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Appreciation of drama and opera

Some people often say that foreign operas are too difficult to appreciate: the singers sing with all their strength, but the listeners seem to be in a fog and have no idea what they are saying. Except for a few common arias that can be heard as "good", others are simply unbearable.

Indeed, it will be distressing to listen to an entire opera without knowing what the actors on stage are performing and why they are singing. This is normal. Just imagine, if we invite a foreigner who has never been exposed to Chinese opera to go to the theater to listen to Peking Opera for a night without any explanation, he will be very confused. At most, he can feel that the taste of Peking Opera is quite fresh, the actors are very beautiful in appearance, and the movements are quite interesting. Looking back, he will not be able to hold on for a while - this is the same situation as when we listen to Western European operas.

What to do? Facing people who are confused but eager to understand the opera and appreciate its mysteries, some experts offer a "two-word secret": listen more. Yes, this is the way to go. If you don’t get in touch with it more emotionally, you will never be able to enter this world. However, one more thing must be added: understand what the opera is about. Or simply, understand the story of the opera.

Opera is a comprehensive art. It is different from pure music forms such as symphony and chamber music. It is a genre that integrates various arts such as music, drama and fine arts. Without the basis of literary scripts, there is no way to produce opera music; without dramatic performances (actors' movements, positioning, or dance scenes, etc.), it is impossible to vividly and clearly reflect the relationship between plot and characters; without fine arts (including Stage design, costumes, props, lighting), it is impossible to completely represent the environment in which the opera plot takes place. Therefore, we have another request for friends who are eager to enter the world of opera besides "listening more": understand the story of each opera.

For example: If you read the libretto of Verdi's opera "La Traviata" in advance (adapted from the novel by French composer Xiao Dumas) and understand that it is a tragedy, it It tells the tortuous and unfortunate experience of a prostitute who fell into prostitution but still had hope for a pure life. Then, if you listen to the familiar "Drinking Song" from the play, you will not only feel the joy conveyed by the music, but also the thing behind the joy - Violetta, the Lady of the Camellias I have a deeper understanding of the emptiness covered up by the forced smiles and the luxuries of the upper class. When listening to La Traviata's long aria at the end of the first act, you will deeply feel her desire for happiness and love, as well as her helplessness and pain about the current situation of her life. When you hear the father of La Traviata's lover Alfred coming to her in the second act and asking her to leave his son and singing that gentle aria, you will not only understand what he is like as a loving father. Those who feel anxious will also feel resentful of the cruelty and hypocrisy hidden in this kindness. When you hear the music in which Alfred, who is kept in the dark, yells insults at La Traviata, causing the poor woman to faint, and the dying La Traviata at the end of the play, she finally finds her sweetheart on her deathbed. , when they sing the miserable duet, you will no longer feel that the music is lengthy and inexplicable, but will be very sensitive to every melody, every phrase, and even every chord and accompaniment pattern of the orchestra. All the composer's musical techniques can be understood. Why the singer's singing is sometimes high-pitched and exciting, sometimes lingering and sad, sometimes hysterical, and sometimes intermittent, all of them have special meaning.

In addition to the important method of "understanding the plot", we should also pay attention to the unique expression methods of opera art during appreciation. For example, the display of superb singing skills, the drama and lyricism of the aria, the three-dimensional sense of the duet, the emotional rendering of the band accompaniment, the atmosphere, etc. If you listen more, you will have an understanding of the opera writing styles of different composers, the characteristics of different works of the same composer, the creative views of different schools, and the ways in which different singers and conductors handle works. When comparing During this period, you will have a deeper feeling for the charm of the art of opera.

Opera is an art that combines hearing and vision, so if you have the opportunity to go to the opera house to watch an opera, it would be ideal.

While listening to the wonderful music, we can also feel the physical performances of the actors on the stage, the exquisite stage design, the costumes of different eras and styles, and even the atmosphere in the theater. This will be of great help to us in understanding the content of the opera. The audio-visual media in modern society have become very developed and convenient. We can also watch opera videos and laser discs performed by world-class actors at home, so as to fully understand an opera work.

Listening to music requires culture. This culture does not refer to the mathematics, physics and chemistry learned in school, nor does it refer to the analysis of articles and the understanding of grammatical phenomena in Chinese classes. It is the understanding of the meaning of life and the observation of the big book of society. In the eyes of different people, the meaning of life is different, and the degree of understanding of life is different. Therefore, for an opera work (or a symphony, chamber music, or even a short piece of music), and then expand A little, for a poem, a novel...) is also different. May we have the culture to feel everything the composer said to tell us in the art of opera, and to accept the truth, goodness and beauty in music.

The world of opera is very fascinating. Once you step into it, you will definitely not want to leave. I hope this little book will help you enter this fascinating world. However, in the end you still have to cross the bridge of music. If you want to understand a musical work, listening is always the first priority.

Chinese opera art is fundamentally different from the Western concept of "opera". First of all, the art of opera is not an "opera" or even a "vaudeville drama", but a comprehensive dramatic art with very rich connotations.

Just as Western medicine pays attention to the "analysis" of each drug - what does aspirin treat, what does caffeine treat... Which drug is specially designed to treat headaches, and which drug is... Specializing in treating stomachache... More often than not, the head is treated for headaches, and the feet are treated for foot pain. However, Chinese medicine focuses on "syndrome differentiation and treatment" and comprehensive "conditioning". If you have a headache, you may just prick your feet with a needle. Okay, if your "cold" is caused by a weak body, then maybe you should be given a "tonic" instead of "clearing away heat and detoxifying"...

This is Eastern and Western philosophical thought fundamental differences.

The same is true in drama. The West has "decomposed" dramatic art very finely. It can be said that it has decomposed "material" into "elements":

"Opera" uses "singing" to express the plot. Then it cannot "dance", nor can it "speak". Even the greetings after inviting guests into the house must be expressed by singing: "Please - sit down~~~~~", "Please have a cup of tea~" ~~~~~"

"Drama" uses "words" to express the plot, so it has to "talk" endlessly. For example, Hamlet's long monologue is where a person speaks to himself. Speaking to myself... there is almost never "singing" or "dancing" in dramas.

"Dance drama" (ballet) uses "dance" to express the plot, so all its dramatic content must be reflected through the rhythm of the human body - the form of "dance". Every sentence, every emotional exchange, every bit of plot... are all expressed through dance. It is absolutely not allowed to "sing" or "speak", and even some static poses are taboo in dance dramas.

"Mime" purely relies on "performance" to reflect the plot (but "performance" definitely does not include "dance"). There is not a single word, a complete dance, a song... not even a musical accompaniment!

Chinese opera is fundamentally different: the art of opera itself is first of all literature (language arts, poetry, phonology...), music (singing, accompaniment...), art (costumes, makeup...) and A large complex of performing arts; and in terms of performing arts, it pays attention to the synthesis of singing, reading, doing, and fighting, which includes singing, speaking, performing movements, dancing, acrobatics, etc.

Therefore, there is great incomparability in saying that opera is a kind of "opera" and comparing the art of opera with Western "opera". If we want to compare, it seems that it is reasonable to comprehensively compare the art of opera with Western opera + drama + dance drama + pantomime + oratorio + sculpture drama...

In this regard, I have not seen any reason to prove that the art of opera is "inferior" to Western drama - whether in terms of its expressive power, or the size of its "influence" and "market" Make a comparison.

Secondly, if we only compare the "singing" of opera with the "vocal music" of Western opera, we can say that they are two fundamentally different things.

The Western vocal music system is divided into "tenor", "baritone", "bass" and "soprano" (including "dramatic soprano") according to the singer's range and singing method. and "coloratura soprano"), "mezzo-soprano", "alto". This distinction is made by the composer of the opera. A young man may be sung by a bass actor, or by a tenor or baritone actor; while an old man may be sung by a bass actor. It may also be sung by a bass, a baritone or a tenor... In other words, the singing style of a character in the play is determined by the composer and the singer. The actor's singing style is not determined by the role, but by the music and the "voice" he sings. We can imagine: in an opera, it is absolutely impossible for an actress to play a role that should sing a bass, right?

In the art of opera, the vocal system of singing is completely different - the actors' singing is not distinguished based on the actor's vocal range, but based on the characteristics of the character's "business". Each specific "business" has its own method of vocalization and singing.

Let’s take Peking Opera as an example: Xiaosheng is definitely not a “tenor”; painted face is definitely not a “bass”. Tsing Yi cannot be a "soprano", nor can Lao Dan be a "alto". Any actor, if he has mastered the singing style and vocal essentials of this "trade", then he can sing the role of this profession: an actress can sing Zhang Fei well according to the singing skills of Hua Lian, and an actor can also sing. Perform You Sanjie according to Hua Dan’s singing methods. When an actress sings a male role, we see a male character, not a "female" performance; when a male actor sings a female role, we also see a real woman, not a "female" performance. "A man pretending to be a woman" - unless he is performing a role of "a woman pretending to be a man" or a "man pretending to be a woman". It can be seen from this that Western opera and Chinese opera are dramas of different systems, and simple analogies cannot be made. Western classical opera has become a "high art" there. Compared with popular music in the contemporary era, it is indeed a "snowy" art form. Therefore, the audience (listeners) cannot be compared with the audience of pop songs. It would not be wrong to say that it is a bit "down".

The art of Peking Opera was originally a "popular art" in our country. It was something that was seen and heard by all the old and young, women and children in all the big towns, remote villages and remote areas. However, due to some historical reasons, (mainly due to the "disruption" of the "Cultural Revolution"), it has cut off its connection with the broad audience. Many people can no longer appreciate it and understand it. Now it seems to have become some kind of "high art" . As a result, "symptoms" similar to those in Western opera also appeared. Only in this aspect, it is a bit "like" a Western opera.

However, Western opera is now enshrined as something that the "elegant" and "upper class" can appreciate. What about Peking Opera? It's different

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