboo Violin, Small Sanxian, Qin Yue, Coconut Tree, Flute, etc. , with percussion high-edge gong. The voice and timbre are loud and tough, which are mostly used for ostentation and extravagance accompaniment and more intense scenes in traditional dramas. The musical instruments used in "Soft Bow" are Erhu (Nanhu), Zhonghu, Gao Hu, Coconut, Hu Da, dulcimer, Pipa, Xiaosanxian, Zhongsanxian, zhongruan, Daruan, Changhou and Dong Xiao. In addition to national musical instruments, Cantonese opera music boldly adopts western musical instruments, such as violin, cello, saxophone and other bass instruments. Percussion instruments, literary gongs and drums (or Su gongs and drums, low-pitched Beijing gongs and drums), slender and soft voices and timbre are used to accompany lyric arias and depict the inner feelings of characters in detail. Percussion instruments include divining fish (board), measuring board, sand drum, double-skin drum, big cymbal, Wen gong, high-side gong, Su cymbal, Su gong, single (high-pitched small gong), war drum and big drum. And there is a relatively complete set of various types of rhythm gongs and drums.

The martial arts performance art of Cantonese opera has always maintained the rough and simple characteristics of the early "mountain-crossing class". Many famous actors have unique skills, such as one foot, somersault, zip line, jumping, eye movement, hair tossing, twisting and so on. Wushu is based on "Nanquan", which includes powerful target, hand bridge, Shaolin boxing, difficult chair skills, high platform skills and so on. After the appearance of foot color, it is quite rare for men to "jump" and women to "bend their backs". Most of the Cantonese operas are Shengdan operas, which emphasize singing over doing, and there are more literati dramas than martial arts dramas. It refines and creates some new performance programs from real life, and draws lessons from movies and dramas, forming a free, flexible, popular and delicate performance style with realism as the mainstay.

Cosplay

Originally divided into 10 lines, namely, end, life, Dan, net, ugly, foreign, small, husband, post and miscellaneous. Later, business became more and more. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, according to the convention of "evaluating the troupe positions", they were arranged as follows: Wusheng, Xiaowu, Hua Dan, Zheng Dan, Zheng Sheng, Zongsheng, Gongjiao and Zongsheng. In fact, the troupe only values Wu Sheng, Xiao Wu, Xiao Sheng, Hua Dan and Ugly Five Elements, and other trades are secondary.

Wu sheng:

Also known as Xu Sheng, he is an old pedant similar to Peking Opera. Most of the bearded characters are middle-aged and elderly people, and they are all important figures in the play, such as the officials with status and both civil and military skills. Most of Wusheng's plays belong to robe plays, which are complicated in ostentation and extravagance and rich in performances. Wusheng is required to have a solid foundation, excellent waist and legs and appropriate gestures. For example, when expressing a character's anger, he should use the action of brushing his beard left and right, and special effects such as "flapping his wings", "shaking his face" and "shaking hands" to kneel and walk unilaterally. Wusheng is called "riding the dragon head" in the troupe, which can be divided into "soft martial arts" and "hard martial arts" Soft martial arts students pay attention to singing, reading and playing performances. Their roles are Yang Liulang in The Son of Kururo and Su Wu in The Shepherd of Suwu. Famous actors include Xinhua and New Cabbage. Students who practice martial arts hard pay attention to waist and leg kung fu and kung fu performances, and their characters are like Gongsun Yan in Six Kingdoms.

Xiaowu:

Also known as "the pen sticks to martial arts", it is equivalent to a martial arts student in Beijing Opera. Heroes and heroes who play the role of young adults are mostly positive or negative characters in martial arts dramas. Xiaowu is good at work, beating and jumping, relying on colorful flags for a long time, and should be good at it; Shaolin Wushu is also authentic, paying attention to the application of "Nanquan"; The figure is steady and vigorous, clean and neat; Reading white is important, fast, clear and practical, and the words are written in one go. Xiaowu can be divided into "white face" Xiaowu and "red face" Xiaowu. The red-faced Xiao Wu is dignified and agile, and his movements are hot. It attaches importance to the use of martial arts and eyes, and plays the role of Ma Ma in the Horse Selling Arrows and Zhao Yingqiang in the Xihe Club. White-faced martial arts emphasize martial arts, and their performances are charming and gentle, such as playing the romantic Confucian general Zhou Yu, which highlights Zhou Yu's narrow mind.

Hua Dan:

The role of a young woman is played by Hua Dan. There is a distinction between nobility and inferiority, and it can also be martial, good or evil. Hua Dan is also divided into Hua Dan and Hua Dan. Hua Dan plays mostly ladies, ladies and heroines, such as Chen Xingyuan in Durham, Cui Yingying in The West Chamber and Fan Lihua in Cold Water Pass. Two groups of Hua Dan generally play cunning and immoral women, such as Pan Jinlian in Uncle Jinlian's play.

Zheng Dan:

Play more dignified female roles, such as Wang Chune in "The Third Mother Godson" and the White Snake in "The Stone Forest Sacrifice Tower".

Zheng Sheng:

Most of them are positive figures who play the roles of mature and prudent scribes, courtiers and emperors, such as Su Qin in Six Kingdoms and the Jade Emperor in The Jade Emperor Palace.

General health status:

It turns out that in some plays, they play the leading role and emphasize singing skills, such as Li Keyong in "Sha Tuo Borrows Soldiers" and Lu Su in "Borrowing Dongfeng". They can wear white beards, black beards and white beards. Later, he gradually turned to play supporting roles such as emperors, courtiers and ministers.

Niche market:

He often plays a gentle and charming young scholar and bachelor. Sing more martial arts dramas, emphasize the sound, require the sound to be round and crisp, and combine the true and false sounds: the body movements should be chic, soft and firm. The characters are Jia Baoyu in Baoyu's Complaining about Marriage, Wang Daru in Wang Daru's Confession, and Lv Mengzheng in Comment on Snow Debate.

Male feet:

Mainly play the positive characters of kindness in the elderly, including various roles. Although the characters are old, they are healthy, kind and upright. Duet requires desolation and boldness, clear and loud pronunciation. Action pays attention to the use of eyes and beard. His roles include Priscilla in Priscilla's Wife's Club, and Xue Bao in San Niang Jiao Zi.

Tattoo:

Also known as "Jiao Wai", he plays an important official in one's ruling or ruling, or a treacherous and insidious adulterer, such as Yan Song in Ten Plays of Yan Song and Dong Zhuo in Liaozhai.

Erhualian:

Play a loyal, generous or grumpy role. The movements are rough, and the fingers are mostly Tiger Claw-shaped. My hands were too high when I pulled the mountain. Usually it's a figure of eight or a T-shape, and the eyes look straight ahead to play the characters such as Wang among kings, Zhang Fei in Luhuadang and Qin Shihuang in Jing Ke.

Ugly man:

Also known as "the edge of the net towel", it plays funny and clever roles, which are divided into two categories: Wen Chou and Wu Chou. Wen Chou plays Mr. Guangdong in "Shandong Xiangma", the blind man in "Ask M", and Wu Chou plays such characters as Jiao Guangpu in "Stealing Armor" and "Stop the Horse".

Ugly woman:

Also known as "bamboo shoots" and stubborn smiles, they play witty old women, dishonest matchmakers, wives, evil family aunts and so on.