Previously I have blogged about fusion of liyuan opera and western orchestra. Well, now nan yin had done the same thing.
Recently, Xiamen Jin Lian Sheng Gaojia Opera Troupe's Wu Jingjing and Li Li had teamed up with Xiamen's philharmonic orchestra and choir to put up an orchestral version of nan yin drama "Chen San and Wuniang". Well, strictly speaking it is not really nan yin drama, but gaojia opera being staged as a musical concert. So you see the orchestra playing in the background and the main characters playing in the foreground, each having almost equal amount of limelight on stage. Unfortunately I couldn't get hold of the video footage of the actual show, but here's a news clip of this event:
And here're the pictures of the actors in action. The costumes are nice!
Contrary to my other posts with similar-wording titles, this time round, I'm really going to blog about famous Huangmei opera actress Ma Lan singing Hokkien Nanyin! Well it was all part of a gala performance whereby famous Chinese opera (and may some folk music singers) get out of their usual opera and musical genre to sing in another totally different genre which they might not have touched before. I personally like Ma Lan singing Huangmei opera, and I think I should credit her for trying to sing in a dialect which was claimed to be one of the top 10 hardest Chinese dialects to master. However, to be real honest, I'm simply not used to her way of rendition.
This piece is taken from Liyuan opera titled "Zhu Bian", which tells the story of a Song dynasty official Zhu Bian, who was sent to the Jurchen kingdom on a foreign diplomacy mission and was forced by the Jurchen King to marry the Princess. When Zhu Bian refused, he was locked up, and after being persuaded by the palace maids, he finally agreed to marry the Princess, but only in name. For sixteen years, Zhu Bian and the Princess maintained a brother-and-sister relationship, and upon seeing that Zhu Bian was utterly unmoved by power and riches, the Jurchen King finally decided to let him return to his homeland. This piece of music is the duet between Zhu Bian and the Princess before Zhu Bian set off back home.
Rough English translation: (Zhu Bian:) Thank you Your Highness, for the kindness you've showered upon me, I, Zhu Bian, will never ever forget. (Princess:) Remember the day when you appeared in front of my chateau, I've fallen in love in you, and hoping that both of us will be married, But who would have thought that we will get separated as like today. (Zhu Bian:) There's nothing I can do, To repay Your Highness' deep love for me. (Princess:) My Lord, please do not forget, The deep relationship we had for the past 16 years, For we will not be able to see each other again, other than in our dreams.
Nanyin music, the classical music of the south, has got a history of about a thousand years or so, and is the oldest and most well-preserved musical form known to the Chinese presently, which still showed musical influences from the Han, Jin, Tang and Song dynasty. Quanzhou is the hometown for this form of music, otherwise known as Nan Guan, and every evening, such musical performances would take place all over the city in the major parks.
This is one of the pieces from a Nanyin ensemble performing next to Quanzhou cultural centre on one of the evenings I was there, titled "Why Did I?" (我为乜). This is a classical piece from the folk story of "Qin Xuemei", whereby unwedded widow Qin Xuemei (and her in-laws, I supposed) were lamenting that Shang Luo, the son of Qin's unwedded husband with another woman, is becoming unfilial and scolding Qin for punishing him when he's not even Qin's biological son.
Rough English translation: (Qin Xuemei:) Why did I ended up in such loneliness, Staying chaste and enduring all hardship just to make sure you grow up to be a useful person? Because of you I've chosen to remain as an unwed widow, But hearing you say such hurtful words today makes me feel like giving up all hopes.
(Shang Lin's parents:) What an unfilial grandson you are, making your mother angry, Our Shang family has got only an offspring in you, If you're to meet with any mishap, Who are we, your grandparents, going to depend on? (Qin Xuemei:) Shang Lin my husband, why did you pass away so early and made both of us your widow; How can you bear to leave us alone in this world? Jade must be polished to become useful; I have no choice and I'm not allow to cry, All I can do is to cry behind the backs of other people. (Shang Lin's parents:) Look at Shang Luo reminds me of my son Shang Lin, But alas, he's no longer around. The only way to see him again is only in my dreams.
