Their heirs recreate classics, with two actresses collaborating for 50 years to sing | Qi Yaxian | Two
In February 1950, the master of Yue Opera, Qi Yaxian, formed a cooperative Yue Opera Troupe in Jing'an, Shanghai. She was skilled in portraying kind, gentle, and passionate women, and developed and changed on the basis of the Yuan style singing style, forming a lingering, gentle, simple and profound "Qi School". In 1951, Bi Chunfang, who was one year older than Qi Yaxian, joined the cooperative Yue Opera Troupe. Bi Chunfang is skilled in comedy, performing gracefully and elegantly. Her singing style incorporates the tones of Yin Guifang and Fan Ruijuan, and her voice is clear and elastic, earning her the nickname "Bi School". The two individuals with complementary advantages worked together for 50 years until the death of Qi Yaxian. Qi Bi's representative works, such as "The Legend of the White Snake," "Blood Handprints," "Jade Hall Spring," "Jade Dragonfly," "King Tiger's Marriage," "Three Laughs," and "Selling Oil Man," have been talked about by theater fans to this day.
In July, the Shanghai Meiqi Grand Theater will hold a "Yue Sheng" Jing'an - a classic performance event of the Yue Opera masters Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang. From July 13th to 15th, they will continue to perform "Selling Oil Lang", "Wang Tiger's Marriage", and "Yu Tang Chun", with inheritors of Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang continuing their relationship on stage. On June 5th, the leading actors Tang Xiaoling, Si Yulin, and Jin Jing shared their artistic insights from the "Qi School" and "Bi School" with fans, warming up for the performance.
In her youth, Jin Jing followed her teacher Qi Yaxian on a tour outside the city, often performing for two to three months at a time. "The teacher taught us by example and asked us not to do anything else, just to look at their hands, eyes, body movements, and steps on stage. Teacher Qi's voice was broad, bright, not dull or sharp, like flowing clouds and flowing water." In Jin Jing's memory, Qi Yaxian never laughed, studied art, and was still pondering the performance details of "The Legend of the White Snake" while sick.
On July 15th, Jin Jing and Si Yulin adapted their lead role in "Yutangchun" from the same name Peking Opera, which, in Jin Jing's words, means "the north flowers move south.". Cross talk master Hou Baolin commented that Shanghai audiences love the "Qi faction" very much. He jokingly said "Qilin Tong", but he shook his burden and was "Qi Yaxian's Qi faction". Hou Baolin not only imitated the singing style of Qi Yaxian, but also said, "When you go to Shanghai, you should listen to the Qi school."
The cooperative Yueju Troupe produced "Yutangchun" in December 1952, which was very popular. In 1980, Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang re starred in "Yutangchun", which improved both the script and singing style, becoming the group's most frequently performed and popular reserved play.
The characteristic of Yue Opera "Yutangchun" lies in its singing style, which integrates classic Yue Opera tunes such as Sigong, Xiandiao, Men's Tune, Lianban, Inverted Tune, Qingban, Xiaoban, Erfan, etc., making the audience never tire of listening. The singing segments of "Su San Qi Jie" and "San Tang Hui Shen" were published by the China Record Society in the 1950s, and in the 1980s, the complete audio tape of "Yu Tang Chun" was also published by the China Record Society.
Jin Jing smiled and said, "In" Yu Tang Chun ", there were almost no breaths in Su's 38 scenes. I could lose two kilograms by playing" Yu Tang Chun "once." Jin Jing once traveled to Hongdong County, which was mentioned in "Yu Tang Chun", and was moved by the scenery. He sang a segment of "Yu Tang Chun" in the scenic corridor. "A wave of birds' heads spinning up, birds, can you pass the message to me?" To her surprise, this song really caught the attention of the birds. "The birds are flying here, spinning on my head, and the lyrics are too real."
Si Yulin played Wang Jinlong in "Yu Tang Chun". "Wang Jinlong is a devoted and good man in modern society, and his performances are a fusion of scholars, poor students, and officials, very full." Si Yulin has been studying Fan Pai in the theater school. "Fan Pai infiltrates my bone marrow, while Bi Pai has a complete system that is difficult to control and requires careful attention every word." She will never forget Bi Chunfang's care. "Teacher Bi called me and asked me to go to her house to 'make up for classes', bought me a lot of fruits, and praised me, saying' I sing without exaggeration, very standard 'and encouraged me to sing more." You can go to her house anytime when you need help
Tang Xiaoling will play Wang Xiuying in July 14th's "Wang Tiger's Marriage", partnering with Bi Pai actor Ding Xiaofrog. As a Lv style actress, Tang Xiaoling changed her singing style to Qi style. "For me, 'Wang Tiger's Marriage' is a new cross genre play. Compared to Lv style, Qi style is more down-to-earth and does not have as many melodies. As I gradually progress, I adapt to different vocal positions, bite words, and use different melodies." Tang Xiaoling once collaborated with Ding Xiaofro to cross star in 'Chasing Fish'. "Little Frog is very humorous and even self deprecating as a fat headed fish." On July 13th, Ding Xiaofro will join hands with Qi style actress Wang Hangjuan to perform 'Oil Selling Man'. ".
"Yue Opera fans say that listening to Qi Bi leads to Jing'an," said Lin Zhenhao, the general manager of Shanghai Performing Arts Co., Ltd. The collaboration between Qi Bi and the Yue Opera Troupe was established in Jing'an more than half a century ago, and the Meiqi Grand Theater has also gone through more than 80 years in Jing'an. In 1981, Qi Yaxian and Bi Chunfang performed "Emperor Guangxu" for an unprecedented month at the Meiqi Grand Theater. "Qi Yaxian, Bi Chunfang, and Jing'an have an inseparable affection and fate. We bring the three representative works of Qi Bi to Yue opera fans, allowing more people to experience the unique charm of Yue opera."
As a special funding support project for cultural development in Jing'an District, the organizers of the exhibition are creating the Dragon Boat Festival "Youth Daily X SMGLive Theater 'Cheers! Yue Sheng Huo' Flash Event" at 812 Julu Road, aiming to attract more attention to Yueju culture through a way that young audiences enjoy. The Master Forum will invite inheritors of the Qi and Bi factions to hold two art salons at the 7th floor activity center of CITIC Pacific Plaza, reaching 12000 users in the building and a large number of members in the mall system through community recruitment and member benefits. This is another attempt by Shanghai Performing Arts Co., Ltd. to collaborate with CITIC Pacific Plaza in cultural and commercial activities, aiming to promote more young audiences to enter the theater.
"We are very happy to stand on the shoulders of giants. Classics have given us tremendous spiritual and artistic value, and we strive to create new classics within them. This is what the times and the people need," said Jin Jing.
