Henan Opera is also known as Henan Bangzi and Henan Gao Tiao. Because early actors sang with their own voices, they used falsetto to raise the tail note with "贴" when starting and ending the voice, which is also called "Henan 贴". Performances in the mountainous areas of western Henan mostly rely on mountains and flat soil as the stage, which is locally called "backing roar". Because Henan Province is abbreviated as "Yu", it was named Henan Opera after liberation. It is one of the main opera types in Henan Province.

Henan Opera is popular in a wide range of areas. Henan Opera is performed in the north and south of the Yangtze River, on both sides of the Yellow River, and even in Xinjiang and Tibet.

Henan Opera belongs to the Bangzi style in terms of tone. According to the records of "Qi Lu Deng" written by Li Luyuan in the 42nd year of Qianlong's reign (1777) and the "Qixian Chronicle" in the 53rd year of Qianlong's reign (1788), at that time The local Bangzi Opera has become popular in Kaifeng and Qixian areas, and was once performed in a group with Luo Opera and Juan Opera, called "Bangluo Juan".

Henan opera music can be divided into four schools: the singing style centered on Kaifeng is called "Xiangfu tune"; the singing style centered on Shangqiu is called "Yundong tune", also known as Donglu tune; the singing style centered on Luoyang The singing method spread in the center is called "Western Henan Diao", also known as Xifu Diao and Kaoshanhuang; the singing method spread in the Shahe River Basin in southeastern Henan is called "Shahe Diao", also known as local Bang.

According to legend among artists, the earliest teachers of Henan opera were the Jiang family and the Xu family. The Jiang family held classes in Zhuxian Town, south of Kaifeng, and the Xu family held classes in Qingheji, east of Kaifeng. Later, the one in Kaifeng formed the Xiangfu tune; the one that spread to the Shangqiu area formed the East Henan tune; the one that flowed into Luoyang developed into the West Henan tune; the one that flowed into Luohe was called the Shahe tune.

A famous actor in the history of Henan opera, according to the memory of Mr. Zou Shaohe: "During the Xuantong period, Xiaodan Li Jianyun was born in Yangwu. He was gifted with a good voice, crisp and mellow, high and low, slow, graceful and twisty. Every performance is satisfactory, and he is good at creating new tunes. Since Li's appearance, the style of drama has changed, and the actor community has praised him as an unprecedented talent." The more famous Xushengs include Zhang Xiaoqian, Zhang Tongqing, Peng Seal and Xu Shuyun. Famous students include Huang Ruxiu (Huang Wa, Huang Ma Gua) and Wang Jinyu (Xiao Huo Bian). The red-faced king Tang Yucheng, Wu Caoyanzhang, etc.

After 1927, actresses Wang Runzhi, Ma Shuangzhi, Chen Suzhen, Chang Xiangyu, etc. appeared in the Henan opera world. They successively performed in Kaifeng and other cities, absorbing some of the singing, repertoire and repertoire of pendants, drums, and Peking opera. performances; Fan Cuiting, Wang Zhennan and others wrote a number of new plays for Chen Suzhen, Chang Xiangyu and others, which brought significant changes to the stage art of Henan Opera. In 1938, Chang Xiangyu, on the basis of Henan Western Diao, absorbed some singing styles of Yudong Diao, broke through the boundaries, and formed a new genre. Chen Suzhen, Cui Lantian, Ma Jinfeng, Yan Lipin, etc. also all established their families with their own unique styles. Xiaosheng Zhao Yiting, Xusheng Tang Xicheng, and black-faced Li Sizhong have also become famous actors with their own characteristics.

After 1949, the Third Troupe of Henan Yu Opera Theater mainly performed modern plays, created many new plays and new tunes, and trained a group of actors who are good at performing modern plays, such as Gao Jie, Wei Yun, Liu Lanfang , Ma Lin, Wang Shanpu, etc.

Today, Henan opera has not only spread throughout this province, but also spread to neighboring provinces, and many professional theater troupes have been formed in various places.

Henan Opera has always been known for its singing skills. The singing style is smooth, the rhythm is distinctive, and it is highly colloquial. Generally speaking, the words are clear and the flow is smooth and easy for the audience to hear. The performance style is simple and has a strong local flavor, which is very popular among the audience.

The music of Henan opera is rich and colorful, with smooth tunes and distinctive rhythms. The literary scenes are soft and comfortable, the martial arts scenes are fiery and vigorous, and the artistic style is bold and exciting. The singing structure is a plate variation. The lyrics are easy to understand and are mostly seven-character sentences or cross sentences. It has a unique board structure and a relatively complete music program. It can be divided into four major categories: Adagio, Flowing Board, Erba Board, and Fly Board. The accompaniment instruments of Henan Opera are divided into civil and military scenes. There are two strings, three strings and Yueqin, which are called Laosan Shou or Sanxian Shou. Later, due to the sharp and noisy tone of the second string, it was replaced by banhu. Commonly used musical instruments in the martial arts field include bangu, tanggu, large gong, small gong (also known as tang gong or hand gong), hand cymbals, bangzi, hand board, etc.

The roles of Henan opera are divided into: four students; four dans; four painted faces. Commonly known as: "four students, four dans, four painted faces, eight scenes (i.e. one drum, two gongs, three stringed hands, eight clappers and cymbals) and two boxers". The fourth students are Dahonglian (also called Hongjing, Xisheng), Erhonglian (also called Immediately Honglian), Xiaosheng, and Biansheng (also called Erbuhonglian); the Fourth Dan is Zhengdan (Qingyi), Xiaodan (Huadan, Guimen). Dan), Lao Dan, Shuai Dan; Four-faced face is blackhead (Vice-Jing), big-faced face, two-faced face and three-faced face. Just because it is a profession of eight men and four women, the four-faced and four-faced drama is called Wai Bajiao, and the play with male characters as the main character is called "Wai Bajia Opera".

According to statistics in 1956, there were 647 traditional plays. The more representative ones are "Double Flower Spear", "Three Sedan Chairs", "Ditang Board", "Tikou", "Guild Beauty Case", "Twelve Widows Conquering the West", etc. Since 1949, the traditional plays compiled and adapted include "The Matchmaker", "Mulan", "Mu Guiying Takes the Command", "Broken Hongzhou", "Tang Zhixian Judgment", etc.; the modern plays created and adapted include "Chaoyanggou" , "Liu Hulan", "Li Shuangshuang", "Human Joy", "Xiao Erhei's Marriage", "Arhat Money", "Xiang Lin's Wife", "Five Girls", "Red Detachment of Women" and many other transplanted plays. wait. Among them are "Mulan", "Mu Guiying takes command", "Tang Zhixian Judgment" ("Qipin Zhima Official"), "Qin Xianglian" ("Bao Qingtian"), "Chaoyanggou", "People are happy and horses are barking", etc. All filmed.

Cui Lantian's representative works include Three Shangdan, Selling Miao Lang, Qin Xianglian, and Taohua Temple. Yan Lipin’s representative works include Qin Xuemei, Fishing Golden Turtle, Jasper Hairpin, Panfu Suofu, Ma Jinfeng’s representative works include Flowers in the Palace, Dual Flower Gun, Mu Guiying’s masterpieces, Chen Suzhen’s representative works include Peach Blossom Temple, Ever Fragrant Jade, Hua Mulan, Matchmaker, and Broken Bridge. .

Henan opera is also called "Henan Bangzi" and "Henan high-key". Because the early actors sang with their own voices, they used falsetto to raise the tail tone with "贴" when starting and ending the voice, and it was also called "Henan 贴". ; In the past, Henan Bangzi often built an earthen platform against the mountain when performing in the mountainous areas of western Henan, so people also called it "backing roar". The name "Yu Opera" came into use after the founding of New China. Yu opera is popular in more than a dozen provinces and regions including Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Hubei, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. It is one of the most influential operas in China.

Henan Opera originated in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. At the beginning, it was mainly a cappella singing, which was deeply loved by the people, so it developed very rapidly. It is difficult to verify the origin of Henan Opera, and there are different opinions. One theory is that after Qin Opera and Puzhou Bangzi were introduced to Henan in the late period, they were combined with local folk songs and minor tunes. Another theory is that it was directly developed from Beiqu Xiansuo tune.

After the formation of Henan Opera, different schools emerged, roughly including four: Xiangfu Tune in Kaifeng, Henan East Tune (also known as Donglu Tune) in Shangqiu, and Henan West Tune in Luoyang. (also known as Xifu Diao or Kaoshanhuang) and Shahe Diao (also known as local bang) in Luohe area. . The singing tunes are mainly divided into Adagio, Erbaban, Liushui, Feiban and other rhythms. The main schools are divided into Yudong Diao and Yuxi Diao. The male voice of Yudong Diao is high-pitched and exciting, while the female voice is lively and dancing. It is good at performing comedy-style repertoire. The male voice of Henan Western Dialect is desolate and tragic, while the female voice is low and melodious. It is good at expressing tragic-style repertoire.

The main accompaniment instruments of Henan Opera include banhu, erhu, sanxian, pipa, flute, sheng, suona, etc. The music is played with bangzi, and the rhythm is lively and joyful.

Henan opera has always been known for its singing, and large-scale singing is arranged at key points in the plot. It is often sung heartily and vividly, showing its unique artistic charm. The style of Henan Opera is first of all passionate and masculine, good at performing majestic large-scale dramas, and has strong emotional strength; secondly, it is rich in local characteristics, simple and popular, natural in nature, and close to the lives of ordinary people; thirdly, it has a distinctive and strong rhythm , the conflicts are sharp, the plot has a beginning and an end, and the characters are sharp and sharp.

Before 1927, there were no actresses in Henan Bangzi. After the emergence of actresses, five famous performance schools of Chang Xiangyu, Chen Suzhen, Ma Jinfeng, Yan Lipin and Cui Lantian were gradually formed. The Chang school was passionate and unrestrained, the Chen school was bright and fresh, the Ma school was strong and bright, the Cui school was deep and reserved, and the Yan school was delicate and delicate. wrist. At present, the five major schools are popular all over the world.

There are more than 1,000 traditional plays in Henan Opera, a large part of which are based on historical novels and romances. Such as Fengshen Opera, Three Kingdoms Opera, Wagang Opera, Bao Gong Opera, Yang Family General Opera and Yue Family General Opera, as well as a large number of plays describing marriage, love, ethics and morality. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many modern dramas and new historical dramas describing real life appeared, which brought new development to the cause of Henan Opera. Such as "Chaoyanggou", "Xiao Erhei's Marriage", "Horse Baring", "Unlucky Uncle's Marriage", "Testing Husband", "Red Fruit, Red".

One of the local operas in Henan Province. It is mainly popular in Henan Province and parts of Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei and other provinces. Because early actors sang with their own voices, they used a falsetto to raise the tail note with "讴" when starting and ending the voice, and it was also called "Henan 贴". It was also known as "Henan Bangzi", "Henan Gao Tiao", "Guoshan Roar", etc. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was unified and changed to its current name.

Historical evolution

About the origin of Henan Opera. One theory is that it was developed from the folk singing art of Henan, especially since the middle and late Ming Dynasty, based on the fashionable Xiaoling that was popular in the Central Plains area, and absorbed artistic achievements such as "Xian Suo". During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1795), Bangzi Opera became popular in Henan Province. According to the inscriptions recorded at that time, the Ming Palace was "the place where all the theater classes prayed and held banquets. It was lost for many years, and it is unknown when it was built. During the Daoguang period (1821-1850), the river burst, and the temple collapsed and the tiles were destroyed." "There are no surviving pieces", which shows that Bangzi Opera already existed before Daoguang. These accounts are consistent with legends among artists. According to the recollections of some old artists, when they were studying art around 1912, they heard their masters talk about the "Ten Inner Places" in Henan, namely Xiangfu (now Kaifeng), Qixian, Chenliu (now merged into Kaifeng), Weishi , Zhongmou, Tongxu, Yifeng, Feng (now merged into Lankao), Fengqiu, Yangwu (now merged into Yuanyang) and "outer eight places" namely Huaiyang, Xihua, Shangshui, Xiangcheng, Shenqiu, Tai Kang, Fugou and Luyi, "Henan Yu" became popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. During the spread of Henan Bangzi, it formed Xiangfu Diao (Kaifeng area), Yudong Diao (Shangqiu area) and Yuxi Diao (Yangzhou). area), Shahe Diao (Luohe area) and other different styles.

After the Revolution of 1911, Henan Bangzi was performed in more famous tea houses in Kaifeng, such as Zhixiang Tea House, Puqing Tea House, and Chengdu Tea House. Huai Tea Club, Qing Tea Club, Donghuoshen Temple Tea Club, Tongle Tea Club, etc. all competed to invite Henan Ziban Club, and Yicheng Ban, Tianxing Ban, Gongyi Ban, Gongxing Ban, etc. became active for a while. Teahouses and theaters that perform Henan Bangzi have appeared in Luoyang, Xinyang, Shangqiu and other cities. In rural areas, they must be performed at every festival to welcome the gods, and most of the performances are Henan Bangzi.

From the late 1920s to the 1930s, the development of Henan Bangzi entered a new stage. During this period, Kaifeng Xiangguo Temple successively established four Henan Bangzi theaters: Yong'an, Yongle, Yongmin, and Tongle. Many famous artists such as Chen Suzhen, Wang Runzhi, Ma Shuangzhi, Si Fengying, Li Ruiyun, Chang Xiangyu, Zhao Yiting, Peng Seal, etc. , gathered in Kaifeng. In early 1935, Yusheng Drama Society was established under the leadership of Fan Cuiting, and the Yongle Stage was renamed Yusheng Theater. Chen Suzhen's Qixian Theater Troupe and Zhao Yiting's Shandong Caoxian Theater Troupe both participated in the society. Yusheng Drama Society abolished some unreasonable systems of the old theater troupe, innovated performances and stage arts, and performed plays such as "The Wind of Righteousness", "Hate in the Sky" and "Smeared with Blood" created by Fan Cuiting. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, in 1938, the school was renamed the Lion's Roar Troupe, with the meaning of "awakening the lion's anger".

Chang Xiangyu went to Kaifeng with Zhou Haihai Troupe in 1936 and performed on the Xingyu Stage. In 1937, the Zhongzhou Opera Research Society was established and performed costume dramas such as "Six Parts of the Western Chamber" and "Crying the Great Wall" written by Wang Zhennan, as well as the modern drama "Strike the Land", which exposed the crimes of Japanese imperialist aggression. "Strike the Land" is the beginning of modern dramas written and performed by Henan Opera. At the same time, Wang Runzhi, Ma Shuangzhi, Gu Seal, Yang Jinyu and others from Yongan Stage also performed many traditional plays. The gathering of famous actors promoted the convergence of Henan East Diao and Henan West Diao, and promoted the development and improvement of Henan Bangzi. After the Japanese invaders occupied Kaifeng in 1938, groups and actors such as the Lion's Roar Troupe, Zhou Haihai's Taiyi Troupe, and Chang Xiangyu successively went to Xi'an and performed in the northwest urban and rural areas with Xi'an as the center, expanding the influence and popularity of Henan Opera. area.

There is no way to tell when and where the troupe of Henan opera first began. According to legends of old artists, most of the Henan opera actors in the past came from the Jiangmen and Xumen classes during the Qianlong period. The "old three classes" in Kaifeng: Yicheng Class, Gongyi Class and Gongxing Class, are said to have experienced the Ming Dynasty. , Qing Dynasty.

The Yicheng Class, according to "Hesheng Daily" on February 15, 1916: "The Yicheng Class in the province was originally established by Yu Jianqing, the general commander of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Kaifeng County. It has been generally The children of Liyuan performed everywhere and enjoyed great reputation. "Yicheng Troupe established the Yong'an Stage in the Fire Temple of Xiangguo Temple in Kaifeng in 1926. The organization and management of the stage are divided into front, back and front, which are mainly responsible for managing various chores in the theater, such as selling tickets, receiving audiences, and supplying tea; backstage, are mainly responsible for performance matters, such as determining the repertoire, allocating roles, and suitcases, Props and other aspects of work.

Tianxing Class was originally a scientific class run by Fengqiu and has a long history. Many famous Henan opera actors came from this class. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, he continued to perform in Kaifeng. Well-known actors include Li Jianyun (nicknamed Zhuangchou, Gongdan), Yan Caiyun (Gongdan, died in 1982), and other major actors include Dengke, Zhang Zhilin, Nie Erni, Kong Xianyu, Li Yuxian, Zhang Tinghua, Li Fakui, etc.

The "Six Classes" and "Capture Classes" (run by the county government) in Qixian County, as well as the "Six Surname Family Classes" jointly run by the six surnames of Ma, Wu, Zheng, Hao, Liu and Chang, etc. They were all famous troupes after the Revolution of 1911. Actors Shui Cheng, Yi Yi Hui, Tian Gou, He Yun, Jin Cheng, etc. were all famous actors at that time.

In the 1930s, in addition to the Yong'an Stage composed of the Yicheng Troupe, there were two important Henan Opera groups in Kaifeng, the Yusheng Drama Society and the Zhongzhou Opera Research Society. Yusheng Drama Society performs at Yusheng Theater.

From the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War to the founding of the People's Republic of China, many Henan opera troupes appeared in Xi'an, such as the Lion's Roar Troupe led by Fan Cuiting, the Xiangyu Opera Troupe headed by Chang Xiangyu, and the Fenglin Opera Troupe headed by Mao Lanhua. Languang Drama Club headed by Cui Lantian. There are also the Henan Disaster Children's Drama Society (the predecessor of the Tibetan Henan Opera Troupe) founded by Sun Laoqi, etc.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Henan Yu Theater was established in 1956. Henan Opera has a group of professional and amateur screenwriting talents, among whom Yang Lanchun and others have outstanding achievements. Yang Lanchun (born in 1921, from Wu'an, Hebei Province) has successively adapted and created (sometimes in collaboration with others) "Xiao Erhei's Marriage", "People Go to Higher Places", "Liu Hulan", "Chaoyanggou", "Winter Goes and Spring Comes" ", "Chaoyanggou Nei Zhuan" and so on. At the same time, he also directed many modern and traditional plays. For example, "Blood and Tears", "Red Leaf River", "The Fiancee of the Volunteer Army", "Qin Xianglian", "Tangzhi County Judgment", etc. Henan opera performance groups have been widely established in Henan and many provinces, cities and autonomous regions across the country. In 1962, a symposium performance by famous and veteran artists of Henan Opera was held, and in 1980, the "Report Performance of Henan Opera Genres" was held. This type of opera has become one of the more widely spread types of opera in my country.

Artistic Features

The stage equipment for early Henan opera performances was extremely simple. It often only used reed mats and foils, and a table and two chairs on the stage to start the performance. Those who play small gongs and bangzi also serve as "inspections". After entering the city, there were relatively fixed theaters and the stage equipment was improved. Yusheng Theater has adopted some curtains and scenery, and the costumes of the female actors emphasize "the old Dan is clear, the Zhengdan is handsome, and the Hua Dan is romantic". Since then, it has been influenced by Peking Opera costumes and has become basically the same as Peking Opera costumes.

The traditional process of Henan Opera has strong local characteristics in Henan. In the long-term artistic practice, it has been constantly innovated. Art is perfected day by day. At the same time, a large number of artistically accomplished actors have emerged in various industries.

The music of Yu opera belongs to the bangzi tune system, which is a banqiang style.

According to the Qilu Deng written by Li Luyuan in the Qing Dynasty in the 42nd year of Qianlong (1777) and the Qixian Chronicle in the 53rd year of Qianlong (1788), the local Bangzi opera was already popular in Kaifeng and Qixian at that time, and had been Performed together with Luo Opera and Juan Opera, it is also known as "Bang Luo Juan". According to legend among the artists, the earliest teachers of Henan Opera were the Jiang family and the Xu family. The Jiang family held classes in Zhuxian Town, south of Kaifeng, and the Xu family held classes in Qingheji, east of Kaifeng. During the development process of Henan Opera, due to the influence of factors such as pronunciation and folk music from various places, artistic schools with different regional styles were formed in music. That is, "Xiangfu Diao" centered on Kaifeng; "Eastern Henan Diao" centered on Shangqiu; "Western Henan Diao" (also known as "Xifu Diao") centered on Luoyang; and "Xianfu Diao" formed in the Shahe area in southern Henan. "Shahe Diao". Among them, "Xiangfu Diao" and "Shahe Diao" are relatively similar to "Yudong Diao" in terms of singing structure, mode, melody, rhythm, syntactic composition and pronunciation, so they are collectively called "Yudong Diao". Therefore, the singing rhythm of Henan Opera today is generally divided into "Eastern Henan Diao" and "Western Henan Diao". Therefore, today's Henan Opera singing music is generally divided into "Eastern Henan Diao" and "Western Henan Diao", each with its own distinctive characteristics. The main tone of the "Yundong Diao" singing tune is "5". It is based on the phonology of Zhongzhou and the pronunciation of Shangqiu and Kaifeng. False voice (erbenqiang) is often used in traditional singing. The voice is high and thin, with more coloratura, and it is passionate, bold, and bold. It has bright and fancy characteristics. The main tone of the "Henan Western Diao" singing tune is "1". It is based on Zhongzhou phonology and Luoyang pronunciation. In traditional singing, the real voice (Daben tune) is often used, with a loud voice and a round tune, and a cold rhyme (crying tune). ), with the characteristics of rough, vigorous, tragic and deep. In the early development process of Henan opera, these two major tunes were "each blowing his own trumpet and each singing his own tune". Exchanges began in the 1930s. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, we eliminated "sectarian views", communicated with each other, learned from each other, learned from each other's strengths, and achieved a comprehensive understanding. The above is the traditional classification of Yudong tune, Xiangfu tune, Shahe tune and Henan west tune in the past according to the different regions where it is spread. In addition, according to the difference in the singing area of ??its singing music, the first three categories are lumped into the eastern part of Henan. Tune, commonly known as "upper five tones". Corresponding to these is the Henan Western tune, which is sung in a lower register, commonly known as "lower five notes". The singing music structure of Henan Opera is a variation of the ban type, and there are four types of ban types, namely Adagio, Erba Ban, Flowing Ban, and Sanban:

Erba Ban is represented in the four major ban types of Henan Opera The strongest and most varied. In addition to the basic 28 board, it can also be divided into slow 28 board, medium 28 board, 28 connected board, fast 28 board, tight 28 board, tight playing and slow singing, etc. It got its name from the fact that in the past, a piece consisting of two eight bars (eight bars) was used repeatedly. With the continuous enrichment of performance content, this fixed and rigid program has been broken. Today's Erbaban is composed of a combination of the singing methods of the two major schools of Yudong Diao and Yuxi Diao. One board and one eye in 2/4 time can form a large aria with hundreds of lines, and is mainly used for narrative. It can also be changed according to the needs of the plot and the emotional changes of the characters. It can not only express bright, cheerful and joyful scenes, but also express urgent, nervous, angry and sad scenes. In addition, Erbaban can also be derived from croaking mouth, dog biting, random bombing, stacking boards, moving benches, etc.

Adagio types include [Adagio], [Gold Hook], [Reverse Gold Hook], [Windward] and other board types. It is generally a three-eye ban in 4/4 time, with the upper and lower lines starting from the middle eye and landing on the board. The falling tone of the upper sentence is freer, while the falling tone of the second sentence is different from that in East Henan and West Henan. [Adagio] is one of the commonly used patterns in Henan opera singing. Its prelude fill-in has many forms, among which the most commonly used are "six bangs", "four bangs", "guiding four bangs" and "winding one bang". [Adagio] can be divided into two types: whole board and loose board. The whole-ban style is called "Touju Tune", while the loose-ban style is to sing the first sentence (upper sentence) as "Zaiban" or "Dabanqi", and then enter [Adagio] from the second sentence (lower sentence). . The basic structure of ordinary upper and lower sentences in [Adagio] is to divide a aria into two clauses, with a small fill-in in the middle; after the whole sentence is sung, there is a "Ba Bang" at the end of the sentence to follow the fill-in (you can also reduced to four or omitted entirely). In addition to the above-mentioned most basic structural forms of the rhythm of [Adagio], there are also a variety of coloratura produced through local changes. The upper sentence has "Touyu Tune" and "Sanju Tune", and the lower sentence has "Single Guoban", "Double Guoban", etc. The ending of {Adagio} is also called "locking board". The basic structure is the same as that of an ordinary second sentence, except that the speed of the closing is usually slower, and there is a brief transition with the ending sound of the ending. The speed of [Adagio] is very flexible, and you can use fast, medium or slow speeds according to the different content and mood.

The flowing water board is also one of the commonly used boards in Henan Opera. It can be divided into flowing water boards, slow flowing water boards, fast flowing water boards, flowing water connecting boards, etc. The singing style is generally in a rigid and formal style. Different speeds can be changed as needed. The tune is relatively free and flexible, with smooth melody and jumping rhythm. It is suitable for expressing cheerful and lively scenes as well as depressed and sad emotions. It also derives stacking boards, two gong drills, etc. Its main feature is that there are many syncopated rhythms across bars in the melody. Whether it is the rise and fall of the singing voice, or the ups and downs and turns in the singing melody, most of them appear in the eye position. [Liu Shui Ban] has a free falling tone in the upper sentence, and a "5" or "1" tone in the lower sentence. In the ordinary upper and lower sentence structure, as the last sentence of the singing tune falls, there is usually a follow-up tune. The prelude is basically the same as [Erba Ban], but the knowledge base is different. There are many forms of opening and closing of the flow plate.

The key ancillary plate types of flow boards mainly include [Flow Water Connected Board] and [Liang Luo Zan Zi], etc.

Feiban is also called "Feiban". It has no plan, no eyes, and free rhythm. It is a Langyu-style singing style and belongs to the Sanban category. In addition, there are rolling whites, planting boards, calling boards, etc. There are also three formats: "crying rhyme", "xing rhyme" and "extreme rhyme". "Crying rhyme" expresses grief and plaintive emotions; "Xing rhyme" is mostly used for voicing and narration, and "Jue rhyme" is suitable for expressing decisive and passionate emotions. Generally speaking, the arias using the flying board are shorter, and the four, six, and eight sentences are immediately transferred to other board forms.

The lyrics of the above four categories generally use cross sentences in the "three, three, four" rhythm, or seven-character sentences in the "two, two, three" rhythm. Sometimes some long and short sentences with different word counts are also used. For example, the "Guadazui" in Erbaban is based on a five-character sentence, and the "Gunbai" in Feiban is a prose style sentence pattern with singing and white.

Henan opera has always been known for its singing skills, with smooth singing and distinctive rhythm. In recent years, actors mostly sing in real voices, so they can generally pronounce words clearly and speak smoothly, making it easy for the audience to hear. In addition, the performance is delicate, real and touching, and the diction is easy to understand, so it has become the most attractive type of opera in the Bangzi opera system. Nowadays, Yu Opera has not only spread throughout this province, but also spread to neighboring provinces and provinces, cities and autonomous regions such as Gansu, Qinghai, Tianjin, Jilin, Jiangsu, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and many professional theater troupes have been formed in various places.

The accompaniment band of Henan Opera used to be said to have "one drum, two gongs, three strings, and eight clappers and cymbals". Early Henan operas also used four large fans (big cymbals, big cymbals) and jianzi horn (pipe length about 1 meter) as musical instruments to create a majestic and warm atmosphere. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, martial arts arenas generally consisted of drum boards (bangu, hand cymbals), large gongs, cymbals (hand cymbals), two gongs, clappers, small cymbals (copper plates), wind gongs, large Yin drums, wooden fish, bells, etc. It is composed of percussion instruments, among which the first six are the most commonly used. The early Wenchang musical instruments included the three-stringed Pi Om and the Yue Qin, etc. Later, the Lao (i.e. banhu), Erhu, Pipa, transverse flute, suona, sheng, etc. were added. Banhu has become the main string of Henan Opera. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, some Western musical instruments were added, such as large violins, brass pipes, woodwinds, etc.

The main musical instruments of the Henan opera band in the early days were Daxian (octagonal yueqin, the player also played the suona), Erxian (a high-pitched small banhu with a bamboo or wooden qin tube covered with paulownia wood surface) and Sanxian ( plucked instruments). After the 1930s, the big string and the second string were gradually abandoned, and the alto banhu (commonly known as "ladle") was used as the main string. After the 1950s, erhu, pipa, bamboo flute, sheng, mongzi, cello, etc. were gradually added to the general literary scene. Some also added pendants, guzheng, etc. Some also add violins, violas, and Western brass and woodwind instruments to form a Chinese and Western mixed band. There are more than 300 traditional accompaniment tunes in Henan Opera, including more than 130 suona tunes, more than 20 transverse flute tunes, and more than 170 silk string tunes.

Commonly used suona tunes include: [春来], [大汉东山], [小汉东山], [大桃红], [小桃红], [大门], [小门], [Strong wind enters the pine], [Small wind enters the pine], [Wen Erfan], [Wu Erfan], [Shuilongyin], [Xinshuiling], [Zhe Guizhi], [Yan Jialing], [Shanshan Sheep ], [red embroidered shoes], [suona leather], [doll], etc.

The commonly used hengdi tunes are: [Chao Tianzi], [五六五], [Crying for the Emperor], [Yunxiao Song], [Pomegranate Flower], [Hua Chao Yuan Ge], [Hundred Birds Chao] Phoenix], [Chicken climbing], [Small opening], etc.

The commonly used ones in silk string music cards are: [Small Garden], [Nine Links], [Hua Typo], [Little Red Shoes], [Bitter Joy], [Lang Tao Sha], [Oil Gourd] ], [呓怓], [abacus], [marry], etc.

The main musical instruments used in the Henan Opera band’s martial arts arena include panel drums, hall drums, large gongs, hand cymbals, small gongs and clappers. There are three main types of gongs and drums in the Henan opera martial arts field: 1. The opening gongs and drums, mainly composed of [Hongjia Guan], [Mao Bian], [Bao Laoji], etc. 2. Gongs and drums that match the performance movements and set off the stage atmosphere. Most of them are the same as Peking Opera, but some have different names. Commonly used ones include various forms of [one gong], [two gongs], [three gongs], [head closing], [four head blows], [emergency wind], [battlefield], etc. 3. The gongs and drums in the singing have outstanding characteristics of the opera. The more commonly used ones are [], [], [windward], [to take off boots], [turn nail], etc. In the flow board category, there are various types of [flow head] and [drop of oil], etc. In the loose board category, there are various types of [non-board head], [rolled white], etc. The Erbaban type of gongs and drums has the most abundant beats, and is divided into two categories: single drum strips and double drum strips. In addition to [string hammer], [long gong], etc., which have both, the commonly used ones in single drum strips are [inside-out], [outside-out], etc., and the commonly used ones in double drum strips are [five-nail hammer], [ Bang Zi Sui], [Wind stirring snow], etc. In addition to the various gongs and drums in other attached plate singing styles, there are no less than a hundred kinds.

The main musical instruments featured in Henan opera are as follows:

1. Banhu and qintong are half coconut shells, covered with thin paulownia boards. After the 1960s, the original leather strings (inner strings) and silk thick old strings (outer strings) were generally replaced by metal strings. Wear a brass finger cap when playing.

Second, Xiaosanxian, a plucked instrument. Three metal strings, the speaker is covered with a thin paulownia board, and is played with a hard plectrum. Wear a finger cap on the left hand. The tone is bright, especially the vibrato-slide playing method is quite distinctive.

3. Fang Sheng, usually 14 tubes.

4. Menzi and double reed wind instruments, with eight holes and deep and rich pronunciation, are often used to accompany tragic and tragic arias or scenes.

In the singing tunes of Henan Opera, the tunes of East Henan and West Henan have the same pitch, and some parts of the singing often have a five-degree upward spiral, that is, the phenomenon of "taking the sign as a palace"; the tunes of West Henan are more When the "1" sound falls, some parts of the singing often rotate downward five degrees, which is the phenomenon of "taking the clear corner as the palace". In the traditional singing method of Henan opera, the male and female voices basically have the same tune. False voices are mostly used in singing in eastern Henan tunes, while real voices are more commonly used in western Henan tunes, and "explosion sounds" are mostly used in net voices. In the past, both Yudong Tune and Henan West Tune had a method of turning up the octave to perform the tune in falsetto, which was called "pseudo tune" or "箴".

The characteristics of Henan Bangzi Opera mainly focus on the lyrics and dynamics, which are completely in line with the customs and habits of Henan. When it became popular among the audience, it expresses vulgar people and things in the customs and habits. relationship, integrated with the audience’s life and actions. Although it is somewhat tacky, it has a tacky style and a tacky taste. The lyrics of Henan Opera should not focus solely on classical Chinese, but should match the tone and rhythm of the play first. His narration is full of emotions, joy, anger, sorrow and joy, euphemistic and tortuous, emotional and rational, and has great influence. It is mixed with dialects and can be understood by everyone. Henan Opera has the following advantages that have endured for a long time and are loved by the masses: (1) It is highly entertaining. Henan Opera has the sound of gongs and drums, high-pitched strings, many singers, and few white words. The male characters are full of jumping and jumping, and the female characters are full of twists and turns. . After working for many days, during the New Year celebrations, many people crowded together to listen and watch, and they felt infinitely relaxed and happy. (2) Close to the masses: The form is simple, the performance is real, the stage image is closer to the actual life of farmers, and is in line with the taste of the working people. (3) Easy to understand and learn. The tune is simple and the words are popular, making it easy to understand and learn. (4) Full of local characteristics. With a high-pitched and straight tone and a generous and straightforward expression, it is a local opera that expresses the people of Henan.

Character trades

The role trades of Henan Opera are generally speaking as four students, four dans and four painted faces. The organization of the troupe is also based on "four students, four women, four painted faces, four soldiers, four generals and four maids; eight scenes, two officials, and four servants." The "four students" are the old student, the big red face (Hongsheng), the second red face (Wu Sheng), and the small student. The "Four Dans" are ghusl (blackheads), big-faced, two-faced, and three-faced (ugly). There are also sayings about Wusheng, Wudan and Wuhualian. Actors generally have their own profession, but some actors are multi-talented and can perform in other professions in addition to their profession.

It is said that the early Henan Opera was dominated by "Waibajiao" (four students and four painted faces) operas, with Shengxing opera occupying an important position. There is a sharp distinction between Shengxing's Big Red Face and Second Red Face. Big Red Face specializes in playing Guan Yu; Second Red Face specializes in roles such as Zhao Kuangyin, Qin Qiong, and Kang Maocai, mainly in martial arts dramas. Xiaoshengxing is generally divided into civil and martial arts, and some actors are both civilized and martial arts, and their martial arts dramas are more outstanding. Danxing (see Figure Henan Opera-7) only occupied a minor position in the era when "Outer Bajiao" was the mainstay. However, with the number of actresses on stage and the number of actresses gradually increasing, it has gained a dominant position in Henan Opera. The ghust is mainly based on singing skills. In addition to the witty and humorous performances of Sanhualian, the martial arts dramas also include "rope coiling", "water bucket hanging", "air restoration", "sea exploration", "yuanbaoding", "big turn over" and so on. Few tricks. Each profession has its own performance tips. For example, the key points for gestures are "painted face is over the neck, red face is at the level of the eyebrows, junior student is at the lip level, junior student is at the chest level", and the short fighting key for martial arts scenes is "the body is like a snake, the eyes are like lightning, and the fists are like shooting stars." ", the legs are like drills; as steady as a heavy boat, as anxious as an arrow, fierce, brave, urgent, fast, sitting and standing as steady as a mountain". On the gun road, there are "walking silk", "nine spears in a row", "thirteen spears", "Nine noses", "eight poles", "single down" and other routes. The key to performing for a girl in Tsing Yi is to "stretch out your hands as if to chase away a goose, and put your sleeves back on your neck; bow down like a hug; kneel down without exposing your ankles", "don't look at people when you talk, don't kick up your skirt when walking, both men and women Don't hold hands, sit down and look at the hem of your clothes." The key to Caidan's performance is to "look sideways at people, bite her lips when speaking, move her whole body when she twists, and throw sweat towels when she walks." Xiaodan's appearance is "Press your temples when you go out, tuck your collar with your hands, bend down to pick up your embroidered shoes, and then straighten your clothes." The key to Xiaosheng's performance is "purity, purity and rush". "Qing" means delicate and beautiful, with clear words and delicate expression; "Jing" means clean and neat movements, just right; "Chong" means bravery in martial arts and high spirits.