one of the Han operas in Jiangnan area. Popular in Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou, parts of Anhui, Nanjing and Shanghai. It is developed from Yangzhou Huagu Opera and Subei Xianghuo Opera by absorbing Yangzhou Qingqu and folk songs.
Yangzhou Huagu Opera was originally a "duet" of singing and dancing, with only a small face (ugly) and a head (Dan). Later, it developed into a group dance of "three guarantees and four sides" and was interspersed with jokes "interrupting". During the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, there were such flower drum performances among the people. Since then, the content has been continuously enriched, and small plays such as Filling the Cylinder, Little Widow Going to the Grave, and Double Fear of Wife have been performed. The dramas such as Drum Treading, Wife Borrowing, and Visiting Family have been absorbed from Huizhou Class, and the monks and nuns from Qingqu have been put on the stage, and a class club with more than 4 performances has emerged. Accompanied by silk strings, the singing is delicate, so it is commonly known as "small opening".
The incense drama in northern Jiangsu was originally played by the incense (wizard) when the gods were rewarded in the countryside. The repertoire comes from the long book of gods, including Wei Zheng's Chopping the Dragon and Qin Shihuang's Driving the Mountain and Blocking the Sea. Accompanied by gongs and drums, the singing is rough, so it is commonly known as "big opening" In 1957, it was discovered that the manuscript of Zhang Lang Divorced His Wife was written in 1784. In 1911, "Big Opening" entered Shanghai from Yangzhou and was renamed "Weiyang Taipan", with famous actors such as Cheng Junyu and Pan Xiyun. In 1919, "Xiao Kou" performed in Hangzhou Great World, and entered Shanghai the following year, renamed as "Wei Yang Wen Xi", with famous actors such as Ge Jinhua and Zang Xuemei. Because the languages of "big opening" and "small opening" are the same, they combined in the early 193s, focusing on "small opening", which was called "Weiyang Opera" and later referred to as "Yang Opera".
there are more than 1 kinds of aria tunes in yangju opera, and more than 2 kinds are commonly used, among which the original ones belong to huagu opera, and most of them take the title of the opera as the tune, such as "visiting relatives tune" and "filling the jar tune", etc., and the tunes from Yangzhou Qingqu include "dressing table", "Manjianghong", "cutting indigo flowers" and "Yinniusi". At the same time, it also adapted the seven words and cross sentences of "big opening" that have not been used for many years into new songs. Although there are differences in the foot color of Yangju opera, it is still divided into male and female vocals, and the performing arts of all walks of life are mostly absorbed from Kunju Opera and Peking Opera.
However, it always maintains the simple and lively features and life flavor of Huagu Opera, especially ugly feet. There are more than 3 traditional plays, most of which are legendary story plays performed by screens. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the influential plays that have been arranged, adapted and created include The Story of the Hongyan, Going to the Jinshan Mountain, The Story of Enjoyment and Hatred, The Hundred-year-old Commanding (which has been made into a film), and the modern plays include The Seal of India and The Riptide of Huangpu River. Famous actors include Gao Xiuying, Jin Yungui, Wang Xiulan, Shi Yufang, Hua Suqin and Gu Yujun.
On the one hand, the performing arts of Yangju inherit the local random play and the folk singing and dancing traditions of Yangzhou, such as flower drum, incense, yangko, juggling, dragon lantern, unicorn singing, boating on the lake, and on the other hand, draw nourishment from Yiyang tune, Kunqu tune, Huizhou tune and other traditional operas popular in Yangzhou. The music of Yangju Opera belongs to the couplet style. Speaking of its charm of combining rigidity and softness, it mainly contains the lightness and delicacy of the tune of Huagu Opera, the masculine and rough tone of incense opera, the meaningful and fresh folk songs and the changeable emotion of Qingqu.
Yangju is rich in aria tunes, including more than 1 kinds of tunes from Yangzhou Qingqu, Yangzhou Flower Drum and Yangzhou Incense, among which Yangzhou Qingqu occupies a dominant position, including Manjianghong, Dressing Table, Cut Indigo Flower and Yinniusi, all of which are the main tunes of Yangju.
Yangzhou incense is accompanied by big gongs and drums without using silk stringed instruments. The main tunes are more than 3 kinds, such as Singing in Seven Characters, Singing in Cross, Swimming in the Wind Palace, Driving the Mountain and Blocking the Sea, and Liu Juezi, all of which are rough, powerful and high-pitched. Besides, Yangju also absorbs and transforms some tunes from folk songs and other traditional operas, such as Daya Pai, Ten Cups of Wine, Yangliuqing, Wuchengdiao, etc., which have become an integral part of Yangju music.