Reporter Li Wei

"This 'Zhong Kui' has a god and is alive!" Yue Opera + Zhong Kui', is still a female student, this kind of integrity and innovation is too rare. Recently, Wu Guiyun, the winner of the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre and the "famous actor" of Hebei Bangzi, made a special trip to Hangzhou to watch the premiere of the new costume drama "The Legend of Zhong Kui" of Yue Opera.

As a well-known mythological figure, the story of "Zhong Kui" has been interpreted in various forms of opera, including Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Hebei Bangzi, etc., and Wu Guiyun's interpretation of Hebei Bangzi "Zhong Kui" has been regarded as a generation of classics. And the whole "Yue Opera + Zhong Kui" is an unprecedented artistic attempt.

Yue Opera "The Legend of Zhong Kui" is written by Huang Xiangang, the former chairman of the Zhejiang Drama Association and a well-known screenwriter, directed by first-class director Sun Xiaoyan, and starring Xiang Liya, Guan Yushuang, outstanding young actors of Hangzhou Yue Opera Theater, and Qiu Tingyu, winner of the "Golden Gui Performance Award". On the stage, the singing voice of the opera is sometimes high-pitched and sonorous, sometimes tactful and low-pitched; When it came to the martial arts, the ghosts were tumbling and jumping, Zhong Kui's fights, ghost steps, zombies and other actions were superb, which attracted thunderous applause and applause from the audience.

Playing the protagonist "Zhong Kui" is a great challenge for Xiang Li Ya, a young girl of the Fan School. "The reason why 'Zhong Kui' is difficult to perform is because it needs to be both civil and military, and it is also a character who integrates 'people, ghosts, and gods'." Xiang Liya said frankly that the most difficult thing is how to play this role. "I keep figuring out how to create a man's 'heroic soul'." In order to play this role well, she also asked Wu Guiyun and another Plum Blossom Award winner, Wu Opera Wenwu Xiaosheng Lou Sheng many times.

Under the guidance of famous teachers and the careful polishing day after day, Xiang Liya showed masculinity in his gestures, showing a natural "Zhong Kui" on the stage. Especially in the scene of "marrying a sister" in the end, Zhong Kui hesitated, did not dare to enter the house rashly at night, looked in the mirror, dressed and haircut with joy and joy, and endured sadness and joy when saying goodbye to his sister, which made people cry. That night, Wu Guiyun in the audience gave a very high evaluation: "From life to death, from childhood to face, Xiang Liya has grasped the spiritual core of the character 'Zhong Kui', and the future is promising!" ”

Director Sun Xiaoyan introduced that while retaining the original Yue Opera singing tone, "The Legend of Zhong Kui" borrowed from many other dramas "for my use". "For example, the spirit, figure and strength of Jingkun are borrowed to enhance the tension of the actors, and the music is borrowed from suona and gong suona to render the momentum, and the actors even performed the unique work of 'changing handkerchiefs'." Wu Guiyun also pointed out that the Yue Opera "The Legend of Zhong Kui" and Hebei Bangzi have formed a stylistic complementarity, and various art forms on the stage collide and merge with each other, creating a kind of drama rhyme that combines rigidity and softness.

For a long time, Hangzhou Yue Theater has regarded the cultivation of young talents as the top priority, boldly employing young actors, giving them sufficient space and a broad stage to show themselves. "The Legend of Zhong Kui" is a big drama tailored by Hang Yue for the new generation of budding new generations, extending more possibilities for Yue Opera in the way of "passing on the band", which has both traditional charm and surging vitality.