Why is Henan known as the hometown of opera? What is the origin of opera?

The earliest form of Chinese opera was primitive singing and dancing. It was not until the Han, Tang, Song and Jin dynasties that a complete opera art was formed. Modern drama concepts emphasize the unified performance of all performance elements on and off the stage to achieve a comprehensive artistic effect. What are the opera elements presented below? Do you know?

Contents of this article

1. Why is Henan known as the hometown of opera?

2. What is the origin of opera?

3. What are the opera elements?

Why is Henan known as the hometown of opera?

First, the origin of opera was early. According to historical records, there were already Youling Mountain in the Xia Qi period; during the Han and Tang dynasties, Luoyang was the center of opera activities; and there are many mountain cultural relics related to Lanling Wang's military drama and Tayao Niang. In addition, Zhugongdiao was founded in Kaifeng; "Mulian Saves His Mother" was first performed in Kaifeng; and the Northern Song Dynasty Zaju was formed in Kaifeng. All this is enough to show that the main root and source of Chinese opera is in Zhongzhou and its surrounding areas.

2. The art world is full of variety. After the various palace tunes and the zaju of the Song and Yuan dynasties, according to relevant records and clues provided by various unofficial histories, notes, novels, and poems, in the hundreds of years after the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty alone, there were nearly 80 types of drama that were successively produced, existed, and popular in the Central Plains, including about 65 types of opera.

3. Theaters are everywhere. The earliest performance venue in my country was the Pingleguan, a palace theater built in the west of Luoyang during the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, the theater outside Duanmen Gate in Luoyang stretched for eight miles, and people from three hundred miles came to watch. You can imagine how large its scale was. The folk theaters that were recorded were the brothels and tile houses in the Fengxiang Temple in the Northern Song Dynasty. As of the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were still more than 10,000 dance (music) buildings and stages in the Central Plains. After the catastrophic destruction of war, the Cultural Revolution and the destruction of the four olds, there were still about 600 in the early 1980s. In the 50 years after the establishment of the new Central Plains, more than 700 new theaters (including cultural palaces and clubs that can perform) were built in Henan.

Fourth, the appreciation interest is high. Henan is a major agricultural province and also a populous province in China. Therefore, the farmers and citizens, who are the main audience of opera aesthetics, have maintained and promoted the survival, development and prosperity of Henan opera for thousands of years with their strong interest in opera. Even the high ratings of the famous column "Liyuanchun" of Henan TV Station today are also very telling. By the beginning of the new century, 26,000 people had participated in the drama fans' competition and 456 champions had been produced. From this, we can see that Henan is indeed an out-and-out hometown of opera.

What is the origin of opera?

1. Chinese opera originated from primitive singing and dancing, and it was not until the Han, Tang, Song and Jin dynasties that a complete opera art form was formed. It is mainly a combination of three different art forms: folk singing and dancing, storytelling and comedy.

2. In the original society, the villages where clans lived produced primitive songs and dances, and as the clans grew stronger, the songs and dances also gradually developed and improved. For example, in many ancient rural areas, the long-standing song and dance traditions, such as "Nuo Opera", are still maintained; at the same time, some new songs and dances, such as "Shehuo" and "Yangko", were born to meet the spiritual needs of the people. It is these song and dance performances that have created batches of skilled folk artists and are moving towards the direction of opera little by little.

3. From the middle of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century, professional art and commercial performance groups gradually emerged, as well as Song Zaju and Jin Yuanben that reflected the lives and views of the citizens, such as Guan Hanqing's "The Injustice of Dou E", Ma Zhiyuan's "Autumn in the Han Palace" and "The Revenge of the Orphan of Zhao". This period was a prosperous period for the opera stage.

What are the elements of opera?

1. Opera elements refer to the components that make up opera, and opera refers to traditional Chinese drama.

2. Opera elements include singing, reciting, acting and fighting, as well as dialogue, music, singing, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics.

Modern theatrical concepts emphasize the unified expression of all performance elements on and off the stage to achieve a comprehensive artistic effect. Performance elements include actors, stages, props, lighting, sound effects, costumes, makeup, as well as scripts, directors, etc., as well as the relationship between the performance on stage and the interaction with the audience.

Dramatic language includes the characters' language and stage directions. Drama brings together many art forms into a standard, including poetry, music, and dance.