Revolutionary opera
The concept of model operas (Ch样板戏yàngbănxì ) referred to in the Cultural Revolution ( 1966-1976 ) under the influence of the CCP resulting political Beijing operas, ballets, symphonies and piano pieces.
- 3.2.1 Beijing Opera
- 3.2.2 ballets
- 3.2.3 symphonies
- 3.2.4 Piano Pieces
- 5.1 Content
- 5.2 Stylistic Devices 5.2.1 The principle of the three highlights
- 5.2.2 The five character types
History
Even before the Cultural Revolution, there had been efforts to reform the traditional opera in favor of revolutionary pieces. However, this could not prevail, because the traditional pieces of larger popular.
With the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, traditional opera, according to Mao Zedong and his wife Jiang Qing was used by political opponents to criticize Mao's policy to practice ( - cf. The case Wu Han). Under the influence of Jiang Qing in 1962 were first pieces with supernatural components and exiled shortly afterwards pieces with historical content of the stages. In this way, the repertoire from 1963 has been continuously regulated, so that the model operas advanced during the Cultural Revolution, the only officially tolerated form of art and developed a monoculture of the model operas.
Especially in the early years of the Cultural Revolution model operas were popular and omnipresent. There were performances specifically elect of theater companies, the arias of the model operas were sung at work in the fields and in the factories and played on the radio. From 1970, some of the model operas were filmed and so conquered cinema and television.
An important role in the creation of the model operas played alongside Jiang Qing Yu Huiyong, the then minister of culture and the creative force behind a number of important model operas, especially from the second half of the Cultural Revolution.
Rating
Although the model operas contain unequivocal political messages, they are of high artistic quality. For this reason, some of the model operas enjoyed great popularity even today. These popular pieces include the opera The Legend of the Red Lantern, Shajiabang, conquered the Tiger Mountain With tactical skill and the ballet The Red Woman Battalion, for example, Was performed in 1972 at the China visit of U.S. President Richard Nixon.
List of model operas
The eight "original " model operas
Beijing Opera
- The Legend of the Red Lantern (Ch红灯记Hong Deng Ji )
- Shajiabang (Ch沙家浜)
- With tactical skill the Tiger Mountain conquered (Ch智取威虎山Zhiqu weihushan )
- Attack on the regiment from the White Tiger (Chin Kwee奇袭白虎团baihutuan )
- At the port (Ch海港Haigang )
Ballets
- The White -haired Girl (Chinese白毛女Baimaonü )
- The Red women's battalion (Ch红色 娘子军Hongse niangzijun )
Symphonies
- Shajiabang
Further model operas to 1976
Beijing Opera
- Azalea Mountain (Chinese杜鹃 山Dujuanshan )
- Ode to the Dragon River (Chinese龙江 颂Longjiang song)
- Fight in the plane (Chinese平原 作战Pingyuan Zuozhuan )
- The rocky bay (Ch磐石 湾Panshi wan)
- The Red women's battalion
Ballets
- Ode to the mountain Yi (Chinese沂蒙 颂Yimeng song)
- Steppe children (Ch草原 儿女Caoyuan ernü )
Symphonies
- Conquer the Tiger Mountain With skill
Piano Pieces
- Piano Concerto from the Yellow River
- Piano music for The Red Lantern
Regional adaptations
In addition to the official version of the opera, there were numerous regional adaptations, in which the model operas were adapted to regional dialects and regional exchange of musical elements. An example of this is Sagabong, the Cantonese adaptation of Shajiabang. The advantage of this adaptation region is that a larger number could be obtained by humans. Disadvantages, however, were the difficult process of creating adaptations and loss of regional musical identity that was previously in the regional operas expression.
The creation process of the model operas
In general, the process of creation of the pieces, particularly the Beijing Opera was complicated. The pieces were rehearsed, rehearsed and revised until its completion time and again and rewritten. Was completed this lengthy process each piece in front of a specially invited audience was listed, and then revised again.
Content, style means and Music
Content
According to Mao Zedong, the stage was dominated before the Cultural Revolution of rulers, kings, generals, ministers, scholars and noble ladies. These should now be replaced by workers, peasants and soldiers. The basic task of the model operas was the creation of proletarian heroes, images and characters for proletarian masses. They should serve as a model for politically correct content and also for human behaviors. In the plays of the revolutionary daily life since the founding of the People's Republic of China should be worked up with the addition of romantic elements. The original battle of good versus evil in the traditional opera became the class struggle of workers, peasants and soldiers against landowners and other bourgeois enemies.
Stylistic devices
The model operas make use of some stylistic devices of traditional Peking opera, such as Color symbolism, gestures, acrobatics and Deklamatorik. In addition, various lights were used to create mood or to emphasize the occurrence of positive and negative characters.
The principle of the three highlights
A special stylistic devices of model operas is the principle of the three emphases (Chinese:三 突出san tuchu ). Among all the characters of a piece of the positive figures are being emphasized, among the positive figures, the hero and the hero of the main hero.
The five character types
The model operas knew five character types:
- The main character, the proletarian model.
- The changing character is a heroic character in the core due to improper influences and ideas, however, makes mistakes and has to be converted from the main heroes.
- The heroic characters are comparable to the positive characters, but are worked out individually.
- The positive characters that represent the broad masses. They emphasize the representation of the main character by emphasizing his good relationship with the people.
- The negative characters who represent the opposite of virtue of the main heroes in their wickedness.
This character model was later heavily criticized because the characters had no facets and conflicts only between good and evil, but never took place within a figure.
Music
The music of the model operas combines western elements in the form of melodies and instruments with traditional Chinese melodies, rhythms, dances and revolutionary songs, western ballet and military music. In the model operas thus it is in terms of music to cultural hybrids.