A representative figure of Lu Opera

Wang Benyin was born in 1906. Originally from Guanjiamiao (now Yong 'an Township) in Feidong County, he moved to Cailouzi, Nibangang and other places in his childhood. Wang Benyin also has many nicknames: around Zhu Xiang; Because he plays the role of Danny, he is handsome, can sing and act, so he is called Wang Sanqiao; In Dingyuan and Zhou Jiawei, because of his solemn and humorous role in Begging for Learning Money, people call him Wang Laoben and Wang Lao ... But people in Feidong area are most used to calling him Xiaozhuangsuo.

Wang Benyin comes from a poor family. At the age of five, she lost her mother and lived alone with her sister Wang. Father Wang Chuanchuan, in addition to renting two fields, mainly makes a living by shaving his head, that is, shaving the heads of farmers in several villages regularly and collecting grain in the afternoon and autumn as a reward. Wang Erchuan is self-taught, likes to sing seven plays and has nothing to do at night. He is often invited to sing in a small troupe nearby. Playing the role of actress can also earn some income. Luxi opera

When Wang Benyin was nine years old, he broke his leg because of fighting with the children in the same village. The local doctor coated the broken part with herbs and bound it with plywood, saying that it would take 100 days to take it out. It was summer, and Wang Erchuan went out to shave his head every day, and his sister Wang also went to dig grass and collect firewood, so he put Wang Benyin on a bamboo bed to recuperate and entrusted his neighbors to take care of him. Because Wang Benyin used to go to the theatre with his father, he also learned some tunes. He is at home alone and has nothing to do. On the one hand, he is interested in singing opera, on the other hand, he keeps humming seven plays. Once when singing, his father heard it and asked, "Suozi, who did you learn from?" Wang Benyin said, "I've heard you sing!" . Wang Erchuan was very happy and said, "Singing is OK. I'll teach you a play. Soon, Wang Erchuan taught Wang Benyin to play Lu Er, the godson of Qin Xuemei. It was a summer drought, and rural neighbors invited the troupe to Cailouzi to sing and pray for rain. The play they sang was the whole of Qin Xuemei. At that time, the actors in the troupe were all over forty years old, and there was no young actor who could play the role of Lu Er well. Wang Benyin said to his father, "I can sing on the street corner." Wang Erchuan listened to him rap Lu Er's play from beginning to end. He thought it was possible to give it a try, so he went to discuss with the monitor and got the monitor's consent to let Wang Benyin play Lu Er. At that time, the performance of Qin Xuemei was full of twists and turns, including "viewing paintings", "breaking buildings", "getting sick", "decocting medicine", "going to heaven", "visiting Yin", "sweeping graves", "scolding Tao Rong", "disturbing schools" and "teaching children". The whole play is very long and needs to be sung all night. The play started in the evening and the songs were sung at a discount. By the time the play "Godson" was sung at a discount, it was already dawn. The theatre goers are tired of watching, some are lying beside the haystack, and some are leaning on the graves. Wang Benyin fell asleep in the corner of the background. When Wang handed it to Wang Benyin, who had just been woken up, and put lead powder and rouge on her face, Wang Benyin trembled all over. Wang Erchuan saw it and said, "Alas, you are useless. Your teeth are teetering. How can you do that?" Wang Benyin said, "I'm not afraid, but it's cold." In this way, Wang Benyin stepped onto the stage. Many opera fans heard that Xiaozhuang could sing opera and stood up and crowded onto the stage. Although Wang Benyin can sing, it won't be the first time to perform on stage. He just sings on one side of the stage and on the other. However, because people are small, the road corner is still like a sample, plus a good voice and good singing, which is praised by the audience. Back in the village, the neighbors not only praised him, but also pooled their money to make him a dress. Wang Benyin was loved by the audience for the first time and also spread abroad. Many class clubs keep coming to Wang and asking him to take his son to sing. Wang Erchuan teaches while singing. Wang Benyin is clever and studious, and soon, ordinary little maids and Dan Jiao can sing. Xiaozhuangsuo soon became famous. From the age of eleven to thirteen, Wang Benyin joined the troupe with his father, including: Ning No.3 Team, Team (formerly known as Pan, who lives in Zhoucun, Liangyuan Youfang), Team Guan (Guan can't sing opera, but he has several nephews, including Guan Mengde and Guan Heguan, who were in their twenties at that time), Team Fei Yefa and Team Fei No.5.. After that, I continued to sing in class; Wang Benyin has more practical opportunities, can sing more plays and improve his performance to some extent.

At about 1920, in Cuozhen and Dong Dawei, there was a famous Wang Fengshan group who sang seven operas. At that time, Wang Fengshan was in his forties, singing Wu Chou. There are Zhang Zongyao and Fan in the team; Dou Weixian, Chen Chaobing, Chen, Chen Keguang, and other artists are all in their forties and all have certain singing skills. At that time, it was a large troupe with a neat lineup. Send someone to find Wang and ask him to take Wang Benyin to a singing class. The bearer first gave five silver dollars as a "dead corner" (that is, the bride price money and bride price in advance). "Stick to the corner" was the jargon of the troupe at that time. Only singers were given a "stick to the corner" when the monitor invited them to take over. At that time, five silver dollars was a lot of money, and even Wang Fengshan invited him to sing opera and gave him five dollars.

From the age of thirteen, Wang Benyin joined Wang Fengshan's team with his father, singing in Piantang, Cuozhen and Xiaoxingji. About a year later, Wang Erchuan became brothers with Wang Fengshan and Zhang Zongyao, and Wang Benyin formally took Wang Fengshan as his teacher. After learning from the teacher, Wang Benyin became a master. It was particularly hard to learn drama at that time. Artists are busy making a living, and they keep singing. And they often sing for a long time, that is, at night when the sun goes down, and sing all night until the morning when the sun comes out. Therefore, there is no fixed time to teach a drama. If you take the risk of teaching a play, you can rap twice at most, which means you need to be generally popular. When singing on the stage, you need to improvise in order to perform your skills. Apprentices should not only learn drama from the master, but also serve the master in life. Cooking, washing dishes, making tea and buying cigarettes are all routine. Once after the play, Wang Benyin finished his chores and just fell asleep. He was called up by the master again, asking him to recite Xue Mei's Godson at a 10% discount. Wang Erchuan saw it, but he couldn't bear it. He said, "Tell him to recite it tomorrow!" "If you care about your children, you shouldn't let them study art." Fortunately, Wang Benyin is a teenager, full of blood, hard-working, studious, and can sing many operas. Wang Fengshan plays a clown and is very popular with the public. His performance on the stage is rough and changeable, and the clown is humorous, and every line can make the audience laugh. He often said to Wang Benyin, "If you play a clown, you have to make people laugh. If people don't laugh, it's worthless to laugh first. " Many of Wang Fengshan's clown plays and his acting methods were learned by Wang Benyin. This enabled Wang Benyin not only to play Naisheng and Xiao Dan, but also to play the clown well. In the meantime, Wang Benyin also learned a 20% discount from another team that was popular at that time, namely "Three Mothers and Godsons" and "Eighteen Labs", all of which sang Peking Opera. After learning, he also sang Eighteen La with Wang Fengshan.

Two years later, in addition to Zhang Zongyao and other actors in their 40 s, Wang Fengshan's team also added several young actors about the same age as Wang Benyin, such as Liu Tiezui, who was in his 20 s and was from Feidong; Little genius, fifteen years old, is a child picked up by Wang Fengshan, formerly known as Wu Shengkui, and later changed his name to Wang Jinkui with Wang Fengshan, singing a clown, and his specialty is "Liu Xiu Begging"; Joey, whose name is Li Chunfa, is an old singer. These teenagers are together, competing with each other, striving for strength and winning, and all want to sing as well as others. They all study hard and sing plays. Wang Fengshan's team is popular mainly because there are three outstanding talents, Xiao Suozi and Joy, to attract the audience.

In the old society, singers were discriminated and bullied by corrupt governments and local tyrants. It is very difficult to make a living by singing plays. When Wang Benyin was about sixteen years old, for some unknown reason, Wang Fengshan's team offended the Zanzhen Youth League Defense Bureau. The owner of the fifth regiment sent a policeman to arrest the king, tied him to the head of the rally and showed him off without giving him food. Wang Benyin secretly handed his father two biscuits, which were seen by the guards of the regiment security bureau. He grabbed them and threw them into the sewer. It was not until that evening that Wang Erchuan was released. Wang Fengshan's team once had to stop playing. Later, there was a gentleman Wen in the lobby of the river not far from CuO Town. He was a local squire and had a certain influence. In order to show his power and face, he asked Wang Fengshan's team to sing in Jiang Datang for a while. Because Wang Fengshan's team sometimes sings Peking Opera in the inverted seven plays, Jiang Datang people also call them the "inverted seven play team"

At the age of eighteen, Wang Benyin left the Wang Fengshan team with his father and returned to his hometown Guanjiamiao. Since then, he has often sung in Zhang Leshan Class in Gaotang, Mrding Class in Ningmiaozi and Desheng Class in Feiyefa. At that time, all the artists who could sing and read every role in the whole play were called "a dish", and those who could only sing a certain role were called "half-faced". Wang Benyin is naturally a "vegetable" because he knows a lot of plays and is familiar with the singing and lines of each character in the play. He will go to any line he lacks. You can also remind each other what to sing and say by singing and reading. Therefore, singing opera in class is very popular, and people often take the "head account" (that is, take the highest account when sharing accounts). But even so, I can only live a poor life. When not singing opera, Wang Benyin makes a living by singing folk songs. Door songs are folk rap songs in Feidong area, which are mostly sung by the poor when begging. Wang Benyin is very popular with the masses because he has sung plays and has a good voice. Singing a song can sing a relatively complete story.

Wang Benyin sang opera and folk songs in his hometown for several years and found it difficult to develop and live. Listening to the legend of colleague Xu Zu, Fei Yefa's team sang opera in Nanjing. 1933, Wang Benyin and Xu Zuchuan arrived in Nanjing together. At that time, there was an amusement park called Yihe Hall in Xiaguan, Nanjing (or Yihe Hall, in fact, it was an empty venue for telling stories, performing arts and juggling). There were four food stalls in it: Fei Yefa's inverted seven troupe (called Hezhou Opera in Nanjing) was near the gate, and its head was a northerner named Zhang Fool; The second file is Sizhou Opera (then called La Soul Hall); The third gear is a singing pendant; The fourth file is the inverted seven play, which is a team, and Feidong artist Pan is in this team. Wang Benyin and Xu Zuchuan found Fayefa and settled down. The first play is Xue's "Going to Beijing", and Wang Benyin plays Xue. The monitor Zhang Fool said to Fei Yefa after watching it: "Wang Pin is drunk (another nickname of Wang Benyin). There is nothing in this play!" . The second time, Wang Benyin sang "Cao is making trouble in the shop", which Zhang Fool thought was ok. He said to Feyefa, "There is only one king in the troupe, not Xu Zu." Xu Zuchuan knew that Zhang fool didn't want him, so he had to work at the airport site a few miles away from Nanjing. Wang Benyin thought Xu Zushang invited him to Nanjing. This team didn't leave Xu's ancestral home, and he couldn't do it. Out of friendship, he went to the airport with Xu. When I went to the construction site, I lived in a broken tent, and flies flew everywhere. The conditions were extremely poor and I couldn't make money. Both of them have no jobs, and they are back in Zhang's class. Zhang Zhi kept Wang and Xu, but Wang couldn't either, so he said to Wang Benyin, "Stay!"

Wang Benyin stayed in Zhang Fool's class, which made no difference at first. Soon, the "boatman" (that is, the boat people running for transportation) in Hefei East Dawei passed by Nanjing. When he heard that Xiaozhuangsuo was singing here, he was coaxed to Yihe Hall and gave Xiaozhuangsuo five silver dollars to sing "Song Jiang Killing Xi" and "Cao Xia Zi Noisy Shop". Since then, Wang Benyin has become famous in the team and has more accounts than others. Wang Benyin stopped and his father and sister came to Nanjing one after another. Wang Erchuan sang in the troupe, and Wang helped. According to Zhang, Wang Benyin married a local woman named Yixia.

Wang Benyin sang songs in Nanjing for two years. At the age of 29, he left Zhang Fool's Class and went to Shanghai by boat with Chen Yushou, a fellow villager who was a waiter on the Yangtze River passenger ship "Dehe" at that time, and joined the troupe compiled by Li Xiaoer, a native of Lu 'an. In the team, there are several artists who sing seven plays and several artists who sing Huai Opera, singing in a clearing of Zhabei Fireworks (or Yi Bei Huali). They often attract the audience with a little play; When more people watch, they sing series, such as Lao Zhang's "Catch the Son". The tone changes with the drama, sometimes singing Beijing opera; Sometimes seven plays are played backwards, and Huai opera artists take the stage to sing Huai opera. Halfway through the song, someone in the team took a disc box and collected money from the audience sitting on the surrounding benches. At that time, many people in He Chao area worked as craftsmen (that is, hand weavers) in Zhabei District of Shanghai, so there were many viewers watching these seven plays. Later, a Feidong man named Sun Xulun worked as a policeman in the police office, numbered "330", and everyone called him 330. . He rented a shed in Nanfireworks (or Nanyihuali); I asked Li Xiaoer's team to sing a play, which didn't have much impact, and the income was not much, making a living. In the same class as Huai Opera artists, Wang Benyin also learned several songs of Huai Opera and brought this song back to Feidong to sing. Wang Benyin said that the original tune was called "Huaicheng Tune", but the artists of Daoqi Opera called it "Daoqing Mood", because this tune was first sung in a aria that sang Daoqing in the Pearl Tower.

Wang Benyin has been singing in Shanghai for more than a year. Later, due to his father's illness, the political situation was turbulent on the eve of the Lugouqiao Incident, and it was difficult to make a living by singing in Shanghai, so he took his father and wife back to his hometown in Feidong. The day after he got home, Wang Erchuan died of illness.

After returning to his hometown, he was repeatedly banned from singing opera and had no way out. On one occasion, Wang Benyin went to visit Chiang Kai-shek's Collection with the third team, and happened to say that Xie, a famous drummer, was also telling stories in Chiang Kai-shek's Collection. Wang Benyin likes listening to books and wants to learn books after listening to them several times. Thank you formally for taking silver as your teacher and teaching drums. The master first talked about the way of telling stories, and learned a ten-fold "little eight meanings" at the beginning. Xie likes listening to Wang Benyin singing opera, saying that Wang Benyin has a good voice, but telling stories requires a hoarse and low voice. Xie said to Wang Benyin, "Don't spoil your voice with theoretical books." Wang Benyin also missed singing, so the theory book did not change his tone and still used the original sound. In this way, Wang Benyin's drum book is not as good as others'. But many people still listen to his stories, mainly because he is famous for singing. At that time, the masses joked: "Xiaozhuang talks about books, but people are valuable and books are worthless."

Wang Benyin divorced his ex-wife around 1947, and later married a woman in Wangxing, because she often went out to be a singer and was not at home.

Wang Benyin talked on drums for several years, and sang 1949 intermittently with Fei Yefa, Zhang Leshan, Zhou Xiaoman, Fei Zhiquan and Jinshan.

Turned over and liberated and became famous.

1June, 949, Hefei was liberated. Wang Benyin was invited to Hefei from Zhangwa with Fei Yefa's team and sang at Gong Li Temple in Hefei (now the backyard of the Provincial Post and Telecommunications Administration). Soon, under the leadership of Hefei Cultural Center, a folk drama club was established, with Wang Xinhai (stage name Wang Xiaoyezi) as the president and Wang Benyin as the vice president. Backstage bosses are Huang Chaoxian and Wu Bangzhi. Since Gong Li Temple is not suitable for long-term performances, in 1950, the drama club and some people in charge of the front desk at that time raised funds to build a civilian theater in Shuangjing Lane. 195 1 year, the Cultural and Educational Office of the Northern Anhui Administrative Office took over the folk drama club and changed it into a state-run northern Anhui local drama experimental theater, which began the inheritance, research and reform of seven major operas. Wang Benyin enthusiastically participated in this system reform and became an actor in a state-run troupe. During the performance, he participated in various artists' courses. He also actively participated in literacy, learning culture, learning music knowledge and new performance knowledge, and gradually improved his political ideology and cultural level. 1955, the people's government of Anhui province decided to rename the prop play as Lu play, because the popular area of the prop play belongs to the Guluzhou government. Anhui Lu Opera Troupe was established. 1956, Wang Benyin gloriously joined the China * * * production party. Soon, he was elected as the people's representative by Feidong County and participated in the provincial people's congress. He was also appointed deputy head of Anhui Lu Opera Troupe and director of the Arts Committee, and became a member of the Chinese Dramatists Association. 1963, Wang Benyin gloriously attended the second Anhui Provincial Congress of China * * * Production Party. Wang Benyin's ideological life has undergone earth-shaking changes from an actor despised in the old society to taking part in revolutionary literary and artistic work and joining the party, and his performing arts have been continuously improved. 1952 played Zhu in butterfly lovers, which was of pioneering significance in the artistic reform of Lu Opera and was well received. Later, he created a carpenter in Lohan Qian and an old gentleman who begged for money to learn on the stage, which made him famous in Lu plays. He also played many roles in Lotus Lantern, Legend of the White Snake, Two Brothers, Stove, Hugh Lilac, Double Lock Pavilion and Jiang Jie. , depicting all kinds of characters, all flesh and blood, distinctive personality. His performance, delicate movements, vivid emotions, mellow singing, clear articulation, varied and unique. 1954, Wang Benyin attended the East China Opera Observation and Performance Conference held in Shanghai and won the first prize as an actor. 1956 won the honorary award of actors in the first Huizhou opera viewing conference. He also participated in the third workshop of opera actors organized by the Ministry of Culture in Shanghai, and exchanged experiences and skills with many famous actors of brother operas. 1in the spring of 957, Wang Benyin participated in the report performance of Anhui local opera in Beijing: during the special performance in Huairentang, Zhongnanhai, he starred in Begging for Learning Money and Ding Yulan starred in Borrowing Luo Yi. Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, Zhu De and other party and state leaders watched the performance and took the stage to shake hands with the actors. After the performance; Premier Zhou Enlai also cordially received Wang Benyin and other cast members. This lofty honor, that happy moment, made this old artist deeply moved and unforgettable.

In the daily work of the troupe, Wang Benyin not only constantly participates in performances, but also actively teaches young actors traditional singing and performance skills. He also cooperated with composers and creative comrades for a long time, seriously discussed the reform and development of Lu opera music, and created many excellent arias. He also recalled traditional plays with other old artists, provided them to the creators of the plays, and participated in the processing and arrangement of traditional plays.

1974, Comrade Wang Benyin retired. After retirement, he still maintained his love and concern for the art of traditional Chinese opera and sincere loyalty to the party's cause. 1986 In the early summer, Wang Benyin, who is 80 years old, also enthusiastically participated in the recording of the cassette "Begging for Money". After the tape was released, it was very popular with the audience of Lu opera.

19901June18th, Wang Benyin died of illness at the age of 84. Lu opera actress. Anhui Feidong people. Born into an artist family. When I was young, I studied drama with my father. When I was twelve years old, I studied Lu Opera with my teacher. Gongqingcheng, Hua Dan. He once performed in central Anhui. 1949 participated in Hefei Folk Drama Club. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he has served as an actor in the Northern Anhui Local Opera Experimental Theatre, Anhui Lu Opera Troupe, and an actor, deputy head and honorary head of Hefei Lu Opera Troupe. He is good at performing Hugh Lilac, Qin Xuemei's View on Painting, Yu Pinji and Double Ribbon. The starring "Borrowing Luo Yi" was made into opera film, and "Double Locker" was made into a drama series.

Ding Yulan was born in a poor family. She lost her father when she was a child and made a living by acting with her mother in her adoptive father Ding Jiaban. Because Lu Opera at that time was still a small play, its social status was very low. During the performance, Ding Yulan also experienced the warmth and coldness of the world. It is also under the influence of this performance atmosphere that Ding Yulan has laid a solid artistic foundation since he was a child. Later, I learned from Master Chen of the troupe. Because of his high talent, he began to take to the stage at the age of 8, and at the age of 65,438+03, he was able to sing the representative repertoire of Lu Opera, and soon became a famous actor. People often ask Ding Yulan to sing a performance. Ding Yulan, who was determined to make progress in art, later formally took the famous Lu Opera actor Guo Shilong as her teacher, which made her artistic taste more perfect.

After liberation, Ding Yulan joined the Anhui Lu Opera Troupe. Under the care of the party and the government, she eagerly supplemented her cultural and professional knowledge, studied and watched the performances of her brothers' dramas, and widely absorbed the advantages of various dramas, laying a solid foundation for climbing the artistic peak again. During the period of 1957, in the report performance of Peking Opera, Ding Yulan shocked the opera circle with his wonderful interpretation of Lu Opera's representative works "Borrowing Luo Yi" and "Hugh Lilac". Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou also watched the performance with great interest, and after watching the performance, they shook hands and took photos with Ding Yulan and others. Premier Zhou also showed cordial concern for Ding Yulan and helped Ding Yulan solve the problem of seeking medical treatment for eye diseases.

After retirement, Ding Yulan took on the important task of cultivating the next generation and actively devoted himself to the creation of Lu Opera. Ding Yulan has made many achievements in his acting career for more than 60 years. /kloc-participated in the first opera performance in East China in 0/954, and won the first prize as an actor with the wonderful performance of Borrowing Luo Yi. 1956 won the first prize of the first opera performance in Anhui province with its excellent performance of double ribbons. 1959, loan Luo Yi, starring her, moved to the screen. In view of her outstanding artistic performance, Ding Yulan was accepted as a member of Chinese Dramatists Association and elected as a director of Anhui Dramatists Association. After retirement, in the post of teacher, Ding Yulan was successively rated as an advanced worker in Hefei, an activist in CPPCC, a provincial model worker, and was elected as a deputy to the provincial people's congress and a member of CPPCC. Her deeds and artistic achievements have been included in authoritative documents such as Encyclopedia of China.

As a representative figure of Lu Opera, Lu Opera is her life, and she devoted her whole life to her feelings. Of course, it is precisely because of her and her troupe that Lu Opera has gradually become a local opera that can gain a foothold in the provincial capital from a local opera that only performs in rural Nomura. As a famous actress, she pushed Lu Opera to the whole country again and again with her exquisite performance style and sweet local flavor. From "Borrowing Luo Yi" full of local flavor to "Jade Hairpin" with elegant words, she played exquisite and vivid roles, whether it was a village girl or a lady, whether it was Tsing Yi or Hua Dan. This ever-changing performance genius conquered simple villagers and harsh scholars. Just like Yan Fengying in Huangmei Opera, Chang Xiangyu and Ding Yulan in Henan Opera, they can also be said to be an artistic symbol in the hearts of the audience. The word "Ding Yulan" represents Lu Opera to some extent. The story of the play is widely circulated among Anhui people. The story tells that the kind Guo Dingxiang was arranged by her parents to marry the prodigal Zhang Wanlang and was finally abandoned. After the defeat of Zhang Wanlang's family, he threw himself into the river.