Wu Opera *** has six major tunes: Gaoqiang, Kunqiang, Luantan, Huixi, Tanhuang, and Shidiao. The six major tunes can exist independently. Among them, Gaoqiang, Kunqiang, Huixi, and Tanhuang There are mutual connections between them. Gao Qiang is also called Yiyang Qiang because it is deeply influenced by Yiyang Qiang. Its biggest feature is that there are people to help sing, and it can be divided into Houyang, Xiwu, Xi'an and Songyang.

The Hou Yang Gaoqiang in Wu Opera was formed in Dongyang and Yiwu, Zhejiang, and is also the birthplace of Yiwu Qiang. This tune uses big drums and small gongs as percussive instruments. Its singing style is rougher and more exciting than other high-pitched tunes, and it is mainly used for martial arts.

The Xiwu Gaoqiang in Wu Opera got its name because it was popular in Xiwu Village in Beixiang, Jinhua and opened a class. Its singing style is more euphemistic and simple than the Xi'an Gaoqiang, and it often sings in a rolling style, which is different from the elegant tune of Huizhou Opera. Deep relationship.

The Xi'an high tune in Wu Opera is popular in Quzhou, Zhejiang, so named because Quzhou was called "Xi'an" in ancient times. Xi'an Gaoqiang was introduced from Yiyang, Jiangxi from 1521 to 1567, but some people believe that Xi'an Gaoqiang is closely related to Haiyan Qiang, which was popular in Jinqu in the early Ming Dynasty. After the localization of Haiyan Qiang, Yiwu Qiang was derived, and after Yiwu Qiang flowed into Quzhou It also gave rise to Xi'an high accent.

Xi'an Gaoqiang is probably the result of Yiwu Qiang flowing into Quzhou and adding local accents to it. Yiyang Qiang only has a greater influence on it. It uses drums as its rhythm and has a singing tune that is high-pitched, but slightly lower than the other two high-pitched tunes, making it fluent and elegant.

Later, instrumental accompaniment mainly composed of flutes was added, and sometimes there were brief interludes. In addition to the rolling singing, which is still close to spoken language and the rhythm is relatively free, other parts of the melody have traces of influence from Kun Opera. Xi'an's high-pitched tunes have many words and few accents, and have the characteristics of being able to be heard all at once.

The Songyang high tune in Wu Opera was popular in Suichang and Longquan areas of Zhejiang Province. It originated from the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty and was popular from 1875 to 1908. Coloratura and high eight falsetto are commonly used in this tune.

The first three kinds of high tunes mentioned above are all sung by one person, with others helping to sing, and the gongs and drums assist the rhythm. The tunes can be adjusted according to the mood, and the Songyang high tune also adds orchestral accompaniment. In the world of opera, most high-pitched tunes are characterized by gongs and drums to support the rhythm. Regardless of the strings, one person starts singing, everyone harmonizes, and the tone is high and exciting. Xiwu Gaoqiang and Songyang Gaoqiang both have band accompaniment, which is a unique form among various Gaoqiang in my country. There are many high-pitched tunes, and different repertoires have prescribed formulas.

Wu Opera Kun Opera is commonly known as "Cao Kun" and "Jin Kun". It is a branch of Kun Opera spread in Jinhua. Because it has been performed on grass platforms and temple fairs in rural areas for a long time, with farmers as the main audience, the language is relatively popular, the plot has twists and turns, and the singing is not limited to the four-tone tune. Wu Opera Kunqiang mainly focuses on martial arts, craftsmanship, and drama. .

The Jinhua Kunqiang, Lanxi Kunqiang, Quzhou Kunqiang, Dongyang Kunqiang and other types of Kunqiang in Wu Opera are named after their popular places, with no other differences.

After the Ming Dynasty, Kunqiang has been regarded as the authentic tune among the various tunes of Wu Opera. In fact, Kun Opera is a tributary of Kun Opera in Quzhou and Jinhua. The language and tunes are simplified or changed based on local customs, so it is called "Cao Kun".

Luantan generally refers to all kinds of opera tunes other than Kunshan dialect. Because most of the Luantan troupes of Wu opera that specialize in Luantan come from Pujiang County, Jinhua, they are also called "Pujiang Luantan". It uses Erfan, Sanwuqi and Luhua as its main tunes. In addition to Jinhua, Quzhou and Jiande in Zhejiang, popular areas are also often performed in Changhua and Tonglu.

Erfan has the characteristics of northern opera singing. Some people think that it is derived from the West Qin tune that was popular in Shaanxi and Gansu. Others think that it is derived from Anhui's blowing tune and Siping tune; 357 has The characteristics of southern opera singing belong to the early blowing style. Some people think that its formation is related to the Huizhou, Siping and Taiping tunes in southern Anhui. Luhua is derived from blowing tunes and is influenced by Anhui Opera.

In Wu opera, Luantan refers to the opera with four tones of Sanwuqi, Luhuadiao, Erfan and Bazi. 357. Luhua tune evolved from the Anhui Shibei tune. It uses the flute as the main player. The tune is gorgeous, smooth and stretched.

Erfan is a tune that evolved after Qin opera spread to the south. In Wu Opera, it developed into four tunes with different attributes: Chizi, Xiaogong, Zhenggong and Fanzi. Each has its own inversion, Different board types such as original board, flowing water, tight skin, and stacked board have emotional characteristics such as excitement, high pitch, tragic, and melancholy respectively. There are also board types such as reverse board, Huilong board, and original board. According to the nature of setting the tone, Erfan is generally connected to Three, Five, and Seven, while Reed Flower is connected to Bazi.

Hui opera refers to the Hui opera tune introduced from southern Anhui. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a large number of people from southern Anhui moved to the Jinhua area, and most of them entered Jinhua and other places to do business or follow the Hui opera business route. According to statistics, at that time, there were more than 30 Huizhou classes introduced from Jinhua and Quzhou, and more than 10 local classes were opened around 1918 alone.

The Wu Hui opera troupe has its own unique style. It mainly focuses on old Hui tunes such as Bazi, Luhua, and blowing tunes. It sings Xipi and Erhuang, and its performances are rough, pungent, simple, and healthy. The repertoire includes "Second Entry into the Palace", "Famen Temple", "Qinglong Hui", etc. Among them, the performance styles of "Burning the Capital" and "Capturing Pound in Water" have been rarely seen in later Pihuang dramas.

Tanhuang originated from Suzhou Tanhuang. From 1736 to 1820, Jinhua had a folk singing troupe.

Some people believe that the Tanhuang tune in Wu Opera was introduced by the performers of the boat girls who traveled between Quzhou and Lanjiang. It first had amateur singing troupes, and later evolved from Wu Opera actors into opera and became one of the Wu Opera tunes. Popular locations for Wu Opera Tanhuang Opera include Pujiang Tanhuang, Lanxi Tanhuang, Dongyang Tanhuang, etc.

Shidiao is a general term for popular folk operas since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some come from folk songs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some belong to the Nanluo tune in the south, some are from Youtan, and some originate from local minor tunes. Evolved from local folk songs and songs and dances, it is a tune for singing rural life dramas.

The above six kinds of tunes are not mixed in one play in Wu opera, but each tune has a number of specialized repertoires. Initially, Gao Qiang, Kun Qiang, Luantan, etc. were formed into independent classes, and later developed into combined classes, with different combinations, including three combined classes, two combined half classes, Luantan classes, etc.

Wu opera actors all use a singing method that combines real and false voices. In the past, the female roles in Wu Opera were all played by men, so they had to use falsetto when singing. Because they could not learn the technique, they could only adopt a half-false and half-true singing method.

In one libretto, a falsetto is used for the drawl, and for the rest, a real voice is used. The singing sounds are high and low, thick and thin, and are called "androgynous voices" or "yin and yang voices." Over time, a traditional singing method has been formed, but there are also many actors who sing with their real voices.

The singing style of Wu Opera is quite distinctive, and there are two techniques: one is Laosheng's Gao Yun Tumble tune, and the other is the big painted face's Underwater Tumble tune. Gao Yun's rolling voice is also called "Little Qiaohou". It is a combination of real and false voices, but it sounds like a real voice and the voice is high-pitched.

Ye Agou, a veteran of the famous Wu Opera Longyou Second and Half Class, played the role of county magistrate Li Wenbin in "Nine Pieces of Clothes". When he misjudged a public case and died, and the relatives of the deceased came forward to fight, He sang: "Brother, sister-in-law, wait a minute..." When he sang the word "hand", he suddenly reached a high note, full of passion, and shocked everyone. This is a typical Gao Yun's rolling tune.

Underwater rolling tune is a unique singing tune in Wu Opera with a colorful face. Its characteristic is that it uses the voice of the throat and chest to make the sound make a rolling vibration, like a rolling river tide, surging like thunder, and very Mighty and majestic. When Zhang Rujin, the famous Hui Opera Troupe's big-faced actor, played the role of Pan Hong in "Yanmen Picking the Seal", his underwater rolling accent was very distinctive.

The accompaniment instruments of Wu Opera include kehu, banhu, erhu, fiddle, yueqin, three-stringed lute, corbeled qin, pipa and big suona, jizi, flute, sheng, xiao, pioneer and large trumpet. Percussion instruments include bangu, sandalwood board, bang, hall drum, flat drum, large gong, small gong, large cymbal, small cymbal, bell bell, dog barking gong, etc.

After the combined classes of Gao, Kun and Luan, Gao Qiang also uses Kun flute as the main instrument, supplemented by fiddle, yueqin or pipa and suona. In the development process of Xi'an Gaoqiang, simple transitions gradually emerged, and the tunes gradually became richer.

The accompaniment of Wu Opera is unique. It uses big gongs, big cymbals, big drums, and is played together with special instruments such as trombone pioneers and Hujia. In the accompaniment of Wu Opera, the sound of the vanguard is like the roar of tigers and the roar of dragons; the sound of Jizi and Suona is like the singing of chickens and magpies; the beating of gongs and drums is like the galloping of thousands of horses; the beating of war drums is like the overturning of seas and rivers. Used together, these instruments are extremely expressive.

The formation and development of this kind of drum music in Wu Opera, in addition to inheriting its own tradition, is also influenced by the Shifan gongs and drums, such as the folk dance dragon lantern, Horse lanterns, fish lanterns, shrimp lanterns, Taiwan pavilions, Arhats, string lions, rolling lions, etc. are all accompanied by Shiban gongs and drums.

In addition to accompanying the actors, the drumming music of Wu Opera also plays alone during the opening and intermission of the play. Before the play starts, there is usually a flower stage, and after the three-fold small play, there is a second stage, and then the main stage is performed. The opening gongs and drums of the Dongyang Sanhe Class are called Xiaogu Touchang.

As the saying goes: "The sound of gongs and drums makes the soles of the feet itch." The gongs and drums of Wu Opera are actually the most uplifting and joyful ones.