Theater history of Jianghuai Grand Theatre

In 1950s and 1960s, it was a great event to watch performances at Jianghuai Grand Theatre.

"When Mei Lanfang came here to perform, my grandfather specially took me to see it. At that time, I was still young and didn't remember much. I only remember that the fare was three yuan at that time. At that time, the monthly salary was only tens of yuan, and the pork was only forty or fifty cents a catty, which was quite extravagant. The ticket price is so high that it is still in short supply. Later, my neighbor joked with my grandfather and said,' You are so willing to take your grandson to see Mei Lanfang!' "Liu Guangrong, who lives near the Jianghuai Grand Theatre, remembers the first time he went to see a drama, which is still fresh in his mind.

From its opening to the end of 1982, Jianghuai Grand Theatre not only received performances from provincial art performance groups, but also received performances from art performance groups directly under the central government and more than 70 foreign art delegations. Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Chen Yi, Liu Bocheng, Wan Li, Li Peng and other party and state leaders, as well as foreign ambassadors to China, have all watched performances at the Jianghuai Grand Theatre.

In addition to the existence of great artists such as Mei Lanfang, Xun Huisheng and Yan Fengying, almost all important meetings and decisions were held here in the 1960s and 1970s. Like the Great Hall of the People in China, Jianghuai Grand Theatre is a desirable place. Therefore, Anhui people, especially Hefei people, have special feelings for Jianghuai Grand Theatre.

When interviewing Niu Yun, a teacher of Old Hefei, I learned that the Jianghuai Grand Theatre was formerly a primary school. According to the data, this primary school was once the earliest primary school in Hefei-Chengdong School, 1932. In memory of Fan Hongxian, a soldier of the Revolution of 1911, it was renamed the first complete primary school in the county and named Hongxian Primary School. "I went to Hongxian Primary School on 1933. When the Japanese invaded Hefei on 1938, we stopped going to school." According to teacher Niu Yun's memory, there is also a very lively Wenchang Palace Square next to the school. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, the area around Hongxian Primary School was razed to the ground. After liberation, a vegetable market gradually formed on the ground until 1954 was built into the Jianghuai Grand Theatre.

Lost in the times

"1954 12.30, the inauguration ceremony of Jianghuai Grand Theatre was held on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month in China and Japan, which was the first official appearance of Jianghuai Grand Theatre." Teacher Niu Yun was invited by Jianghuai Grand Theatre as a group propagandist, responsible for the propaganda work of the theatre, and he also witnessed the birth of Jianghuai Grand Theatre. "Troupe and actors from all over the world are proud to perform here, and fans are proud to watch the performance here. This glory continued until the completion of Anhui Theatre in the mid-1980s. Some functions of the Jianghuai Grand Theatre were gradually replaced and gradually left out. "

For me, the post-80s generation, the Jianghuai Grand Theatre in the 1990s is just like Wanda Studios today, and its function is nothing more than watching movies. Many old Hefei people told me that the cinema began to show movies, which also meant that it began to decline. With the influence of television and various forms of entertainment, fewer and fewer people enter the cinema. From opera performances to movies to projection to karaoke, from one ticket is hard to find to no one to find, in just a few years, Jianghuai Grand Theatre has gone downhill.

With the passage of time, the Jianghuai Grand Theatre, which was recognized as a dangerous building by the relevant departments, was forced to close down in 1997 due to disrepair and potential safety hazards. June, 5438+October, 2006 10, the reconstructed Grand Theatre, like many performing arts squares, took on the function of nightlife consumption after 9 years of business suspension by attracting investment.

Under the dim light of night, neon lights flashed, and the five gold-plated characters of "Jianghuai Grand Theatre" echoed the words of the Performing Arts Square from a distance, which seemed a bit out of place. This once brilliant building has become a nightlife consumption place; This once political and cultural center chose to compromise with this era in the midst of feasting.

Jianghuai Grand Theater, the lost beauty, will be deeply engraved in the memory of Hefei people.