Henan is known as the "Hometown of Opera" because it has a splendid drama culture.
A rich variety of drama types compete for excellence in the Henan Drama Garden.
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been as many as 45 well-documented popular operas in Henan.
By the 1980s, there were still 31 types of opera performed by professional or amateur troupes, mainly including Yu Opera, Quju, Yue Diao, Daping Diao, Wan Bang, Huai Bang, Huai Diao, Luo Qian and Tao Opera. Love Opera, Siping Diao, Liuqin Opera, Shui Opera, Henan Huagu Opera, Pu Opera, Daxian Opera, Peking Opera, Erjia Xian and so on.
These opera types all belong to the big family of opera. They have many similarities or similarities, but if you taste them carefully, you will find that they have different styles.
Generally speaking, we can divide them into local dramas and small local dramas.
The so-called "big drama" refers to a large number of plays that reflect major social issues such as political struggle and military struggle. , mainly, Yu Opera, Yue Diao, Daping Diao, Huai Bang, Huai Diao, Daxian Opera, etc. fall into this category.
This type of play has the characteristics of being lively, prosperous, exciting, and lively.
It is said that local operas often perform plays on political struggles, military struggles and other social issues, but it cannot be denied that they also stage some plays that reflect the interests of family life.
And with the growth of democratic awareness in social life, the number of plays reflecting the joys and sorrows of ordinary people is still increasing.
When local operas perform such plays, they often have a more comprehensive range of skills, more acute conflicts, more complex plots, and larger scenes.
The so-called local dramas are dramas that mostly express family disputes and the interest of life.
It is mainly composed of Xiaosheng and Xiaodan, or mainly composed of Xiaosheng, Xiaodan and clown, and is called "Er Xiaoxi" or "Three Xiaoxi".
In Henan, Quju Opera, Erjiaxian Opera, Daoqing Opera,
Henan Flower Drum Opera, etc. are all local operas.
The local drama genre in Henan was born in the Qing Dynasty nearly 80 years ago.
As we all know, during the Qianlong and Jiaqing years of the Qing Dynasty, a major turning point occurred in the development of Chinese opera. Kun Opera, a major opera that was once popular all over the country, gradually declined, and various folk operas originated from it. Local drama has gained an advantage in the competition with Kunqu Opera.
Drama historians call this period of history the "Controversy between Flowers and Elegance".
"Hua" means "Hua Bu", which refers to the local drama genre; "Ya" means "Ya Bu", which refers to Kun Opera.
Numerous local dramas in Henan were born, developed and matured in the storm of the "Flower and Elegant Controversy".
At the end of 1956, Henan held the first opera viewing and performance conference.
This is a grand exhibition and review of Henan local opera.
With 23 types of operas and 93 repertoires performed, it can be said that a hundred flowers bloom and flourish.
Over the years, although the development of Henan local opera has encountered many twists and turns, it is an art rooted in the people and has always been loved by the people.
When people from Henan talk about Henan Opera to outsiders, they often express their joy and pride; when outsiders mention Henan Opera to people from Henan, most of them praise it with their fingers crossed.
It can be said that Henan opera is the pride of Henan people.
Henan Opera has a glorious history of development. After its birth, it has continued to expand outwards. It has not only taken root and blossomed in cities, towns, villages, plains and mountainous areas throughout Henan Province, but also spread to 16 provinces and autonomous regions across the country, with the largest number of professional theater troupes. At that time, there were 39 operas, ranking first among more than 360 opera types in the country.
Plays such as "Mulan", "Mu Guiying Takes Command", "The Seventh Grade Sesame Official" and "Chaoyanggou" are popular all over the country and have become household names.
From the coast of the East China Sea to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from the treasure island of Taiwan to the banks of the Yalu River, there are "Henan opera fans" everywhere.
After entering the 1980s, many art categories and all types of operas were crying out for crisis! However, Yu opera has shown its unique vitality in struggling against difficulties and continues to win honors for itself.
The attendance rate and self-sufficiency rate of Henan Opera, as well as the number of actors and audiences of Henan Opera have always been in the leading position in the country.
Henan Opera probably originated during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736-1755), when it was called Henan Bangzi.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were Henan Bangzi Opera performance groups all over Henan Province.
Therefore, we call the period from the Qianlong period to the end of the Qing Dynasty the emergence and growth period of Henan Bangzi.
During the Republic of China, Henan Bangzi entered a mature period.
In 1914, there was a theater troupe called Yicheng Troupe, and a famous actor in the troupe named Shi Qianyun entered the Puqing Teahouse on Yangshi Street, Kaifeng to perform.
Don’t underestimate this performance, it is a turning point in the development of Henan Bangzi.
The so-called Puqing Teahouse was an entertainment venue that was both a tea garden and a theater at that time.
Originally, Bangzi Opera was performed on high platforms in rural squares. This performance was regarded as the beginning of entering urban theaters. Since then, Bangzi Opera has gradually expanded its influence from small theaters to large theaters and improved its reputation. The reputation of Bangzi Opera.
Henan Opera only formed a unified title after the founding of the People's Republic of China. From then on, Henan Opera truly entered a period of prosperity. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government organized Henan Opera actors to study culture and drama theory. , greatly improving the actors' and cultural quality and ideological awareness.
As a result, the team of actors continued to grow and the performance level continued to improve, making Henan Opera not only take root throughout the province, but also quickly spread to other provinces.
Talking about the repertoire of Henan Opera, in addition to the beloved ancient plays such as "Mulan", "The Great Sacrifice Stake", and "The Seventh Grade Sesame Official", modern plays have also won people's attention with their unique styles. Favor and praise.
In September 1965, the Central South District held a drama viewing and performance conference in Guangzhou.
Henan has participated in 11 modern drama performances.
Among them, "Hometown Tour", "Pagua Garden", "Dou Shuchang" were recommended by the Performance Observation Conference to be reported in Beijing, and "Horse Crying" was filmed as an opera art film by Xi'an Film Studio .
Then, the performance viewing conference included Henan's "Human Joy", "Li Shuangshuang", "Chaoyanggou", "Visiting Hometown", "Red Butler", "Good Wife", "Selling Baskets" ", "Paguayuan", "Dou Shuchang", "Couple" and many modern dramas are recommended to the country as excellent dramas.
At this time, the reputation of Henan modern opera has greatly increased throughout the country, and the reputation of Henan opera as a whole has naturally increased.
In different periods, Henan opera has had some higher-level performers. Representative works, such as "Xiao Erhei's Marriage", "Arhat Money", "New Conditions", "Liu Hulan", "Hunting", etc. in the early 1950s; in the late 1950s there were "Chaoyanggou", "Cover", "Winter Goes" Spring is Coming" etc.
In the 1960s, a large number of excellent modern dramas appeared.
Although opera was in trouble in the 1980s, Henan's modern opera produced a number of more influential plays such as "The Golden Rooster Attracts the Phoenix" and "The Marriage of the Unlucky Uncle".
There are more and more audiences who love modern plays. In many places, the number of audiences for modern plays exceeds the number of audiences for ancient plays.
In the process of its development, Henan Opera has cultivated a large number of performing artists with profound artistic attainments.
Chang Xiangyu, Yan Lipin, Ma Jinfeng, Niu Decao, Wang Shanpu, Wei Yun, Ma Lin, and Gao Jie are all praised for their profound artistic skills and exquisite performing arts.
In recent years, many young Henan opera performing artists, such as Tang Yuying, Wang Qingfen, Wang Xiling, Hu Meiling, Gu Xiurong, etc., have gradually grown up and matured.
Henan opera, a type of opera that Henan people are proud of, has created a glorious past, and it will also have a glorious future.
In the garden of the motherland’s drama, this wonderful flower will bloom more vividly and dazzlingly.