Liu Bingyi's artistic path is legendary. He likes singing by nature. In middle school, in order to celebrate liberation, Liu Bingyi and his classmates took to the streets to sing heartily, but he never thought of singing as his lifelong career.

In the early 1950s, a large number of young students responded to the national call to join the army, resist US aggression and aid Korea, and defend their country. 16-year-old Liu Bingyi also resolutely put on the military uniform. He dreamed of flying into the blue sky to shoot down American ace pilots and severely crack down on air intruders. During the physical examination, because he couldn't pass the "dizziness" test, he had to give up his "flying dream" and enter the military and political school. When he heard that he would be assigned to the navy, he got excited again. Living by the sea since childhood, he has always had a soft spot for the blue sea, sailing boats, especially mighty warships.

Little did they know that before long, Liu Bingyi's "sea dream" was broken again. One day, Liu Bingyi, who was playing on the basketball court, saw several people in volunteer uniforms pointing at the basketball court, and his fate changed completely at this moment. The next day, the school leader talked to him and told him that he was officially called into the Volunteer Art Troupe. Liu Bingyi is angry. Iron Man is supposed to be a bloody battlefield. How can he sing while playing? To this end, he is in a big mood. But soldiers are soldiers, and Liu Bingyi finally chose to obey orders and become a literary and art soldier in the battlefield. He went to the Korean battlefield with the volunteers and performed for the volunteers fighting at the front. On the Korean battlefield, Liu Bingyi experienced the war and the blood of his comrades-in-arms, and was honed in the smoke to become a real literary warrior. He not only sings to the soldiers, but also speaks crosstalk and sings Allegro. Because of his hard work and diligence, he got a rare opportunity to study and was sent to the North Korean National Theatre to study. Pyongyang was a veritable "Pyongyang" at that time, and almost the whole city was razed to the ground. Liu Bingyi completed his initial professional study in a rubble basement, which was his first real art study-the first time to learn the art of singing, and the first time to know that he was a baritone. Later, on the battlefield, Liu Bingyi seized every opportunity to learn from the artists who went to the Korean condolence group. It was freezing, and he stood in the snow practicing his voice, and his eyebrows and hair were frosted. In this way, Liu Bingyi's singing resounded through the war.

Forever regret

Liu Bingyi always feels sorry for his artistic performance. After each performance, he should sum up carefully and find out the "regrets" in this performance as the research topic for the next performance, so as to make his singing art more and more perfect. Therefore, when a young actor asked him if he was bored with singing, Liu Bingyi said with great interest: Of course not, there are regrets every time, there are areas that need improvement and new pursuits. How can you be bored?

Speaking of regrets, Liu Bingyi's greatest regret is that he didn't have the opportunity to fully display Chinese and foreign opera art on the opera stage.

From 65438 to 0957, Liu Bingyi, who returned from the Korean battlefield, was admitted to the vocal music department of the Central Conservatory of Music. With hard work and unremitting pursuit, he completed five years of vocal music training with excellent results. 1962 successfully played the hero onegin in the classic drama "yevgeni onegin" staged in the Central Opera House. Staying in the opera house is almost certain, and the opera dream will come true. At this time, the college leaders found him: the conservatory of music has rich opera art that needs someone to study, inherit, develop and innovate, and the school hopes that he can stay in school. After careful consideration, Liu Bingyi gave up his dream opera stage and chose to stay in school to learn and teach.

However, things are unpredictable and unpredictable. In his later years, Liu Bingyi participated in the rehearsal of the revolutionary historical epic "Dongfanghong", and experienced the eventful years when everyone sang revolutionary songs, but he never had a chance to enter the opera stage again. What makes him regret even more is that the traditional Chinese opera art, which was originally intended to learn more, also went up in smoke in turbulent times. This has become Liu Bingyi's eternal regret.

sing again

"I Dedicate Oil to the Motherland" is a must-sing song of Liu Bingyi in every performance, and even seems to be his only song for a while, which really made Liu Bingyi "depressed" for quite a while, but whenever he heard the warm applause and cheers from the audience, Liu Bingyi felt gratified again and again.

In the late 1980s, songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan were all the rage, and Liu Bingyi sang the song "I Contribute Oil to the Motherland" again at a concert for college students. He originally thought that the students in the audience had not experienced that era and were not familiar with it at all. However, completely unexpected, when the music started, the students in the audience were excited, excited and resonated, which pushed the whole party to a climax, and even the artistic director of the party was shocked by the whole scene. Liu Bingyi deeply feels that a song can shock generations, even young people in the new era, which shows that the song itself has transcended the limitations of the times and embodied a spirit. Although this song sings the lofty aspirations of oil workers, it also sings the deepest spiritual connotation of the Chinese nation, so it can touch the hearts of generations.

Liu Bingyi believes that a good song should be attributed to the songwriter first. As a singer, he just expresses a good work with his own voice-without a good work, even a good singer can't cook without rice.

Speaking of the song "I Contribute Oil to the Motherland", Liu Bingyi has endless stories. In fact, this song almost died in that hot age. During the "Cultural Revolution", the song "I Dedicate Oil to the Motherland" was considered as "I only see oil, but I can't see the route" and was almost "changed". At that time, songwriters Qin Yongcheng and Liu Bingyi discussed how to save this song, so they made some "revolutionary" changes to the lyrics of this song, which made this song survive and make it immortal. After the Cultural Revolution, when he came to Daqing and saw the lyricist Xue again, he bowed deeply to him and apologized for the "tampering" of that year. Xue held hands tightly and said, "You saved me and this song."

road to fame

On the evening of March 27th, 2065438+00, Tianjin Concert Hall. Liu Bingyi, a famous baritone singer, returned to the dressing room with flowers. His solo concert has just ended. He has finished singing all the tracks, but at the request of Tianjin elders, he came back to sing his most popular songs "I offer oil for the motherland", "flea song" and "Alamu" for three times, but his fans still refused to let him go. Facing the mirror in the dressing room, he recalled the enthusiastic audience and prolonged applause just now, as if 60 years had passed before his eyes, and he couldn't help crying. ...

Literary warriors went to the Korean battlefield.

When Liu Bingyi was a boy 16 years old, the Korean War broke out. At that time, the air force in South China had just started. Enthusiastic Liu Bingyi heard about the situation in the Korean battlefield and wanted to fly a plane to "fight against American imperialism", so he resolutely joined the army. At the end of the military training, Liu Bingyi, who was assigned to the naval forces, was full of dreams and was ready to report for duty. Unexpectedly, the accident happened.

One day, Liu Bingyi, who was playing basketball on the basketball court, saw several people wearing volunteer uniforms passing by, and then the leader talked with him and asked him to go to the Korean battlefield that day. To his surprise, he went to North Korea not as a soldier, but as an actor in a volunteer art troupe. "The leader said, you love singing at ordinary times, just pick you. I was suddenly confused. I have always liked literature and art, and I have been a backbone since I was a child, but that is only an amateur. I never thought I would do this all my life. "

However, under the "threat" of the leader's "expulsion from the army and regiment", Liu Bingyi still obeyed the order and went to North Korea. In his view, "joining the army is supposed to go to the battlefield, so this is what I got."

There is no condition for learning to sing in the Korean battlefield. "When necessary, be sure to rush ahead." Therefore, Liu Bingyi's performances are basically in the wild. In winter, he suffered a lot: "When performing in a snowy forest, the snow at his feet will soon melt, and his beard and eyebrows will soon hang ice."

After three years in Korea, Liu Bingyi and the last batch of volunteers returned to the motherland on 1955.

Tianjin is my second hometown.

In order to participate in this "nostalgia" concert series, Liu Bingyi came to Tianjin several times to promote the concert. At the first press conference, he told everyone why he was a "Tianjin native".

"I'm really not from Tianjin." Liu Bingyi explained that he was from Qinhuangdao. "But I am from Tianjin." It turns out that Liu Bingyi's ancestral home is Lutai, Hebei Province, and Lutai's administrative division belongs to Tianjin. "I thank the elders of Tianjin. Haihe River has cultivated many golden scorpions, and Tianjin is my second hometown. "

From 65438 to 0957, Liu Bingyi was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music at that time and formally studied vocal music. The 60-year stage career began in Tianjin, which made Liu Bingyi have deep feelings for Tianjin. In his view, Tianjin people have a good personality and are more generous, and Tianjin dialect also makes him feel familiar and comfortable. Liu Bingyi has never studied Tianjin dialect seriously, but he "speaks with Tianjin flavor as soon as he arrives in Tianjin". "Tianjin audience is the most enthusiastic audience, loyal, generous and reasonable, but also the most annoying. The actors play big names here, and the audience in Tianjin will never buy it. Some people are afraid to come to Tianjin to perform. I have never felt that way. As soon as I came to Tianjin, I was particularly at ease and practical. Because as long as you are sincere, as long as you prepare carefully, the audience in Tianjin is the most enthusiastic and inclusive. "

Liu Bingyi still remembers his school days in Tianjin. The vicinity of the Conservatory of Music is desolate, and there are few places where he can perform. "Students love to take a penny ferry to play in the city center, love to go to the light to watch movies, and love to perform in concert halls. They are all very happy."

Used to be a rapper.

Returning from the war-torn battlefield to the Conservatory of Music, Liu Bingyi's mood did not become relaxed, because the first difficulty he faced was the lack of basic knowledge of music. "At that time, I just got back from the battlefield and felt that I was a bumpkin covered in soil and had never seen a piano. Some students around me have practiced vocal music before, and some are familiar with many Chinese and foreign works, and their foundation is stronger than mine. People like me who haven't heard many Chinese and foreign works in total can hardly pass the final graduation exam. "

During the summer vacation, Liu Bingyi was afraid to go home. He sat in the piano room practicing, with prickly heat on his ass, and was afraid to leave. "My teacher once said to me: You can be my teacher when you sing the rap works of China folk songs. But the basic state of your singing is not singing, it is called' singing'. It is to criticize my weak combination of vocal music concept and language. "

Therefore, Liu Bingyi had to find a gap in his study and listen to all kinds of records to broaden his horizons. Many things happen. Five years later, Liu Bingyi graduated with full marks in professional courses, and was also chosen to play the leading role of onegin in the opera yevgeni onegin. Together with Guo Shuzhen, the heroine of the play, she completed the graduation drama and the difficult transformation from an amateur singer to a professional singer.

Media interview

Speaking of Liu Bingyi, the audience should be most familiar with the song "I Give Oil to the Motherland", which is a must-sing for every concert. "The main reason is that the audience is too familiar with this song. I have been singing for too long. This song was written in 1964. I started singing that year, and it has been nearly 50 years now. " Liu Bingyi said that he didn't arrange this song for many times in his personal concerts, because the arrangement of concerts is generally based on the concepts contained in ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, but "I offer oil for the motherland" is a mass song, which is not suitable for any series, so he can only sing solo in the end. But wherever he goes, the audience will eventually let him sing.

From movie records to vinyl records, to tapes and CDs, different carriers record the unique stories of that era. Now, Liu Bingyi can't remember how many versions of "I Contribute Oil to the Motherland" he has recorded. Whether accompanied by accordion, piano, small band or big band, his songs have been sung for nearly half a century. "I sang this song for the longest time. I admit there are many recorded versions, but I dare not pretend to be the first singer. In fact, I started singing because I liked it. " When it comes to his masterpieces, Liu Bingyi said modestly.

Although Liu Bingyi stayed in school to teach after graduation, hoping to learn all the knowledge of the old teacher and the knowledge of traditional Chinese opera, the performance task disrupted his plan. 1963 went to the Soviet Union to participate in the Sino-Soviet Cultural Year. After returning home, he immediately reported the large-scale music and dance epic "Dongfanghong". Soon it will be ten years of turmoil ... After coming out of school, opera has become a "sore spot" that Liu Bingyi has never touched again. But he insisted that his performance and love for opera never stopped.

Continue to sing among octogenarians.

Liu Bingyi, who always thought he had a sports background, never dreamed that in the 1990s, he accidentally stood in the queue of "diabetes".

At the end of the interview, Liu Bingyi told reporters that as far as he knows, the vocal cord is the last aging body organ. Although he is nearly eighty years old, as long as he can sing, he will certainly continue to sing hard for those who love him.