Lin Chunjun

1995, Chaozhou opera was put on the screen again. The success of the artistic films "Fireworks Woman" and "Champion Lang" is a righteous act to popularize and revitalize Chaozhou Opera. The release of this film is even more gratifying in the current downturn of Chaozhou Opera Theater. The filming of this Chaozhou opera film was a success. As an audience, I think there are several characteristics.

First, the story is good. Based on the Ming Dynasty legend The Story of Embroidery, the film tells the love story of Li Yaxian, a prostitute in a brothel in the Tang Dynasty, and Zheng Yuanhe, the son of Changzhou secretariat. This story originated from the novel Biography of Li Wa in the Tang Dynasty. Since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it has been compiled into plays and legends by playwrights for many times and put on the stage.

The story of Li Yaxian and Zheng Yuanhe, like the story of Su San and Wang Jinlong in Yu Tang Chun, is widely circulated among Chinese people. Many local operas have this drama, and it has also been included in the traditional repertoire of Chaozhou Opera. There are still records of Zheng Yuanhe's Fallen in 1930s, and Zhu Qing Temple (10% off embroidery) has also been included in the script outline of Chaozhou Opera. In 1950s and 1960s, Faye Wong, a screenwriter of Chaozhou Opera, arranged the music twice, and performed by the Fifth Chaozhou Opera Troupe, Chenghai Xiangchao Opera Troupe and Hong Kong Hanjiang Chaozhou Opera Troupe. This time, it was put on the screen, revised according to the needs of the film, and given new ideas. Why is this story favored by playwrights of all ages? The reason is that it has a plot but not bizarre, suspenseful but not mysterious, the scene is tight and loose, and the plot is mixed with sadness and joy, which is fascinating. For example, the encounter between Zheng Yuanhe and Li Yaxian, gathering and dispersing, scattered and gathering; Zheng Yuanhe met his father and almost died. After his death, someone showed him a dramatic plot. In the end, he was rewarded by a good man. In the end, everything will be fine, everything will be fine. His moral praise and criticism are consistent with China's traditional moral concept, and it is a play that ordinary people like to see and hear.

The second is to create a good character image. Li Yaxian and Zheng Yuanhe are the two main characters in the play, and the shaping of these two characters is perfect. Li Yaxian is the first character in the whole play, and her description is the most in the script. She sent embroidery (hidden beads) when Zheng Yuanhe was in trouble to solve Zheng Yuanhe's hunger and cold difficulties. Zheng Yuanhe was immersed in love. If he didn't make progress, he disfigured himself and advised her to study. Finally, in Changting Post Station, in front of my father-in-law, I respect her with courtesy, reason and pass it on. The script has infinite sympathy for this simple and kind brothel woman, and its image portrayal is successful.

Zheng Yuanhe is the second character in the whole play, and the description of this role in the script is also very measured. Unlike ordinary dude who plays with women and abandons them at the beginning, he can be said to be infatuated with Li Yaxian and bid farewell to the pavilion. Under the coercion of his father, he had to choose between becoming an official and abandoning the official, in order to keep Li Yaxian. Of course, as a spoiled child, he was once obsessed with beauty, and finally Li Yaxian was disfigured to cheer him up. This film captures the role well.

Several other supporting roles, such as Zheng Yuanhe's father Zheng Yi, madam Li Auntie and English beggar Zhang Zhihe, all have distinct personalities, especially Zhang Zhihe. Although they are at the bottom of the society, they are honest, full of justice, enthusiastic and helpful, and their status is humble, and their behavior morality is far higher than that of "noble people". This is because the opera director Lin and the film director Jin cooperate tacitly in giving full play to the characteristics of opera and film, and learn from each other's strong points to make the characterization more real, kind and beautiful.

Third, singing music is good. The vocal music layout of the whole drama is relatively complete, with beautiful melody and rich sound and emotion. The first is lyricism, and there are few recitative arias in the whole play. All the aria are expressed by feelings, and some lead vocals also adopt the form of singing in chorus and rotation to express the feelings of the characters more vividly, which is likely to arouse the audience's * * *. Secondly, the rhythm is slow, and the change of characters' feelings is expressed through the change of rhythm, for example, in the section of "disfigurement", Li Yaxian's strong move finally awakened Zheng Yuanhe. The mood of the characters in the play fluctuates greatly, and the composer Chen better expresses the change of the characters' mood through the change of the rhythm of music. Third, the vocal music of the lead vocalist is relatively complete, giving full play to the characteristics of the vocal music of Chaozhou Opera. In addition, the vocal music of the whole opera also pays more attention to integrity in the use of modes. In the vocal music of a scene, there is basically a mode, and there is no sense of making do. It is worth mentioning that all the aria of Li Yaxian in the film were sung by Wang Shaoyu, a Chaozhou opera actor. Its voice is mellow and beautiful, full of emotion, which can be described as full of sound and gas, adding a lot of color to the film.

Fourth, the cast is good. The film stars young actors Chen Xuexi and Zhang Yihuang. The main actors are Zhu Chuzhen, Chen Qinmeng, Xu, Li and Yang Yingsen. Chen Xuexi graduated from Chao Opera School in the early 1980s, and 1987 Chao Opera "Zhang Chunlang Haircut" went to Beijing to attend the first China Art Festival. He is famous for playing the leading role of Zhang Chunlang. Playing Zheng Yuanhe this time is the second time that he has created an artistic image on the screen, which also marks that his performing arts have reached a new height. Zhang Yihuang graduated from Shantou Opera School and has some practical experience on stage. Li Yaxian, played by her, is full of emotions, and her performance is measured, accurately grasping the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Zhu Chuzhen has participated in the shooting of Chaozhou opera films such as Sue My Husband, Nao Kaifeng, Liu Mingzhu and Zhang Chunlang's Haircut, and played roles in Nao Kaifeng and Liu Mingzhu. He is an old star of Chaozhou opera movies. This time, I played Li Furen and acted according to the script. I am familiar with it and it is easy to handle. Chen Qinmeng's Zheng Ni, Xu and Li's Zhang Zhihe all left a deep impression on the audience.

As a Chaozhou opera art film, it is not perfect and has some obvious shortcomings. For example, in the first half of the film, the plot developed too fast and almost jumped. Some plots just appeared and passed by, feeling embarrassed; Secondly, there are too many scenes for Zhang Zhihe and Zhi Li, which gives people the feeling of usurping the role of the host. However, this film is still an excellent Chaozhou opera film.