On the afternoon of March 21, the "Our Treasures - National Tour of Chinese Opera Films" kicked off at Shanghai UME Cinema. As the first stop of this tour, from now until March 30, 13 classic films of six major opera genres, including Peking Opera, Yue Opera, Shanghai Opera, Kun Opera, Cantonese Opera and Huangmei Opera, will be screened in six cinemas across the city. Later, the tour will also extend to Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing, Anhui, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Jilin, Hunan and Hubei.
Famous opera artists Fang Yafen, Qian Huili, Mao Shanyu, Ji Zhenhua, Liang Guyin, Mao Weitao and Shan Wen (from left to right) attended the launch ceremony
According to Wei Xiangdong, the chief planner of the exhibition, the 13 films screened in Shanghai were produced between 1958 and 2024, aiming to present a 68-year-long intergenerational opera audio-visual feast for the audience; and such a large-scale film tour spanning several generations of opera artists is the first in the history of Chinese cinema. The audience can enjoy the hall-level performance of Ji Zhenhua, the 80-year-old Kunqu master, in "Handan Ji", and can also see the chic screen performance of Chen Lijun, a new generation of Yue Opera actor who has "out of the circle", in "New Dragon Inn (Stage Documentary Film·Yue Opera)", which fully reflects the inheritance of opera art.
Poster of Dragon Girl
In addition, the digital re-screening of film opera films is a highlight of this tour: there is not only the classic 1962 Yue Opera film "Dream of Red Mansions", but also the classic Huangmei Opera film "Dragon Girl" which has been shelved for 40 years, and Mao Weitao's Yue Opera film "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents" which became popular all over the country 40 years ago.
In addition to inviting Mao Weitao to serve as the artistic director of this tour, the first-class editor Sun Yiqun was invited to serve as the chief technical director. In addition, national treasure-level Kun opera performing artists Ji Zhenhua and Liang Guyin, Vice Chairman of Shanghai Dramatists Association and contemporary Yue opera performing artist Qian Huili, contemporary Shanghai opera performing artist Mao Shanyu, contemporary Yue opera performing artist Fang Yafen, contemporary Kun opera performing artist Shan Wen and other opera masters also attended the launch ceremony of the tour. Their new works on the big screen in recent years, including the Kun opera film "Peony Pavilion", the Yue opera film "Romance of the West Chamber", and the Shanghai opera film "Daughter of Dunhuang", are all on the list of the tour films. In addition, classic works such as the Kun opera film "Fifteen Strings of Cash" and the Huangmei opera film "The Female Prince Consort" will be screened at UME Cinemas Hongqiao Tiandi Store, UME Cinemas Xintiandi Store, Grandview Cinema, CGV Cinemas Magnolia Plaza Store, China Film International Cinemas Changtai Plaza Store, and Lumiere Shanghai Bauhinia Cinemas.
Poster of Dream of Red Mansions
Traditional opera art is our treasure
"Traditional drama films are a very special category. From the birth of the first batch of traditional opera films in color after the founding of the People's Republic of China to today, countless senior teachers and artists have recorded their precious artistic figures on the screen and left behind their invaluable works of art." Recalling his relationship with opera films, Mao Weitao revealed, "When I was a student, it was traditional opera films that led me to the door to art. In particular, the 1962 version of the Yue Opera film "Dream of Red Mansions" to be screened after the launch ceremony of the Shanghai Station today can be said to be my enlightenment film - to use today's popular terms, it is called getting into the pit. I still clearly remember that I took the convenience of delivering meals to my mother - because my mother's workplace was in the theater - to sneak to watch "Dream of Red Mansions". I can't remember how many times I have watched it. In short, I almost memorized all the characters in it, even the lines and singing of Jia Mu. The song "A Sister Lin Fell from the Sky" sowed the art of Yue Opera in my heart like a seed."
In Mao Weitao's opinion, opera films that integrate two different art categories have their own special significance. "From a professional perspective, there is indeed a difference between the stage and the screen. They belong to two different art categories. The screen cannot fully restore the stage art. But at the same time, I think that any art form needs to be widely disseminated in addition to expression. Although the screen cannot replace the stage, we still have to thank these shots for leaving us with the figures and art of our predecessors who are admired and lovable. Therefore, traditional opera films belong to the art of time. Its primary value is not to tell a story, but to store a memory."
Poster of "Five Women Paying Homage to Their Parents"
"Today, when we watch Dream of the Red Chamber, Fifteen Strings of Cash, The Legend and the Hero, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu, and Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents, we see the group of people in that time and space: we first see Xu Yulan and Wang Wenjuan, and then Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu; we first see Zhou Chuanying and Wang Chuansong, and then Kuang Zhong and Lou Ashu; we first see Yan Fengying and Wang Shaofang, and then the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong. The biggest difference between traditional drama actors and film and television actors is that they are not only characters, but also themselves in stage art."
At the same time, Mao Weitao also has new expectations for the future development of opera films. "Traditional opera art not only tells a story, but also represents the era memory of a country, a region, and a nation. They are truly 'our treasures' of our Chinese culture. It is true that society is progressing and times are changing. We should not only take advantage of the time machine to listen to the teachings of our predecessors and observe their art, but also develop new technologies and use better means to leave more films and images in the present, so that traditional drama films can set sail again. Therefore, we should not only have the screening of historical works, but also need new works. Last year, we cooperated with Chinese Culture to make the stage documentary film "New Dragon Inn" to explore a new paradigm for traditional opera films. Just like the theater scene NT Live of the National Theatre of the United Kingdom, can we also refer to and develop a theater scene that belongs to us in China, perhaps called CT live. I want to use newer scientific and technological means and screens to achieve more diversified dissemination of traditional drama art while storing it."
Mao Shanyu, a famous Shanghai opera performing artist, mentioned that since the founding of New China, "the four films "Sparks", "Arhat Money", "Thunderstorm" and "Children of Dunhuang" have enabled Shanghai opera, which was a small local opera in the past, to take root and flourish in our country, allowing more people to understand the performance form of Shanghai opera, and at the same time understand our Shanghai local opera, local opera genres and humanistic feelings through the art of Shanghai opera."
The tour will last for two years and cover 30 cities
The China Opera Film National Tour is guided by the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, and the Yangtze River Delta Opera Film Alliance, Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Industry Association, Jiangsu Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, Zhejiang Film Exhibition Association, and Anhui Film Distribution and Exhibition Association are the sub-station guidance units. The event organizers are Shanghai Chinese Culture Cinema Chain Co., Ltd., Shanghai Siyuan Film and Television Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Shanghai Chinese Zhiyuan Culture Co., Ltd., Shanghai Oriental Media Technology Co., Ltd., and Baiyue Cultural Creativity Co., Ltd.
At the launch ceremony, the organizer, China Media, announced a two-year screening plan covering 30 cities, with an estimated 1,500 screenings of opera films. Supporters of the event include Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd., Changchun Film Group Co., Ltd., Pearl River Film Group Co., Ltd., Guangdong Zhuying Film and Television Production Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Film (Group) Co., Ltd., Anhui Film Group Co., Ltd., Shanghai Opera Art Center, Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe, Shanghai Shangshi Film Co., Ltd., and Jiangsu Xijiangnan Film Co., Ltd.
Su Jia, curator of the exhibition, vice president of China Media Group, and chairman of UME/China Media Cinema Chain, said in his speech that as a content creator rooted in the blood of Chinese culture, China Media has always adhered to the mission of "keeping tradition alive in the present". The planned opera film exhibition tour is not only aimed at providing high-quality screening content for the cinema chain, but also hopes to form an opera film distribution and screening alliance through the exhibition tour to achieve the regular screening of opera films.
The organizers also introduced that each stop of the tour will have an offline exhibition of "local classics", through which the audience can learn about the development history and classic works of local opera. For example, the "Shanghai Opera Exhibition" in Shanghai has received strong support from the Shanghai Shanghai Opera House. At the UME Cinema Xintiandi store, the audience can not only learn about the origin of Shanghai opera, but also appreciate the exquisite performance costumes on the current stage. The organizers hope that through such offline exhibitions, more local audiences will be attracted to understand and love local opera.
It is reported that after the Shanghai stop, the tour will move to cultural centers of the Yangtze River Economic Belt such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui; more excellent opera films will be launched in the future, including the classic Yue opera movie "Liu Yi's Letter" and the currently popular Cantonese opera movie "The Legend of White Snake".
