The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

179. Youth Culture and Tourism - Drama (Part 3)

Li Zichun gave the theater actors two excerpts. He originally intended to give them the full script, but after three days of composing music and supervising rehearsals, everyone was exhausted and had very little time to rest. Naturally, it was impossible for him to write a full script for them.

He didn't have much time to teach them rehearsals either. With a lot of work piling up, each star actor actually had very limited time. He had to maximize the effectiveness of his limited time.

Sometimes, Li Zichun would feel a sense of disorientation while teaching, wondering how he, a mere variety show guest, had ended up doing the work of a coordinator or director.

It's a waste that a single program has to produce so many great songs and hits.

While it's true that those who are capable should do more, spinning around like a top non-stop will eventually take a toll, even for the strongest body.

After discussing with the director, it was decided to omit these segments in the next episode. If they continued to produce content like this, he would inevitably run out of steam and become mentally unstable. Besides, there was no need for him to work so hard for a variety show.

He always felt that the authorities had a strange feeling that they were putting him on the hot seat.

Although the production team had some complaints, they didn't dare to neglect this rising star. They just said that after this episode, these things would be over.

Li Zichun nodded and simply produced all the songs he wanted to sing.

This is also why the Huangmei Opera Troupe was able to obtain two excerpts.

And this time they are going to sing this song, "The Female Imperial Son-in-Law":

He left his home to save his beloved, only to unexpectedly become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The top scholar in the imperial examination wore a red robe and a palace flower in his hat. How wonderful! How novel!

I too have attended the Imperial Banquet; I too have ridden my horse before the Imperial Street.

Everyone praises my handsome appearance.

So that's what the gauze hat photo is like, it shows the beautiful woman.

I didn't become the top scholar to gain fame.

I didn't become a high-ranking official by taking the imperial examination.

For the amorous young master Li

The couple is deeply in love, their happiness is like a perfect flower and a full moon...

When Huangmei Opera actors receive the script and lines, especially when Li Zichun teaches them how to sing and design the movements, they are a little excited because Li Zichun is very approachable.

The troupe leader had privately admired his talent more than once and hoped that he could write a complete work for them, as a contribution to traditional culture.

Li Zichun naturally couldn't refuse, but since everyone's rehearsal time was limited, he didn't dare to agree casually. He just smiled and said, "We'll talk about it another time."

Even if the other person knew he was just being perfunctory, they only held his hand hoping he would pay more attention, and dared not express dissatisfaction with such a talented man.

After the Huangmei Opera actors left the stage, it was time for the next performance.

Introduced by Gu Qianyi, Xu Lanfang took the stage, accompanied by veteran actors from the drama troupe. She was to sing Tan Weiwei's "A Shout from Huayin Laoqiang":

The actors:

Eight hundred miles of Qin land, ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains

The songs of homesickness are endless, and the stories are never finished.

With their throats shoved, Huayin Laoqiang (a type of folk opera) was about to shout.

Hey buddy, grab your weapons!

Xu Lanfang:

Huayin Laoqiang's shout is so powerful that it would cause the giant spirit to split Mount Hua.

The shouts made the old dragon emerge from the Qin River Valley; the shouts made the Yellow River bend.

The sun held up a golden disc, and the moon drew a silver crescent.

A ladle of water was scooped up from the Milky Way, and the stars were sprinkled across the sky.

The actors:

A ladle of water was scooped up from the Milky Way, and the stars were sprinkled across the sky.

Xu Lanfang:

What kind of mountain is the highest? What kind of river is the widest?

What kind of soil is the most beautiful? What kind of sky is the clearest, most vibrant blue?

A man's spine is the highest mountain; a mother's heart is the widest river.

The fields of my hometown are the most beautiful land; the hearts of the people hold the clear blue sky.

Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, thousands of years

We face the loess soil and turn our backs to the sky.

In my dream, the Yellow River was crystal clear.

Let's take the road to heaven through Chang'an.

The actors:

Zhou, Qin, Han dynasties, thousands of years, ridges and loess plateaus

Not afraid of sweat beads falling into eight pieces

People long for a sweet life, they long for it so much, so sweet!

Hoping, hoping, hoping, hoping, so sweet

Xu Lanfang:

We've been waiting day after day.

We've been waiting year after year.

We've been waiting for this generation after generation.

Hoping that the giant dragon will turn over

For thousands of years, through the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, we toiled in the fields, our faces to the earth and our backs to the sky.

Planting hope in that yellow earth, hoping only to yield golden eggs.

Look up and see today.

A strong wind is blowing through the waves; sails are hoisted over the vast sea.

Dreams build a rainbow, and that rainbow reaches the heavens.

Huayin Laoqiang wants to shout

Huayin Laoqiang is a type of opera sung in the Banqiang style. It features a powerful and graceful style, with a strong and vigorous tone. The singing is lingering and passionate, with a "yelp" sound in the drawn-out notes, and is sung in a falsetto voice at high pitches.

Xu Lanfang is a powerful singer who rivals Zhao Qianfan in the same era. With the guidance of Li Zichun and the teachings of the veteran actors in the troupe, singing this kind of song well is naturally a piece of cake for her.

After the song was finished, the audience was quite impressed. Such a singing style and voice are rarely heard in today's pop music scene, which is dominated by soft love songs.

After Gu Qianyi exchanged a few words with Xu Lanfang and the troupe actors and finished their introductions, he began to sing the next song, "Give You Some Color":

The goddess Nuwa mended the sky, and the remaining stone became Mount Hua.

The bird flies with the sun on its back, flying from east to west.

Why has the sky turned gray? Why is there no green on the earth?

Why isn't the human heart red? Why have the snow-capped mountains turned black?

Why do rhinos lose their horns? Why do elephants lose their tusks?

Why do sharks not have fins? Why do birds not have wings?

The sky and the earth became companions.

Birds circled the sun

Mount Hua and the Yellow River became companions.

The millet in the field bent over laughing

Why are there no oases in the desert? Why do the stars no longer twinkle?

Why have the flowers stopped blooming? Why has the world lost its color?

Why do we know the outcome, yet we still squander it?

We need to stop.

The world needs to be given some color...

This song blends "Huayin Laoqiang" with her own unique singing style, presenting a perfect fusion of the ancient and the modern, leaving all the audience members, including the three recommenders, stunned.

The song seamlessly blends the melancholy and vicissitudes of loess rock with modern instruments, and Xu Lanfang's high-pitched and passionate singing voice is even more stunning to the audience.

After singing two songs, she bowed deeply and slowly stepped off the stage.

PS: Data is from the internet.

"The Female Imperial Scholar" is adapted from the traditional drama "The Two Saviors," and was written by the Anhui Huangmei Opera Troupe, representing the Anqing region at the Second Anhui Provincial Opera Festival. It is a representative work of Huangmei Opera. Yan Fengying's portrayal of Feng Suzhen in the opera film "The Female Imperial Scholar" is deeply ingrained in the public consciousness, becoming an immortal character!

"A Shout from Huayin Laoqiang" is a song with lyrics by Chao Hua, music and arrangement by Liu Zhou, and produced for artist Tan Weiwei. It is a model of the fusion of Chinese rock and traditional folk art. It was performed by Tan Weiwei and Huayin Laoqiang artists in a variety show in 2015, and later performed on the Spring Festival Gala in 2016.

"Give You Some Color" is a song with lyrics by Tan Weiwei, Chen Zhongshi, and Lu Shujun, music by Liu Zhou and Tan Weiwei, arrangement by Liu Zhou, and sung by Tan Weiwei.