The representative work of Henan opera "Qin Xuemei" appeared on the Shanghai stage
From September 18 to 19, the Henan Yu Opera Youth Troupe performed the classic Henan opera "Qin Xuemei" at the Shanghai Lyceum Theater. Du Yongzhen, a disciple of the Yan School, starred in the play, leading the Shanghai audience to relive the classic singing of Henan opera master Yan Lipin, recreating the image of a woman who is not afraid of power and dares to fight.
Guan Xiaoyu, head of the Henan Yu Opera Youth Group, said that the successful performance of "Qin Xuemei" in Shanghai is not only a heritage and promotion of Henan Yu Opera, but also a continuation of the Yan School of Yu Opera art, and it is also an exchange and collision of different regional cultures.
Yan Lipin is one of the five famous actresses of Henan opera. At the age of 10, she became a disciple of Henan opera master Yang Jinyu. In 1954, she was accepted as a disciple by Peking opera master Mei Lanfang. In her more than 60 years of artistic career, Yan Lipin's stage images such as Qin Xuemei, Hu Fenglian, and Yan Lanzhen are well-known to everyone. "Qin Xuemei" is Yan Lipin's representative play. It tells the story of Qin Xuemei, the daughter of Prime Minister Qin Guozheng during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, and Shang Lin's childhood sweethearts. Shang Lin was harmed by a treacherous party. Shang Lin lived in Qin's mansion and studied hard, but Qin Guozheng despised the poor and loved the rich, so he drove him away in anger. Shang Lin fell ill after returning home. Qin Guozheng married his daughter with a maid Chunhua instead of him. Shang Lin died of hatred after knowing the news. When the bad news came, Qin Xuemei remained loyal and went to Shang's mansion to pay tribute.
The Henan Yu Opera Youth Troupe that came to Shanghai for the performance is a highly educated, young and professional troupe with solid actors. From the director to the actors, all of them were born in the 1980s and 1990s. On the basis of inheriting the classics, the repertoire is carefully polished. The stage design, costumes and props boldly incorporate modern aesthetic elements. Based on the 1984 version of Qin Xuemei carefully polished by Yan Lipin, Qin Xuemei has compressed the performance time from 3 hours to 2 hours to make the story more compact. Qin Xuemei faced many difficulties, such as a father who despised the poor and loved the rich, and a husband who died tragically. However, she always adhered to the true love in her heart, and her stage performance showed the essence of Yan School.
Du Yongzhen, who plays Qin Xuemei, graduated from the first undergraduate class of Henan Opera at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Opera. She incorporates the vocal art of the Yan School, while also having her own explorations and creations. She uses the techniques of breaking, pausing, and stopping to make her singing gentle, delicate, and free and easy. Her performance in "Watching the Text" is full of emotion, which forms a sharp contrast with her heart-wrenching crying in "Crying for the Dead". She successfully portrays a girl in the boudoir who is not afraid of power, is well-educated, and dares to resist.
