Huangmei Opera is a local opera art that takes folk music in Anqing as the keynote and sings in Anqing dialect. It is one of the main local operas in Anhui Province and one of the five major operas in China. It is known as "the most beautiful rural music in China". Huangmei Opera was once called Xiaoxi, Cailan Opera, Caicha Opera, Huagu Opera, Ergaoqiang Opera, Huangmei Opera and Anhui Opera, and was also called "Huaiqiang" or "Fudiao". In 1953, Anhui Huangmei Opera Troupe was founded, and was named "Huangmei Opera". In 2006, the State Council approved Huangmei Opera as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage, and awarded Anqing Huangmei Opera (Local Opera) Research Institute as the inheritance and protection unit of the project.
The tune of Huangmei Opera is based on folk songs such as tea songs, folk songs, yangko, and fishing songs in the surrounding villages of Anqing, as well as folk rap music such as drum script, qin script, and some religious music. It also extensively absorbs and integrates musical elements such as Qingyang tune, Gaoqiang tune, Anhui tune, and other music elements and music combination methods, forming two major tunes, Huaqiang tune and main tune. Huaqiang belongs to the folk song style, and there are still nearly 200 tunes left today. The main tone is the system of slab cavity voice cavity, which is based on [flat words], including [eight slabs] [pyrotechnics] [two rows] [three rows] [color cavity] [immortal cavity] [yin division cavity] [antithesis] [wailing board] and so on. The melody is euphemistic and beautiful, the language is popular and interesting, the mood is rich and vivid, and it has rich local characteristics.
The repertoire of Huangmei Opera is derived from folk songs and folk lantern dance, and is based on folk anecdotes. It formed "two small operas" and "three small operas" around the years of Qingjia (Qing) and Daoguang (Guang); Later, according to the real people and stories, he continued to create new plays and dramas, and transplanted large and small dramas from Qingyang Opera, Anhui Opera and other operas, gradually accumulating into a traditional repertoire that not only has a wide audience, but also reflects the local flavor and common people's interests, known as "36 big books, 72 small curtains".
Huangmei Opera began to try to develop from the countryside to the city in the early years of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, and until the liberation of Anqing in 1949, it was able to take a foothold in the city of Anqing and glow with vitality and vigor. In 1952, Anqing Huangmei Opera was invited to perform in Shanghai; In 1954, he became popular in East China Opera Festival. Subsequently, the film art films "Tianxian Pai", "Nvfu Ma", "Huaiyin Ji" and "Cowherd and Weaver Girl" came out one after another, and Huangmei performers created several glories. This local opera, known as "emitting the fragrance of soil", such as "the wind blowing from the mountains", has spread all over China. It is well known at home and abroad, and has become one of the five major operas in China. It has become the most shining "city card" of Anqing, a famous historical and cultural city, and a representative cultural brand and symbolic cultural image of Anhui Province.
