Speaking of traditional Chinese opera, Beijing opera, Chu opera, Han opera, Huangmei opera and so on. Everybody loves me, but relatively speaking, I prefer local operas. Speaking of local operas, that is the Flower Drum Opera of Xiantao people. These operas come from the people and have a broad mass base.
When it comes to the generation after 60 s and 70 s, they are all influenced by traditional operas. I remember when I was a child, I always heard traditional artists perform storytelling and drama programs in cultural centers. According to Mianyang County Records, Mianyang Flower Drum appeared on the stage of folk art in the form of opera during Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty (1796- 1820). Mianyang ancient painting drama originated from Tongshun River and Xianghe River in Mianyang, and was formed in Mianyang and Tianmen.
But Mianyang Huagu Opera is the most popular among local people. The most common thing is to set up a stage somewhere between villages, where men, women and children carry small chairs and stools and go to the theatre. It can be seen that everyone's love for the play is not just for joining in the fun, but more for the feelings of the characters in the play.
Whenever the scenes are pulled down, the audience perceives the tortuous process of the protagonist's emotional development, which makes him worry, cry or laugh and release his emotions. It seems that this may be the artistic charm of actors.
The singing of Xiantao Huagu Opera mainly comes from local Mianyang folk songs, minor, fishing drums and Taoist music. Many vocals are permeated with the tone of folk songs, and some still retain the prototype of folk songs. At the same time, they also absorbed some tones and qupai of Yue Opera, Han Opera and beach ditty, which enriched the singing of such operas. Its vocals are treble, water-filled, gong-beating, Siping and so on, and there are more than 90 kinds of minor tunes. The lines of the play don't have to rhyme, and the local spoken language and two-part allegorical sayings are adopted, so it is lively.
For example, Cheng Lanting, a famous artist of the former Mianyang Huagu Opera Troupe, pondered the flower-picking performances of "six steps", "eight paragraphs" and "ten gods", and vividly showed the gestures of seeing, listening, picking, stabbing, climbing, hitting, releasing and tying. I remember when I was a child, I was deeply impressed by the opera "Standing on the Wall of Flowers", and the flower picking performance in it was even more vivid. Now, it seems that the performance on this stage really blends the artist's various skills.
Sometimes a superb performance can gain a high degree of perception and recognition from the audience.
Picking flowers is a stunt in the excellent traditional drama "Standing on the Flower Wall" of Jingzhou ancient painting, which is the essence of the drama and has the artistic characteristics of Jingzhou ancient painting drama. Cheng Lanting, a famous old artist, began to study art at the age of 14. In his artistic practice for more than 60 years, besides his accomplishments in other arts, the art of picking flowers is his unique skill. Later, there was a prestigious scholar in Tian, Hanchuan County. After watching his flower picking performance, he wrote a couplet of "Lan Xiang's ten-mile road, the pavilion's name is a cloud" and praised his superb skills.
This kind of drama has a strong flavor of life, the characters pay attention to reality, dare to break through, and don't stick to one pattern, which greatly enriches the expressive force of the drama, shows the artistic characteristics of Mianyang ancient painting drama, and wins the love of local villagers.