——Speech at the seminar on the second revision of the musical "The Song of the Country"
Li Dandan (actor and director of the Central Opera House):
Congratulations on the music The play "The Song of the Country" was performed successfully! The play begins well, with Tian Han and Li Jinhui lamenting the untimely death of Nie Er. The subsequent plot development and scene presentation are inseparable from solid composition skills. The performance of "Drizzle" is not to highlight the song, but to express Nie Er's personality. It is precisely because of this personality that the songs written by Nie Er are unique. As a veteran, Li Jinhui had his music score changed, which was a bit of a loss of face, but this just illustrates Nie Er's talent and integrity. "We Wandered Everywhere" was sung a little inaccurately, but it perfectly showed the character's choking. Drama must have imperfect beauty.
As a rolling funding project for large-scale stage plays and works from the National Arts Fund, the musical "The Song of the Country" will continue to be modified and improved to reach artistic heights. Here are some suggestions for reference only.
The national anthem has an exciting prelude, but a whole section of "Lullaby" is inserted in the middle, which dilutes the mood. The scene in "Lullaby" is too expressive and the occasion where it appears is not appropriate enough. It is recommended that it be deleted as appropriate. This reminds me of a story about the French sculpture artist Rodin. Rodin created a sculpture and asked students for their comments. The student said: "These hands are so well carved." After hearing this, Rodin picked up a hammer and smashed one hand off, because he was afraid that the perfection of non-main parts would affect the overall work. By the same token, how could "Lullaby" be handled better in the play? If it must be retained, I hope it will be organically integrated with the plot. For example, Xiaoli is working as a volunteer and nurse, rescuing and caring for a dying female wounded soldier. In order to relieve the pain of the wounded soldier, Xiaoli hugged her and sang "Lullaby" like her mother. After singing a few words, Nie Er appeared and was deeply moved. In this way, the content will flow smoothly and the misunderstandings between them will be resolved.
In musicals, there are usually speakers, which are divided into singing methods with *whirling and singing without *whirring. Currently, the sound in the show is a bit harsh. The impact of the bel canto sound will spray onto the microphone. At what intensity should the sound be turned up so that the sound is both loud and beautiful, and can still be understood by the audience? This all requires careful research and debugging.
Clothing. Under what circumstances do actors need to be neatly dressed? For example, acting as a soldier, doing group dances, etc. Other times, clothing can be personalized. In the musical "The Song of the Country", since there are many realistic elements, the costumes can be made irregular and there is no need to be so stage-like. The actors in Mingyue Club have different personalities, and their attire should also be distinctive. I hope the heroine's appearance is more graceful. Stage design, the dock sack is too high, it is recommended to lower it by half. When Nie Er and Xiao Li performed a duet, the existence of the solitary building was not very nice. I hope there will be better ideas.
It is a pity that the more than 50 people in the chorus were placed behind the scenes. Let them take the stage, flesh and blood united, and they might shine. At the end, a group of young pioneers walked onto the stage, making people's eyes bright. I hope it will not only be visually stunning, but also involve the participation of children's voices, so that there will be a sense of inheritance. Now, on all kinds of stages, child actors are being controlled too much. In fact, they should be allowed to be free and give full play to their precious nature.