Zhai Mo: Lao Dan "plays" a new world (character)
Our reporter Zheng Na
"Snowflakes are fluttering, the north wind is tight..." An old woman wearing a red velvet cloak with a resolute expression walked firmly, carried an oil lamp, and walked through the mud, going from house to house to persuade women to come to build the city.
Under her leadership, the people of Xiangyang City united to build the inner city and defend the enemy outside the city...
Recently, the Peking Opera "Madame City" adapted from real history has been re-appeared at the Chang'an Grand Theater after a year of processing and polishing.
In the play, Mrs. Han Tai, the protagonist, is Zhai Mo, a famous young dan from Beijing Opera House.
Leading the way in "Madame City"
As a new play starring Lao Dan, "Lady City" attracted many fans and professionals to watch when it premiered last year.
Lao Dan is not a role-playing profession, but it is indispensable. Most of the time, he can only play the role of "green leaves".
Judging from the history of the development of Peking Opera, there are very few plays with Lao Dan as the protagonist, and it is even more difficult to create new dramas.
Take the Peking Opera Theater in Beijing as an example, since 1997's "Wind and Rain Tong Ren Tang", there has been no new drama with Lao Dan taking the lead.
Therefore, the appearance of "Lady City" has attracted special attention.
Zhai Mo is a leading figure of the Lao Dan of Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, and he is a student of Zhao Baoxiu, a famous Peking Opera performing artist.
Several representative works of Zhao Baoxiu, "Eight Treasures Soup", "Golden Turtle Story", "Wind and Rain Tongrentang", etc., Zhai Mo's inheritance and interpretation are quite a teacher's charm, but it is not a simple imitation and unthinking copying, but just right and embellishing. The thing is silently integrated into the personal artistic director and performance style.
"My teacher's generation of actors has created a lot of good plays, what should we do with our generation? Can't we always perform "Bazhen Soup"? I always hope to enrich Lao Dan's repertoire and develop Lao Dan's performance methods ." Zhai Mo said.
In the past, there were many crying scenes, bitter scenes, sad scenes, and even some "scolding" scenes in Laodan dramas. Everyone's impression of Laodan dramas was relatively simple.
Zhai Mo hopes that through his own creations, people's impression of Lao Dan's business will be changed, so he created "Madame City".
"Madame City" tells the story of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when Xiangyang City was invaded by the enemy, the defending general Zhu Xu's mother Han was ordered in danger, and she cleverly planned to get rid of the traitor, and at the same time united the people to build the inner city. The city wall is "Lady City".
Different from some old-fashioned and trembling Lao Dan in traditional Peking Opera, Mrs. Han Tai is not only a strong woman who has experienced the tempering of the years, but also a "wisdom, courage and handsome talent" with a sincere heart of patriotism and love for the people.
More than 20 years ago, when Zhai Mo was still studying in a drama school, an amateur writer sent her the script of "Lady City" created by him, which made her have an impression of the story.
10 years ago, she bought the script of "Lady City" of Henan Opera on an old book website, and later bought a comic book.
In 2020, the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre decided to re-create "Madame City", and Zhai Mo was finally able to bring the theme that had been in his heart in his childhood to the Peking Opera stage.
Working hard to broaden the performance of the industry
"Mrs. Han Tai is not an ordinary old woman, nor is she a military general, but a leader who was ordered in danger and led the army. She can neither play the role of She Taijun in "The Female General of the Yang Family", nor can she play the role of Jiang Guizhi in "The Spear of Flowers". "Zhai Mo said.
In order to create a good character, Zhai Mo has consulted a large number of historical materials in the past two years, and deeply analyzed and studied the identity of the characters and the background of the times.
On the one hand, she follows the performance rules and characteristics of Laodan's business, and on the other hand, she is bold and innovative, fully mobilizing and using the expression and performance methods of opera art, trying to figure out the roles day and night, and devote all her effort to study the innovation and development of Laodan's business.
The rich and appropriate aria form is the basis for the character image of Peking Opera.
In addition to using some traditional common plate styles, the singing voice of Mrs. Han Tai also specially designed a very rare "Suona Erhuang" in Lao Dan's line.
This kind of voice fluctuates greatly, the tune is high, the melody is tall and straight, and the tone is thick and simple, which is difficult to control.
Zhai Mo has a wide vocal range and a high-pitched and bright voice.
She speaks affectionately, loves every word, and is majestic, which well interprets the image of a heroine who is soft but not weak, strong and wise.
Traditional Laodan opera is limited to the age characteristics of the elderly, and it is often dominated by singing, with few movements, very limited performance space, and not many performance methods. A very interesting piece of art.
"Raising tyrants" is Wusheng's housekeeping ability. For an old actor who is known for his singing skills, it is still difficult to complete.
After repeated practice and careful speculation, Zhai Mo's performance of "Qiba" is rigorous, with a degree of relaxation and a strong sense of proportion.
Under her interpretation, Mrs. Han Tai, who was wearing a big back, put on a thick sole, and performed a complete set of movements such as "swinging arms to check the clothes", "quick walking", "turning and stretching the armor", and "straightening the armor and tightening the armor". The audience burst into applause.
The drum kits for "beating the drum" are often seen on the stage by Laosheng's drumming of "scolding Cao" and Danxing's "fighting at the Jinshan". Lao Dan has never played drums before.
Zhai Mo carefully designed a set of drum kits that incorporates the classic drum beats of Mr. Yang Baosen and Luo Yusheng.
When Mrs. Han Tai, who was holding a drumstick in her hand, stood on the tower, the dense drum beat sounded, pouring down from the stage, from slow to urgent, from weak to strong, the momentum suddenly rose, and the sound was pressing, setting off " The surging momentum of the two armies fighting vigorously.
"From "The Lady General of the Yang Family", "Dianhua Gun" to "Bazhen Soup" and "Tongrentang", it is very difficult for Lao Dan to make breakthroughs. Our generation of actors can't always perform these plays created by our predecessors, we must have some Your own original expression." Zhai Mo said.
In the past, generations of artists sought to develop the profession of Lao Dan, broadening their performances and accumulating repertoire.
Now, Zhai Mo has taken over the baton of her predecessors, and she can always see a strong sense of responsibility and mission in her.
Over the years, she has always been at the forefront of her creations, from "Life and Death", "Mansion Gate", "Xiao Shao in the Zhao Dynasty", "The Wilderness" to "Madame City", shuttled between traditional repertoires and modern repertoires, tirelessly exploring.
For Peking Opera, the creation and innovation of new operas are full of hardships, but Zhai Mo still insists on forging ahead. She said, "I don't want to follow the path others have traveled, and there will be more ideas to practice in the future."