Famous teacher workshop, nurturing the future of Fujian opera

Wang Shiyu (first from the right) guides students in small class teaching.

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Wang Shiyu (second from the right), Weng Guosheng (first from the right) and Kong Aiping (first from the left) were awarded the letter of appointment.

"Then the wind and the moon are fading away, and the moss on the left side of the painting wall in the west south side is sliding and rubbing, leaning against the broken walls..." Accompanied by the gentle sob of the flute, several "Liu Mengmei" stepped into the stage to jointly perform the Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion - Painting Collection".

A few days ago, a special report performance was held in Fuming Theater near Fuzhou West Lake. The people on the stage showed their seriousness in their actions, and the people on the stage looked forward with expectation. This is the "graduation ceremony" of the workshop of Fujian Opera Performance Artists in 2023.

The famous teacher workshop, sponsored by the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, undertaken by the Fujian Provincial Academy of Arts, and co organized by Fujian Fanghua Yueju Theater, highlights the value of Beijing Kunqu (Peking Opera) celebrities' live performance, and provides more nutrients for the cultivation of drama talents in our province.

Famous masters teach and masters introduce

Wang Shiyu, the artist who has been recognized as "outstanding achievement" by the Ministry of Culture, the winner of "Jinsheng Leader" and "Plum Blossom Award", Weng Guosheng, the winner of "Wenhua Performance Award", "Plum Blossom Award" and "Wenhua Director Award", and Kong Aiping, the winner of "Plum Blossom Award" - the lineup of mentors shows the consideration and ambition of the organizers.

In 10 days, the three students not only taught the Junior Class, Martial Arts Class and Danxing Class respectively, but also held a series of lectures for all students, giving them full experience of their artistic career.

It is reported that this is the first time that our province has opened a workshop for famous opera performing artists.

There are many kinds of local operas in Fujian, but most of them are small ones. Kunqu Opera is the teacher of all kinds of operas, and Beijing Opera is also known as "national opera". "We want to learn from other classical operas, respect the teaching characteristics of traditional operas, and find common rules of artistic expression of operas. On the one hand, in order to inherit, on the other hand, in order to have new expansion, promote the balanced development of all walks of life in Fujian opera art, stimulate and improve the creative ability, innovative power and creative strength of young actors, and lay a solid foundation for the cultivation of talents in all types of drama. " Wang Xiaoshan, head teacher of the class and director of the theory office of the Provincial Academy of Arts, said.

She stressed that this small class of "face-to-face teaching, one-on-one slowly pinching" by the three famous teachers was also the first attempt.

The subtlety of opera performance is often reflected in details. Wang Shiyu's focus of this lecture and lecture is "the application and training of opera eyes". He said: "The eyes of opera actors are crucial for shaping characters and communicating emotions with the audience." In order to improve the students' expressiveness, he talked about changes in the lines and angles of the eyes, tension and rhythm, and then affected the emotional changes of the characters. From theory to training methods, zero distance teaching enables students to call directly.

"The three famous teachers all focused on the use of eyes, which makes people feel enlightened. How can staring, drunken eyes, sleepy eyes, etc. become an integral part of the whole body movements and be unique? The teachers not only talked deeply, but also brought it through," said Chen Dejia, a Wusheng from Quanzhou Gaojia Opera (Dacheng Opera) Inheritance Center.

Weng Guosheng, who has performed, directed and theorized in many ways, took the tragic Peking Opera trilogy "King Oedipus", "King Lanling" and "Flying Tiger General" directed by himself as examples to teach how to integrate the four skills and five techniques of opera into the tragic theme and show the hearts of the characters. In the new version of Kunqu Opera "The Jade Hairpin", he closely integrated the aesthetic concept of Chinese painting with Kunqu Opera, making the stage beautiful and the artistic conception distant, which also inspired many students.

The students enjoy themselves and cultivate themselves

A total of 43 students participated in this famous teacher workshop, from 14 drama performance groups and art schools in our province, representing 9 different types of drama and drama and other art categories. Guo Zonghua of Anxi County Gaojia Drama Art Protection and Inheritance Center is one of the four students of grass-roots troupes. He has performed in rural areas for a long time, and has few opportunities to learn from famous teachers and experts, so he cherishes them.

"I learned a lot from the reflection and analysis of my previous roles while learning," he said. "I will use the examples I learned this time for my future stage performances.".

"The class starts at 3:00 p.m., and students come to the classroom to practice at 1:30 p.m.; the troupe performs at night, and the students are still consolidating themselves in the evening. Their enthusiasm and hard work show that the curriculum arrangement of this famous teacher workshop has benefited a lot," Wang Xiaoshan told reporters.

"I am improving every day after learning from teacher Wang. For example, when I appeared, my figure might have been rigid before. Now I will pay attention to the movement of my waist and knee, use some breath, and cooperate with my eyes and head and neck, so that I can be more comfortable on the stage." Wang Siying, a young student at Fujian Fanghua Yueju Opera House, said that several teachers have integrated life into their artistic career, Inspire her to have a higher standard of self demand and become a person who will make great achievements in art in the future.

Wu Jieping, from Fujian Liyuan Opera Inheritance Center, has many years of stage performance experience. Thanks to the cultivation of Dan Xing's performing art in Liyuan Opera, she has a deeper understanding of Kong Aiping's teaching.

It is a principle of Kong Aiping to "let students understand a lot of connotations through the theory without words". She told the students about Mei Lanfang's original 53 style fingering, the roadmap of her eyes, and the dialectical relationship between internal and external movements. She used heuristic teaching and incentive teaching to let everyone show and learn from each other, and won widespread praise.

"The charm of" left first, right first "and" first first "is the greatest inspiration given to me by Kong Aiping," Wu Jieping said.

To start a new journey, we need to persevere

Continue to digest and consolidate, absorb and learn more, pay attention to accumulation at ordinary times, strengthen theoretical cultivation, and vigorously develop and innovate... Open the students' graduation summary, and it is full of ambition between the lines.

Lin Shiming, from the Liyuan Opera Inheritance Center in Fujian Province, believes that he has seen more abundant performing arts than this drama, and is particularly inspired by the performance techniques of the Xiaosheng profession. More importantly, this graduation is not the end. Next, he will spend more time to speculate and research, and continue to translate his learning achievements into daily stage practice.

Such thoughts are gratifying to the tutors. Kong Aiping said: "The learning state, artistic skills and artistic realm of the students represent the current state of Fujian's drama industry as a link between the preceding and the following."

Weng Guosheng compared the workshop to a "spark". "Young artists in the 21st century should not only perform well, but also work hard in theory to become versatile talents". Based on the practical needs of the development of drama in the new era, the new ideas brought by the teachers planted seeds in this early autumn.

Wang Pingzhang, a famous drama theorist and critic, believes that the reporting performance is very brilliant. Fujian local opera actors, while adhering to their own characteristics, can learn and experience the integrity, standardization, preciseness, system, correctness and refinement of Beijing Kunming performance art through the personal teaching of three famous teachers, and will definitely benefit for life.

Wang Xiaoshan revealed that in order to improve the level of outstanding young actors in many ways, the Provincial Academy of Arts plans to continue to hold workshops for famous teachers in the future, or invite more masters to teach. After all, there are more potential actors who want to learn from famous teachers.

Talent training is the key to the inheritance and development of opera. Before that, Wang Shiyu, who was over 80 years old, had come to Fujian for guidance many times. In the face of Mantai's young people, his message was particularly sincere.

"All kinds of operas in Fujian have their own characteristics. I hope Fujian can continue to work hard to find talents and train them to become cutting-edge talents at the right age. It is also hoped that these young actors will not only carry forward this drama, but also absorb the essence of other similar art forms, and strive to improve their theoretical cultivation, enhance their cultural heritage, especially their literary cultivation, so as to further improve the charm of opera. " He said. (Reporter Chen Yinli/Photo by Fujian Provincial Academy of Arts)