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Evolution Of the
Stage Set-Up
In the past,
stages in most Chinese theaters were square platforms exposed to
the audience on three sides, even all sides sometimes. In the latter
case, performances could be watched from the back also. An embroidered
curtain known as a shoujiu was hung over the platform, which was
thus divided into two parts: the back stage and the stage. In front
of the curtain, stood a table on which were laid various musical
instruments to be used for the performance, and musicians were seated
nearby. That table, together with musicians, occupied a part of
the facade of the stage and could be seen by the audience. That
is why the Peking Opera orchestra has traditionally been known as
Changmian which means stage set-up.
When Peking Opera began taking shape, its singing
was accompanied by two flutes only, known as shuangshoudi (dual
flutes)-the chief dizi and the assistant dizi. With such simple
accompaniment, the opera actors felt the singing was rather strenuous
and lacked flexibility, though the music for voices was then also
quite simple, without much florid omamentation. Later, a musician
named Wang Xiaoshao in the Sixi Troupe proposed using the huqin
as a substitute for the shuangshoudi and the he himself was the
first huqin player. A period of practice allowed actors of the troupe
to feel that, supported by the huqin, the singing becamce full of
vigor and more harmonious. The new mode of accompaniment was well
appreciated.
Although the dizi were replaced by the huqin, they were still of
use of when melodious and elegant qupai (tunes) were needed to accompany
such stage acts as dress-changing, sweeping and banquet table-setting.
Anyway, their use became rare, so they had no regular players, but
were looked after by huqin and yueqin players.
The huqin initiated by Wang Xiaoshao was a soft-bowed fiddle. Another
huqin player named Li Si ( Li the Fourth, whose real name was Li
Chunquan ) was the pioneer in the use of the hard-bowed huqin, which
was easier to manipulate and gave a better effect. As a result,
the soft-bowed huqin met the same fate as the shuangshoudi and was
replaced by the hard-bowed one.
Drummers must be able to handle all styles of operas, whether characterized
by singing, acting, or acrobatic fighting; and huqin players, able
to support all roles whether sheng, dan or jing. In other words,a
competent drummer or huqin player must be a versatile musician,capable
of adapting to various styles and meeting different demands.Private
huqin players appeared in the first years of the reign of Emperor
Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (in the late 1870s).
The original Peking Opera wenchang did not include
the erhu,
which was introduced when Mei Lanfang first staged his new opera,
Xishi, the Beauty in the 1930s. Mei felt that the combined sounds
of the jinghu, yueqin and xianzi were too weak and monotonous as
instrumental accompaniment for the singing in his new opera. Meilanfang's
private player Xu created a new two-stringed fiddle after the model
of the erhu used in a local opera in east China. That was the first
Jingerhu. When played together with the jinghu, the new fiddle produced
a very sweet and mellow sound, thus winning Mei Lanfang's immediate
appreciation and approval.
The newly-created jingerhu was for a period known as the Mei-style
erhu. Its role in Peking Opera has become ever more conspicuous
and it is now an indispensable instrument at least for accompanying
the singing of qingyi.
A famous Peking Opera wusheng actor, Yu Jusheng first introduced
the danao into Peking Opera in his performance of Tielong Mountain.
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