On June 21st, the large-scale Cantonese opera Zheng Chenggong premiered at the Guangzhou Jiangnan Theater. "Expel the invaders and reclaim our territories!" As the actors exclaimed valiantly, the scenes of Zheng Chenggong's heroic fight to recover Chinese Taiwan over 300 years ago were recreated on the opera stage again.
The heroic deeds of Zheng Chenggong, a national hero who managed to reclaim Chinese Taiwan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, have been shown many times on both the screens and the stages. This time, the Cantonese opera Zheng Chenggong retells his life story from a new perspective, allowing the audience to understand the national hero in a more comprehensive way.
The opera is built around two historical events: Zheng Chenggong's fight against the Qing government and his recovery of Chinese Taiwan. The story begins at the end of the Ming Dynasty. With the decline and fall of the country, Zheng Chenggong gives up his study and joins the army, while his father, Zheng Zhilong, surrenders to the Qing government. To save the country, he ends his relationship with his father and goes to the naval after making the oath. At the end of the story, he recovers Chinese Taiwan and fulfills his lifelong aspiration despite all the grief and indignation for the murder of his mother, the execution of his father, and the peril of the country. That's how he becomes the national hero.
The lead actor, Chen Zhenjiang, contributes his nuanced performance in the opera. From a gentle scholar to a majestic general, the transformation of the character Zheng Chenggong acted by him is obvious to see. As for the conflict scenes in the opera, he also gives appropriate reactions to characterize Zheng Chenggong as a vivid figure.
"Zheng Chenggong is a very thoughtful opera," said Chen Zhenjiang, "and it is set under a grand historical background. Zheng Chenggong's deeds are household stories, so we are trying our best to characterize him as close to the audience's expectations as possible. Therefore, we have added a lot of singing and grand scenes in the opera, as well as ingenious singing voices design, so as to present a work with a unique Cantonese style."
"Resisting the Qing Dynasty, restoring the country and recovering Chinese Taiwan are all immortal feats that go down in Chinese history, and what supported Zheng Chenggong to live up to his lifelong aspiration amid predicament is the literati spirit of 'sacrificing his life for the country', 'facing death unflinchingly' and 'always be the first to worry about the country's affairs'. Zheng Chenggong defined himself as a 'lone general', and that kinds of loyalty, heroism and moral integrity of taking the world as his own responsibility are exactly what we intended to present through the fierce confrontations on the stage, and are also the spirits needed in any era." said Liang Yunan, the scriptwriter.
"In this opera, we deduce Zheng Chenggong's motivations based on his patriotism. For example, in the face of the death of his mother and the execution of his father, what kinds of complicated emotions will he suffer? What choices will he make? And how will he break through such predicaments? We are trying to show the inner struggle of the character in the prescribed situation." said Director Hu Hanchi. He also mentioned that the performance, stage dispatch and presentation are all dependent on the traditions of Cantonese opera, which will not only present the style of the Guangzhou Red Bean Cantonese Opera Troupe, but also bring the work closer to the audience.
新編粵劇《鄭成功》公演：再現300多年前收復台灣場景
6月21日晚，大型新編粵劇《鄭成功》在廣州的江南大戲院公演。「驅逐荷夷，復我河山！」隨著演員們聲威震天的吶喊，300多年前鄭成功為收復台灣英勇奮戰的場景在粵劇舞台上再現。
鄭成功作為明清之際收復台灣的民族英雄，他的英雄事跡曾被多次搬上影視劇屏幕和戲劇舞台。粵劇《鄭成功》以全新的視角書寫鄭成功的人生故事，讓觀眾更全面地理解這一民族英雄。
粵劇《鄭成功》圍繞鄭成功抗清和收復台灣兩大歷史事件展開敘事。該劇講述了在明末國亡家破之際，鄭成功投筆從戎後，父親鄭芝龍卻失足降清，於是他勇毅「背父救國」的故事。最終，鄭成功在母親被害、父親在京滿門抄斬、國家陷入危難的種種悲憤中，誓師出海，收復台灣，完成了自己一生的偉願，成為收復台灣的民族英雄。
該劇主演陳振江的表演細膩傳神。他塑造的鄭成功形象從溫文爾雅的文人到威風凜凜的大將，人物的每一步成長都有跡可循。面對劇中的每一次矛盾衝突，陳振江都給出了恰如其分的表演，令人物呈現立體豐滿。
「粵劇《鄭成功》是一部立意很高的劇目。」陳振江表示，「鄭成功的故事背景是厚重、宏大的。他的事跡非常深入民心，所以我們在努力塑造一個更接近觀眾心目中預期的鄭成功。我們在戲裡加入了很多戲曲程式和場面鋪排，更在唱腔設計上匠心獨運，力求呈現一部別具粵劇韻味的作品。」
「抗清復國、收復台灣是史書中記載的不朽功績，而支撐鄭成功在極其艱險的困境中抒寫自己一生的卻是捐軀赴國難、視死如歸、先天下之憂而憂的古代文人精神。鄭成功說自己是『孺子孤臣』，『孺子』之孤忠、壯烈、以天下為己任的骨氣、才氣和豪氣，是我們意圖通過激烈的戲劇衝突表達出來的精神，也是任何時代都需要的一種精神。」編劇梁鬱南說。
「這部劇是以鄭成功的家國情懷來推導他的行為邏輯的。如鄭成功面對母逝君喪，父親在京被滿門抄斬，他如何糾結，如何選擇，如何突破，在規定情境中展現人物的內心掙扎。」導演胡翰馳表示，該劇的表演、舞台調度和呈現均是依附和回歸粵劇傳統的，在呈現廣州紅豆粵劇團整個團隊風貌的同時，也讓作品更貼近觀眾。(更多新聞資訊，請關注羊城派 pai.ycwb.com)
文｜羊城晚報全媒體記者 黃宙輝 通訊員 文瑤
圖｜陳慶忠
翻譯｜洪婷
來源 | 羊城晚報·羊城派
責編 | 王楠