Mei Lanfang (A.D. 1894- 196 1), originally named Mei Lan, was born in Taizhou, Jiangsu, and was born in Beijing.
He is an outstanding dramatist, Peking Opera performer and a representative of China traditional opera. When I was young, I laid a solid foundation for the performing arts of Peking Opera. Later, I dared to innovate and choreograph new plays, which gave Peking Opera a new look in all aspects. The "Mei School" art he founded has a far-reaching influence.
He is also a pioneer and world-renowned master of Beijing Opera. Mei Lanfang has lofty national integrity, noble moral character and superb acting skills, and enjoys a high reputation in the art world and the people. Mei Lanfang studied hard and came from a family of Peking Opera. His grandfather Mei Qiaoling was a famous actor in early Peking Opera. Father Mei Zhufen, also a Peking Opera actor, died when Mei Lanfang was four years old. Uncle Mei is a famous violinist and flute player. He often accompanies Beijing Opera and Kunqu Opera. Influenced by her elders, Mei Lanfang likes watching plays and plays since she was a child.
I began to study drama at the age of eight, and I also studied the role of Dan. Boys should imitate women when singing, reading and doing things, and sing and speak in falsetto. This requires hard practice. At first, his natural conditions were not good. Sometimes the teacher has been teaching a play for a long time and has not learned it yet. Once, a teacher saw him learning slowly and said angrily, "No, this bowl of rice was not given to you by my grandfather!" " "
Mei Lanfang blushed. He made up his mind that he must learn how to look at it, so he pondered and studied again and again. A song is usually sung six or seven times, but he has to sing twenty or thirty times. Gradually, he developed a wide, bright, round and sweet voice, which made people particularly fond of listening. After becoming famous, he once again met the teacher who first taught him. The teacher said shyly, "I was really ignorant at that time!" " "
"Don't say that." Mei Lanfang said, "I have benefited too much from you. If I hadn't been scolded by you, I wouldn't know how to make progress! " "
When Mei Lanfang was a child, her eyes were a little nearsighted, her eyelids drooped and her eyes lacked air. And Danny's eyes on the stage are particularly important. What shall we do? Later he raised some pigeons. Whenever the pigeon flies, he turns his eyes and sees farther and farther as the pigeon flies. In this way, over time, his eye and hair diseases disappeared, and he became particularly radiant. Even when he was old, he was still radiant when he performed on the stage.
Some people always think that Mei Lanfang's artistic achievement is good natural conditions, but in fact it should be mainly attributed to his hard study and hard study.
Mei Lanfang started acting at the age of ten. At the age of fourteen, he formally performed with Xi Liancheng Troupe.
"Xi Liancheng" was later renamed as "Fu Liancheng", which is the most famous Peking Opera class in China and has trained many famous Peking Opera actors, such as Hou, Ma and Tan. Mei Lanfang acted with this troupe and learned a lot of plays, which enriched her performance experience.
At the beginning of acting, Mei Lanfang mainly sang industrial dramas, that is, she sang mainly on the stage, such as "Two Entering the Palace", "Three Mothers' Godsons", "Sacrificing the River" and "Jade Hall Spring". These plays can be popular as long as their voices are good and their pronunciation is clear. But later, with the demise of the Qing Dynasty and the progress of society, the people's requirements for Peking Opera were also high. They are no longer satisfied with just listening to singing, but demand to watch those dramas with content and performance.
Mei Lanfang thought to herself, "It seems that the Tsing Yi opera, which only plays two-person turn, can't meet the requirements. I want to relax my tricks. "
Therefore, he learned a lot about figure, expression and martial arts from his teacher, such as woodcut Zhai, Fan Jiangguan and Rainbow Guan, which are very popular. Mei Lanfang often watches the performances of her peers, learning from others' strengths and using them for her own use. Kunqu opera is an ancient and elegant drama with rich performance skills. Mei Lanfang studied Kunqu Opera with her predecessors and staged such famous dramas as Thinking of Fan, Spring Fragrance and Dream in the Garden. In this way, his acting skills have been greatly improved.
Less than twenty years old, Mei Lanfang was very popular in Beijing. Later, he went to Shanghai to perform, which was also an instant hit. His sweet and generous singing, handsome appearance and meticulous performance have won unanimous praise from the audience. Originally, the role-playing drama in Beijing opera was not as popular as the old one. Generally speaking, actresses can't sing "big axis" plays, but every scene is the last one. But since Mei Lanfang appeared, Dandan Opera has been able to sing the big axis. Many people go to the theatre because of him. Mei Lanfang's fame surpassed that of his predecessors. Even Tan Xinpei, the king of Peking Opera at that time, said, "Now bearded old students can't sing the role of Dandan!"
Mei Lanfang, who created the "Mei School", laid a deep artistic foundation and performed the traditional repertoire very well, which was recognized by the audience. But he is not satisfied.
"We want to innovate and perform new plays." He said, "I have seen emerging dramas, and many of them reflect reality. I think Beijing opera is also ok. "
"yes. Let's make some fashion shows, too. " Everyone agrees.
Fashion drama is a drama about real life. Because actors have to wear real costumes, the traditional performance methods of Beijing opera are no longer used, and new methods are needed. And it is difficult to dress up as a woman, make up and prop up. Mei Lanfang made progress despite difficulties, and soon rehearsed plays such as Rough Sea, Aunt Deng Gu Xia, A Twig of Twist, and Girl Cut the Snake.
"Peking Opera is also a fashion show!" The audience said to each other, "It's really good."
Mei Lanfang opened a way for Peking Opera to perform modern drama. He is absorbed in making up costume dramas. There are many problems in the makeup of traditional Beijing opera, because most of them pretend to be women, lacking female characteristics in hairstyle, clothing and appearance, and lacking dance, which leads to poor stage effect. Mei Lanfang rehearsed a lot of new plays with the help of friends. In these new plays, he plays an ancient woman, whose headdress has changed, her clothes have changed and her appearance is beautiful. Not only that, Mei Lanfang also designed dances for many roles. For example, the filament dance in My Maiden Scattered Flowers, the sword dance in Farewell My Concubine, the feather dance in History, the disc dance in the Legend of Taizhen, the flower sickle dance in the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon and the clam dance in China. Since then, singing and dancing have become a prominent feature of Mei Lanfang's acting skills.
Mei Lanfang also studies classical literature hard. After reading Cao Zhi's Ode to Luoshen, he thought: "Although the story is simple, it is very mythical. It would be nice to make another poetic musical performance. " So, with the help of my friends, I compiled the Beijing opera Luo Shen. On the stage, Mei Lanfang plays Luo Shen, driving a cloud and wearing a long gauze skirt, just like a god descending from heaven. There was a meeting in Sichuan. On the third platform, Luo Shen and fairies sang and danced, leading the audience into the mythical world. Very wonderful.
Mei Lanfang's new play has completely changed the stage of Beijing opera and has been warmly welcomed by the masses, especially young people. He is even more famous because of his unique performance and is called "Mei Pai". 1927, Beijing Shuntian Times held a Peking Opera actress selection. Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng and Xun Huisheng won the top four respectively. Since then, the "Four Famous Names" have been recognized by people.
Introducing Beijing Opera to the world is the representative of China traditional opera, which is called "National Opera". Now, Peking Opera has been known to people all over the world. It was Mei Lanfang who first introduced Peking Opera to the world.
19 19 and 1924, Mei Lanfang led the troupe to perform in Japan twice. In the past, the Japanese didn't know much about China's operas. After watching Mei Lanfang's play, they said, "Peking Opera needs no scenery, but it is impressive and admirable. Mei Lanfang's performance is also unparalleled. "
Mei Lanfang also decided to introduce Peking Opera to the West and perform in the United States at her own expense. The troupe spent a lot of money on preparation. 1929 is over, and the troupe is about to leave. Unexpectedly, two days before departure, I called from the United States and said that the United States is now in an economic crisis and the market is sluggish. I'm afraid the performance will be delayed because of the small audience. A friend said to Mei Lanfang, "It's up to you. If you don't get a seat in the United States, you will go bankrupt. "
Mei Lanfang pondered for a while and said, "The farewell party has already started and the tickets have been bought. If I don't go again, my reputation will plummet and I will be very depressed. "
"So, what do you mean ..."
"Come on, aboard as planned. This is an adventure, but I have to take risks! "
Mei Lanfang finished, tore up the telegram and threw it into the fireplace. 1930+ 10 arrived in the United States as scheduled. After the performance on the first day, he said to the headmaster of Nankai Middle School who was giving lectures in the United States, "Did Americans understand today's play?"
"Don't understand. The plot is too detailed. "
Mei Lanfang said excitedly, "Teacher Zhang, please help me choose a play, so that Americans can understand it." If my performance fails, China's literature and art will lose its luster! "
With the help of Zhang and others, Mei Lanfang decisively changed the repertoire, strengthened the stage layout, and highlighted the beauty of oriental art. As a result, his performance was a great success. The American commented: "After watching Mei Lanfang's performance, I understood what I didn't understand. China's plays are the truth of art and deeper than the truth of life. "
Mei Lanfang has performed in Washington, new york, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and met movie master Chaplin. As soon as they met, the two masters of eastern and western art chatted enthusiastically. Chaplin said, "I've heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you today. I didn't expect you to be so young. "
"See you, I don't recognize you. Your demeanor is completely different from a stage movie! " Mei Lanfang said.
1935, Mei Lanfang led a delegation to visit the Soviet Union, which was also very successful, and sometimes the curtain call was as many as 18 times. He also met with stanislavski, Brecht and other famous dramatists to exchange their respective arts. Mei Lanfang's overseas performances have brought Beijing Opera to the world. He himself became a cultural messenger with great influence. Many foreigners come to China to visit Mei Lanfang and his plays as important contents. Foreign audiences also appeared in the China Theatre.