On August 7, Peking Opera actress Wang Peiyu posted a set of photos of the auditorium she took at the curtain call of the National Center for the Performing Arts on the Internet, recording the enthusiasm and smiling faces of the audience.
Reporter Wang Run
“I’m very happy. We have ushered in a new ecology of Peking Opera theater, and we can see young audiences everywhere.” On August 7, the famous Peking Opera actress Wang Peiyu released a set of photos of her curtain call at the National Grand Theater in Beijing on her circle of friends. The following photos of the auditorium recorded the enthusiasm and smiling faces of the audience. As a famous Peking Opera actor with a large number of fans, what makes her most moved and gratified by this situation is that there are more and more young audiences who love traditional culture and art, and are willing to enter the opera performance scene, so that the theater will present a new look, New ecology, new atmosphere.
The reporter interviewed many theater troupes, theaters, and audiences for this purpose. Everyone has a consensus that with the country’s vigorous promotion of traditional culture and opera art in recent years, the “aging of opera audiences” that once worried people inside and outside the industry is being replaced by “drama audience younger” phenomenon. Theater fans and audiences are not only getting younger and younger, but also have a more professional understanding of opera art, and their participation is getting deeper and deeper.
Short opera videos spark interest among young audiences
In recent years, with the popularity of the “national trend”, more and more young people are keen to explore the roots of national culture and rediscover the charm of traditional art. Although theater performances were impacted during the epidemic, theater troupes and actors accelerated their “going online” and opened up new paths. On the contrary, technology in the digital age gave birth to a wave of traditional culture recovery.
For example, Wang Peiyu, a famous Peking opera artist, has recorded many short videos, dedicated to letting the audience “understand Peking opera in seconds”; young opera actor Ren Siyuan’s Douyin live broadcast attracted more than 100,000 netizens to watch; Speaking of knowledge, a large number of “circle fans”; games such as “Glory of the King” and “Paper Wedding Dress” have opera elements… Various new “ports” provide new opportunities, various new media platforms have a new trend of opera, and the new force of Liyuan through live broadcast , short videos, and online interactions have inspired more young audiences to understand and be interested in traditional culture and art.
According to the Douyin intangible cultural heritage data report in 2022, four of the top ten most popular national intangible cultural heritages across the country are Chinese opera arts, of which Peking Opera ranks fourth, second only to “Crosstalk” and “Huangmei Opera”. and “Liuzhou snail powder production skills”; and young people born in the 80s and 90s have become the main force of intangible cultural heritage inheritance. The “Annual Report on China’s Performance Market” issued by the China Performance Industry Association also pointed out that as the post-95s first entered the workplace and the income of the post-90s became increasingly stable, young audiences under the age of 25, that is, “Generation Z” young people have become active people in the performance market .
When the epidemic passed, the theater ushered in a full recovery, and many young audiences who were “fans” online quickly transformed into offline fans who went to the theater to watch the show. After watching the wonderful performances on the spot, they will also use the habit of sharing and disseminating online to express their mood and feelings, which also plays a role in expanding the influence of opera art.
More experience and interaction to enhance the participation of movie fans
There are more and more young theater fans, and they are becoming more and more professional. This is closely related to the fact that various theater troupes and practitioners are carefully cultivating audiences and providing audiences with more in-depth experience and interaction opportunities.
At the beginning of 2022, the Beijing Peking Opera Theater has applied for photography and videography work permits for many opera art photography enthusiasts, and has successively published their excellent works on the official platform. Li Running, a language major at Capital University of Economics and Business, has been fond of Peking Opera since 2014 and is also a stage photographer. After learning about Peking Opera, he found it easier to take photos with both form and spirit. “I really enjoy this feeling of continuous polishing, continuous improvement, and continuous proficiency, which brings my relationship with Peking Opera one step closer.”
Li Xiang, a student majoring in Chinese Language and Literature of the First Normal University who also often shows up at Peking Opera performances with a camera, not only likes watching and filming operas, but also has the experience of learning operas and ticketing operas, and is familiar with the moves of actors on stage. “These days in the theater are the most experienced moments in my life.” Li Xiang said with deep emotion, “The people in the play interpret the plots of the characters through the transformation of singing, speaking, and fighting, and the emotions of the people in the audience also fluctuate accordingly. It seems as if there is a concentric lock hanging in the heart, which tightly connects the emotions of the people on and off the stage, conveying every emotional moment, which is also the uniqueness of going to the theater to watch a play.”
Xiao Hang, a post-80s designer, has been fond of opera since he was a child. When he was in middle school, he saw Wang Peiyu’s performance in the CCTV Young Peking Opera Performer Grand Prix. He was immediately attracted and became a fan of opera ever since. In 2012, he got acquainted with Wang Peiyu, just as Wang Peiyu’s team wanted to find a designer for the overall packaging of the tour, so Xiaohang recommended himself to take over the design project, and the plan was fully approved. For more than ten years, the visual design of all Wang Peiyu’s performances has been designed by Xiaohang. “In the past ten years, I have been learning Peking Opera myself. Occasionally, I will go to Shanghai Heyu’s boss to ask for advice and study, and I have benefited a lot!”
Enriching activities to form a new ecology of opera culture
Nan Hao, opera program planner of the Performance Department of the National Center for the Performing Arts, said that the National Center for the Performing Arts attaches great importance to the inheritance and development of opera art, and introduces various opera performances every year, and also holds intangible cultural heritage opera performances, opera lectures and other activities to attract and cultivate young opera audiences . “In the past, the audiences who watched Peking Opera were mainly white-haired old people, but now young audiences account for the majority.” This obvious change, Chang’an Grand Theater, Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, Jixiang Grand Theater and other theater staff They are also deeply touched.
According to the staff of Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, the theater performs more than 500 performances every year, and Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera account for about 75% of the total performances. Young audiences have become the main force, accounting for more than 60% of the total number of audiences, and there are more and more Parents are willing to bring their children into the theater to experience traditional culture. The Mei Lanfang Grand Theater has held the “Mei Lanfang Grand Theater Open Day”, “Mei Lanfang Grand Theater Opera Class” and pre-performance guided tours since March this year. Most of the applicants are college students and young people with children. movie buff.
In addition to opera performances, Beijing Tianqiao Art Center also held Peking Opera inheritance classes to create professional Peking Opera training for domestic teenagers. The Beijing Small Theater Industrial Park, which is popular with young audiences, not only holds the “Contemporary Small Theater Opera Art Festival” every year to promote the inheritance and innovation of Peking Opera, attracting many young opera creators and audiences to participate, but also creates a children’s opera brand “Tongxishe”, With immersive experiences such as drawing facial makeup, trying on costumes, on-stage interaction, blind box lottery and other immersive experiences, more children will fall in love with the art of opera.
All theaters in Beijing expressed their willingness to provide a platform for young people to better understand opera culture, attract more young audiences to the theater, and make them a new force in spreading opera culture, and also make people more confident and confident about the future of opera art. expect.
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责编：张晓荣 ]
