Listen to this articleHuangmei Opera, formerly known as Huangmei Tiao, Tea Picking Opera, etc., originated from Huangmei in Hubei and grew stronger than Anqing in Anhui.
Huangmei Opera, along with Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Pingju Opera, and Henan Opera, is also known as ” China’s five major opera types “. It is also the main local opera-type in Anhui Province. There are also professional or amateur Huangmei Opera types in Hubei, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Performance groups are widely welcomed.
Huangmei Opera is a kind of drama developed from folk songs, Bangko, tea songs, tea-picking lanterns, and flower drum tunes, first in the countryside and then in the cities. It has absorbed the factors of Han opera, Chu opera, Gaoqiang opera, tea picking opera, Peking opera, and many other opera types, and gradually formed its own artistic characteristics. The singing of Huangmei Opera is simple and smooth, known for its bright and lyrical, and rich expressive power; the performance is simple and meticulous, and it is known for being real and lively. The song ” Heavenly Fairy Matching ” made Huangmei Opera popular in the north and south, and it has a high reputation overseas.
On May 20, 2006, Huangmei Opera was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.
Introduction
Huangmei Opera originated from Huangmei in Hubei Province. It was originally called Huangmei Tiao and Tea Picking Opera. It is now spread in Anqing City, Anhui Province, and Huangmei County, Hubei Province.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the tea-picking tunes in Huangmei County, Hubei Province, were introduced into the neighboring Huaining County, Anhui Province, and other areas, combined with local folk art, and singing and chanting in Anqing dialect, and gradually developed into a new type of opera, called Huaiqiang or Huaiqiang at the time. Tune, this is the early Huangmei Opera. Later, Huangmei Opera began to perform “this opera” by drawing lessons from the music, performances, and repertoire of Qingyang accent and Huitone. Later, with Anqing as the center, after more than 100 years of development, Huangmei Opera became the main local opera genre in Anhui and a well-known big opera genre in the country.
The singing of Huangmei Opera is a plate-style variation, with three main tunes: Huaqiang, Caiqiang, and the main tune. Huaqiang is mainly acting in small plays. The tunes are healthy and simple, beautiful and cheerful, with a strong atmosphere of life and folk songs. The colorful tunes are cheerful and have been widely used in Huaqiang small plays. The main tune is the singing voice commonly used in the traditional original dramas of Huangmei Opera. Ci, Huo Gong, two lines, and three lines are divided, of which Ping Ci is the most important singing voice in the original play, the tune is serious and solemn, beautiful and generous. Huangmei Opera is known for its lyricism, rich charm, simple and fresh singing, delicate and moving, and bright and lyrical, rich in expressiveness, easy to understand, easy to popularize, and deeply loved by people everywhere. In terms of musical accompaniment, the early Huangmei Opera consisted of three people playing percussion instruments such as hall drums, cymbals, small gongs, and big gongs, and at the same time participated in gang tunes. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Huangmei Opera formally established an accompaniment system with Gaohu as the main instrument.
The role-playing system of Huangmei Opera was developed based on the “two small plays” and “three small plays”, including Zhengdan, Zhengsheng, Xiaodan, Xiaosheng, Huadan, Clown, Laodan, Laosheng, Hualian, Daomadan, Wu Erhua, etc. Row. Although there is a division of labor, there is no strict restriction. Actors can often play other roles. The performances of Huangmei Opera are composed of singing and dancing, simple and meticulous, real and lively, full of life, and are known for advocating emotional experience, with a fresh, natural, beautiful, and smooth artistic style. There are many well-known excellent plays in Huangmei Opera, and the most representative ones are “The Fairy Matching “, “The Son-in-law and the Horse “, “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl “, “The Couple Watching the Lamp “, ” Playing Pig Grass ” and “Spinning Cotton Yarn”.
Huangmei Opera is one of China’s five major opera types, with a profound influence. The popular area of Huangmei Opera is shrinking, and the survival of Huangmei theater troupes at all levels, especially the county-level theater troupes, is becoming increasingly difficult, requiring the care and support of the government and the whole society.
