2024-01-30 05:53:00
original title:
Zhao Xiujun: Perfectly conveying the cultural essence of Peking Opera
Tianjin Daily reporter Zhang Jie
At the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe performed a lot of good shows. They not only performed “The Orphan of Zhao”, a collaboration of the whole troupe, but also presented the classic opera “The Red-maned Horse” led by famous artists. Zhao Xiujun, a famous Peking Opera performing artist, leader of the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe, and Tsing Yi actor of the Zhang School, said: “In the new year, we will launch more good plays to repay the audience’s love.” Recently, Zhao Xiujun accepted an exclusive interview with reporters and talked about She recalled her own 40-year relationship with Peking Opera.
Zhao Xiujun, Gong Qingyi, belongs to the Zhang (Junqiu) sect of Yizong. He first learned art from teachers such as Li Jinqiu, Zhang Xuehua, and Cai Yinglian. In 1993, he became a teacher of Peking Opera master Zhang Junqiu and received personal instruction from him. Zhao Xiujun has a broad and beautiful voice. She can master the euphemistic and delicate skills of Zhang style. She has a dignified appearance and elegant stage style. In 2002, she became a student of the famous Peking Opera artist Du Jinfang. After many years of stage practice, he is good at performing “Qin Xianglian”, “Han Yuniang”, “Hate in the Chu Palace”, “Silang Visits His Mother”, “The Matchmaker”, “Wangjiang Pavilion”, “Liu Lanzhi”, “The Romance of the West Chamber”, “Jinshan Temple·Broken Bridge·Leifeng Pagoda” There are dozens of Zhang School plays, including “The Drunken Concubine”, “Farewell My Concubine”, “Universal Frontier”, “Mrs. Anguo”, “Bead Curtain Show”, etc.
Zhao Xiujun became famous at a young age. At the age of 20, she represented the Tianjin Peking Opera community in a performance commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Hui Troupe’s entry into Beijing. At the age of 23, she became a disciple of Peking Opera master Mr. Zhang Junqiu. At the age of 26, she was selected into the first graduate class of China’s outstanding young Peking Opera actors. At the age of 29, she was awarded the 16th Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Award.
She pursues excellence in the art of Peking Opera, is peaceful and steady in life, and always maintains the qualities of modesty, prudence, and neither arrogance nor impatience. Since becoming the leader of the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe, she has been busy with troupe management work while also focusing on improving her professional capabilities. She rushes to the office and rehearsal venues every day and never misses a rehearsal. She attributed her honor to the collective efforts and set an example for young people. Fans who are familiar with her said: “After Zhao Xiujun became the leader, her professional level has improved. I believe she must be working harder and better in private.” Work hard.”
Looking back at Liyuan Road, the unforgettable relationship between master and apprentice
Zhao Xiujun was born in an intellectual family. Her parents loved literature and art. Whenever there were excellent operas, movies, symphonies, and ballet performances, they would take Zhao Xiujun and her brother to watch them. Zhao Xiujun studied ballet. When she was 11 years old, her father learned that Tianjin Theater School was recruiting students and suggested that her daughter give it a try. That year, thousands of people participated in the selection. After passing business and cultural courses and other examinations, more than 70 people were admitted, of which only 6 were girls, and Zhao Xiujun was one of them.
After entering the drama school, Zhao Xiujun was selected for the Tsing Yi profession with her ballet skills and good image and temperament. Opera singing is very complicated and difficult to learn, and you can’t figure it out. Until one day when she came home and heard her father playing Mr. Zhang Junqiu’s “Su San Qi Jie” on the tape recorder, she had a special feeling for this voice. “I wanted to sing as well as the voice on the tape.” From then on, She seemed to have an enlightenment and had the desire to learn drama. For seven years in the drama school, she got up early every day to practice various trades and learned skills from teachers such as Li Jinqiu, Zhang Xuehua, and Cai Yinglian. She recalled: “Kung Fu is something I practice hard bit by bit, but if I don’t have a good teacher to teach me, my practice will be in vain. I am deeply grateful to my teachers.”
In 1990, the performance commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Hui Troupe’s entry into Beijing was about to take place. Tianjin leaders and teachers from the drama school took Zhao Xiujun to visit Mr. Zhang Junqiu because he wanted to participate in this performance and needed Mr. Zhang’s approval. “It was very cold that day, and the wind was biting. I sang a piece of “Qin Xianglian” in front of Mr. Zhang Junqiu. After singing, Mr. Zhang showed a smile on his face and said, OK, let’s go back to Tianjin to rehearse!” This is Zhao Xiujun appeared in front of Mr. Zhang Junqiu for the first time. A fledgling student was recognized by the master.
“The official performance was at the Beijing Workers’ Club. I successfully completed the task and received wide acclaim.” This was the most impressive performance in Zhao Xiujun’s young life.
In 1991, Zhao Xiujun was transferred to the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe. In 1993, an event to commemorate Zhang Junqiu’s 60 years of artistic life was held in Beijing, and Mr. Zhang Junqiu specially invited Zhao Xiujun to perform. That day, when Zhao Xiujun finished singing the song, the audience burst into applause. The audience asked her to sing another section, but the young Zhao Xiujun was a little timid and hurriedly left the stage. Backstage, Mr. Zhang Junqiu instructed her that when encountering this kind of situation in the future, she must sing another verse for the audience, and even if she doesn’t sing, she must bow and thank her.
During the banquet the next day, someone suggested that Mr. Zhang Junqiu should accept Zhao Xiujun as his disciple. In the troupe world, apprenticeship is a very serious matter. However, faced with this temporary proposal, Mr. Zhang Junqiu happily accepted it. Zhao Xiujun recalled: “I didn’t even prepare flowers at the time. I was so excited that I picked up the potted flowers on the table and presented them to Mr. Zhang Junqiu. Mr. Zhang also picked up the menu on the table and wrote on it, ‘Study hard and make progress every day.’ Give me a word in return.”
In this way, at an informal apprenticeship banquet, Zhao Xiujun became Mr. Zhang Junqiu’s official disciple and a closed disciple. From then on, “study hard and make progress every day” became Zhao Xiujun’s motto. “The teacher asked me to be a down-to-earth person and be indifferent to fame and fortune. He said that as an actor, if you pursue fame and fortune too much, you will not be able to see a future. It is precisely because of the teacher’s teachings that I will become who I am in the future.”
Mr. Zhang Junqiu told Zhao Xiujun a play, and the first thing he said was “Jinshan Temple Broken Bridge Leifeng Pagoda”. This is a classic play of the Zhang School and is very difficult. As early as the period of the Republic of China, whenever the opera troupe’s income was poor, Mr. Zhang Junqiu would perform “Golden Broken Thunder”, and people would be seated as soon as the opera poster was posted. This play is very difficult. If you can sing it well, there will be no play that you can’t sing. Once, Zhao Xiujun and the troupe discussed rehearsing “Golden Broken Thunder”. After the rehearsal was completed, Mr. Zhang Junqiu was invited to watch. Mr. Zhang spent a week guiding the performance in detail, and spoke highly of Zhao Xiujun’s performance and praised her for her ambition.
Recalling the time spent with his mentor, Zhao Xiujun said: “Every time I visited the teacher, he always taught me strictly and asked me to strive for excellence in my business. Some of the skills the teacher taught me, I had to practice repeatedly in person until I fully mastered them. “
Mr. Zhang Junqiu was also very concerned about Zhao Xiujun’s life. When he learned that Zhao Xiujun’s father had passed away early, he showed her his family’s photo album and told her about his childhood. At that time, Mr. Zhang’s mother worked very hard to raise him. In order to reduce the burden on his mother, Mr. Zhang worked harder to learn skills. Zhao Xiujun said: “My husband loves me very much and cares about my family. He always tells me to be filial to my mother and listen to my mother’s words.”
Carrying the heavy responsibility of inheriting and promoting Zhang School art
The “audio-visual” and “audio-visual” plays of Chinese Peking Opera are two cultural projects of great significance. Zhao Xiujun has recorded a total of nineteen “audio-visual” plays and six “audio-visual” plays. Every time she records, she always prepares a month in advance, reviews the recording of the master’s opera, and then sings duet with the pianist to carefully consider every word. She said: “Peking Opera is an art for actors, and it is also a comprehensive art. Only when one’s own skills are fully developed can the most beautiful cultural essence of Peking Opera art be perfectly expressed and accurately conveyed.”
As a close disciple of Mr. Zhang Junqiu, Zhao Xiujun has always taken the art of Master Zhang Junqiu as a model. She pursues not only physical resemblance, but also spiritual resemblance. She strives to achieve everything from a look in her eyes and a step to a singing tune and a set of movements. Extreme. She said: “Mr.’s voice is perfect, and words of praise cannot describe his talent. As a female student, I also face some difficulties, because there are differences between men and women in terms of muscle strength, vocal cord structure, etc. How to use women The sound characteristics show the Zhang style of art, which requires careful consideration and continuous practice.”
Zhao Xiujun inherited Mr. Zhang Junqiu’s rigorous approach to art and his pursuit of excellence. One minute on stage and ten years off stage. She insists on practicing and singing every day. Before each performance, she must go through multiple rehearsals such as speaking rehearsal, sitting singing, and ringing rehearsal to ensure proficiency and skills to ensure a flawless performance. For example, in order to perform “Golden Broken Thunder” well, she would spend time in the practice room with the actors before each performance, smoothing things over, playing tricks, and cooperating with each other to increase tacit understanding. After practicing over and over again, I was often “cut” by props, leaving scars all over, and blood blisters from the tiger’s mouth. The new Peking Opera “Mrs. Anguo” was also strenuous in singing and acting. She insisted on practicing Baozi Kung Fu for several hours until she was exhausted.
Mr. Zhang Junqiu has very high requirements for character creation. He not only pursues a wide, thick and bright voice, but more importantly, he is able to understand the characters deeply and create delicate and changeable characters through his voice. Zhao Xiujun said: “Mr. Zhang Junqiu likes to see things that are as diverse as a kaleidoscope. Therefore, his artistic style always remains fresh, can touch people’s hearts, and inspire others to yearn for art. His art is not just a display of skills. , but also the transmission of emotions. His voice can make people feel the inner world of the character and resonate with it.”
After the death of Mr. Zhang Junqiu, Zhao Xiujun became a disciple of Mr. Du Jinfang. Zhao Xiujun still remembers the first meeting: “I performed “The West Chamber” before the Spring Festival in 1997. Teacher Du sat next to Teacher Zhang. Teacher Zhang called me over and said, this is my youngest apprentice, please help her. Du The teacher has a good relationship with Teacher Zhang. They studied opera together when they were children. Later, Teacher Du rehearsed “The Red Detachment of Women” and asked Teacher Zhang to help design the singing and check the performance of the play.” Mr. Du Jinfang thought highly of Zhao Xiujun. She once He said that he was “sewing diamonds on other people’s coats”, and the same was true for Zhao Xiujun. He helped her design many concepts for her performance.
In those years, Zhao Xiujun also received guidance and help from Chi Jinsheng, Ye Shaolan, Su Degui and many other seniors. She summed up her experience: “If there are no good teachers, students will only know bits and pieces but not the full picture, and their performance on stage will be poor.” It would be very one-sided. It is not enough to have famous teachers, you also need to meet teachers who understand. How to inherit traditional culture, the master-student relationship is also very important.”
How to carry forward the art of Zhang School and cultivate more young talents of Zhang School? Zhao Xiujun feels that this is his responsibility and his mission. In 2022, with the support of leaders at all levels, Zhao Xiujun and drama theorist Liu Lianqun worked in various ways to facilitate the first training class of Zhang School’s famous play “The Romance of the West Chamber” (adaptation). Dozens of young actors and performers from more than ten troupes across the country participated in the study. Zhao Xiujun said: “Zhang School art needs to maintain its uniqueness and purity, and cannot be overly expanded or changed, otherwise it may lose its original charm. It must be ‘good to hear’ and maintain the beauty and appeal of Zhang School art.”
At present, troupes in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and other theaters have completed the rehearsal performances of “The West Chamber”. Zhao Xiujun went to the rehearsal site to ensure high-level inheritance, and the performance received a strong response. She said: “Students come to learn opera, and we go to each place to implement it. Sometimes it is difficult to retain the play if it is not implemented. The leading actors and lead singers of our troupe provide one-on-one tutoring to the students, such as the teacher’s breath The connection between movements, movements and emotions, etc., must be carefully taught to students, so that students can benefit and traditional culture can be passed on.” This form has been affirmed by Mr. Zhu Shihui, honorary director of Hubei Beijing Theater, who said: ” With this form of teaching, the plays produced must be excellent.”
Show stage charm and share the same frequency with the audience
Zhao Xiujun has always followed Mr. Mei Lanfang’s Peking Opera reform concept of “keeping the same form at every turn” and insisted on the creative transformation and innovative development of Peking Opera art. She continues to practice on the stage and boldly tries new plays, new roles, and new singing styles. In 2020, the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe created and staged a new play “Zhu Lian Xiu”, telling the story behind the performance of “The Injustice of Dou E” by artist Zhu Lian Xiu and Guan Hanqing. The play boldly attempts a “play within a play” and requires very high performance skills from the actors. This play premiered in early 2020, participated in the 9th China Peking Opera Art Festival in 2021, and will be seen with the audience again after processing and improvement in 2023. Zhao Xiujun said: “The performance in the play fully interprets the characteristics of Zhang School’s art. It has rich melodies and diverse singing styles. It has both traditional taste and unique style. It accurately expresses the characteristics of Zhang School’s singing voice with soft timbre, clear enunciation and strong charm. It comes out. Taking the emotional needs of the characters as the starting point, the singing is more in line with the character’s personality and emotions, giving people a refreshing feeling.” The drama “Bead Curtain Show” is still being polished and processed, and strives to become a loud and popular drama. Excellent plays that can be spread widely and retained.
Over the years, Zhao Xiujun, together with the cast and crew of the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe, has used Peking opera to praise the party, the motherland, the people, and the heroes. In 2018, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, she participated in the modern Peking opera “Song of Righteousness” that reflects the spirit of dock workers; in 2019, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, they rehearsed the new play “Mrs. Anguo”; During the pneumonia epidemic, they composed the Beijing song “Recalling Qin’e·Fighting the Epidemic”, “fighting the epidemic with art”, which was inspiring; in 2022, during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, they created four works including “Following the Party to New Glory”. A Beijing song, singing the voice of the times.
Looking back on Zhao Xiujun’s acting career, she has performed more than a thousand times. In the 1990s, the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe visited Japan for exchange performances. Due to the tight schedule, Zhao Xiujun performed 23 times in a row. She also performed more than 30 times in Latin America and several times in New Zealand, winning applause and cheers from audiences around the world. When performing abroad, they never forget to spread the excellent traditional Chinese culture and have visited Confucius Institutes in the United States and Spain. Zhao Xiujun said: “Not long ago, the Confucius Institute in Spain organized an exhibition related to China and contacted us. We found some uncommon knife and gun handles and clothing and sent them over. I think this kind of exchange is a great contribution to our excellent traditional culture. Good promotion.”
At the end of 2023, Zhao Xiujun was awarded the honor of “Leading Talent of Chinese Drama (Danxing) in the New Era” by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. She said: “Being able to receive this honor shows that my efforts are in the right direction. Art is always developing. How can we reach a higher level? The closer we are to the peak, the greater the difficulties. A little mistake, once it goes wrong, you may lose your way. If art is just a show off of skills, then it is incomplete. Art should bring happiness to people at the scene and make the audience applaud. Really high-level art should make People feel comfortable, sound good, and look good. This is also the goal I have been striving for for many years. Achieving this goal is not easy and requires long-term practice and understanding.”
The art of Peking Opera seems to flow smoothly and freely on the stage, but in fact it is very difficult and requires concentration. “In the early stages of learning art, you need to use physical energy to invest, and gradually turn to mental and mental energy to reach high standards of art. The avenue of art may seem invisible, but it contains profound truths, and you must be patient to discover the laws.” Zhao Xiujun He believes that the world’s cultural and literary aesthetics are interlinked, and good, evil, beauty and ugliness are all reflected in them. “The audience obtains spiritual satisfaction through the actors’ performances; the actors can also continuously improve themselves by performing for the audience.” level and reach a higher artistic realm.”
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