CRI听力:Lv Opera and Liuqiang in Shandong

 Reporter Yang Long

Lv opera is the most representative local opera in east China's Shandong province. During more than a century since its birth, it is favored by the masses for its simple yet vivid language, melodious singing and rich musical vocabulary.

Now our reporter Jessica Luo will take a closer look at the latest development of Lv opera and other local operas in the province.

78-year-old Zhong Shuzhen is among the first batch of performing artists in the history of Lv opera in Pingdu, a county-level city in Qingdao.

In Zhong's memory, the thorny path related to the establishment of a local Lv opera troupe would remain unforgettable in her life.

"At that time, Yantai, with Pingdu at its center, had selected 20 performers to form a Lv opera troupe in Yantai. However as all the formalities were ready, a heavy snow forced the local transportation service to suspend operation for 11 days. This made artists in Pingdu decide to set up their own Lv opera troupe, and that's where the troupe had originally formed."
 

Lv opera, a famous local opera in Shandong Province, originated in the county of Guangrao (广饶). In 1900, a number of local musicians, including Shi Dianyuan and his friends, created the first Lv opera play---The Donkey Driver Wang Xiao.

In the 1940s, Lv opera was further spread to Pingdu.

Lv opera, featured with the easy-to-understand language that tells real-life stories, and evokes emotion from the audience, was generally well received among the general public. When there's a play, neither scorching heat nor the freezing cold could dampen the masses' passion for watching their performances. Zhong Shuzhen recalls:

"When we performed Sha Jia Bang in which I played the role of the lady 'A Qing' in a village called Nantanpo, I was almost frozen to death in the snowy days. I told myself I would not have to perform if the audiences were not interested and all left. A troupe leader was sweeping snow for fear that the performers might slip. Some audiences felt cold, but insisted on watching after wearing leather coats. They wanted to watch the performances in spite of the freezing cold!"
 

During the 1980s and the 1990s, Lv opera prospered in Pingdu. Back then, the Lv opera troupe of Pingdu was popular not only among the ordinary people, but also among the soldiers and government officials. The troupe also gave two shows in Beijing, respectively in 1991 and 1999.

However, along with the increasing use of radio, television, and other technology, fewer and fewer people have shown interest in Lv opera over the past decades. Now, most Lv opera fans are people over the age of 50.

In Zhong Shuzhen's spare time, she often reviews those black-and-white photographs she took in 1955, the year when three performing artists and two musicians joined hands in developing Lv opera in Pingdu. Regarding the future of Lv opera, performers of Pingdu Lu opera are still full of dreams and hope.

"As an old performer, I do hope to see Lv opera prosper rather than become obscure."
 

In addition to Lv opera, Liuqiang is also a traditional local opera in Qingdao and has a history of more than 200 years. This form of art is simple, easy for audiences to understand, and has strong rural roots. It also tells real-life stories.

Liuqiang, popular with the masses, is a classic opera genre that has become widely spread.

Liuqiang is a unique feature in Qingdao. It originated in Renzhao County in Pingdu and became popular in Jiaodong peninsula thereafter. In 2008, it was included on the national intangible cultural heritage list.

The formation of Liuqiang opera holds an important historical value to the birth of other local operas in other parts of Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces, and the northern part of Henan Province.

Wang Junzhuo, leader of the Liuqiang opera troupe in Pingdu, says that Liuqiang evolves from a folk rap show called "elbow drum".

"About 200 hundred years ago, a few folk artists who migrated from Weihai, another city in Shandong Province, came to settle down here. They made a living on giving the elbow drum show. However, the tone of their opera varied from time to time without consistence."

In the 1970s and 1980s, with the increasingly rapid pace of China's reform and opening-up, Liuqiang opera radiated with new vitality.

In a county in Pingdu, Liuqiang opera was so popular in almost every village that almost all locals can sing it. Liuqiang opera troupes were set up successively in places like Jimo, Chengyang, Jiaozhou and the urban areas of Qingdao. During important traditional festivals such as a mountain fair or a temple fair, watching and singing Liuqiang opera is highly popular among local citizens.

There were many jokes concerning the enthusiasm of the members in the society for singing Liuqiang. Wang Junzhuo, now at the age of 70, was very familiar with them.

"Even dogs' bark and roosters' crow had the tone of Liuqiang. There were about 120 households in a village. Among them, about 34 or 35 people are performers on stage. They performed at night and would not leave even at time of a shower."

During the 200 years since the birth of Liuqiang opera, it has gone through many ups and downs. There are still many amateur troupes and the opera is faced with an embarrassing lack of well-trained artists. Although senior citizens are fond of Liuqiang, the opera almost left no mark on the life of the younger generation.

Wang Zhuojun hopes that the government may give bigger support for the development of Liuqiang by training young artists to inherit this form of art that has been enjoyed for generations.

For CRI, I'm Jessica Luo.