Children's Huju opera triumph
Two girls play the female leading role Liu Ruolan (left) and her sister-in-law Ma Huimin in some episodes of huju opera "Thunderstorm."
Tang Yuewen (left) in a scene from Huju opera "Thunderstorm."
Children aged between 7 and 12 performed classic Huju opera “Thunderstorm” at Shanghai's Lyceum Theater over the weekend.
They are believed to be the first group of young students to perform the full opera that originated in Shanghai.
They have been learning Shanghai dialect at the Wenguang Art Troupe, which has been teaching students in the city's mother language since 2015.
Noted Huju performers Li Jianhua and his wife Lu Xianli directed the performance and said the idea to have children perform the classic came when Li was teaching them some songs from classic Huju operas as a way to learn the dialect.
“I found some of them can sing very well, and it inspired me to teach them how to perform and stage a whole play,” he said. “And they performed very well after two months of practice and rehearsal.”
The troupe staged a performance with both adult and juvenile performers last year but this was the first time the children had performed alone.
The piece created in the 1950s is a Huju opera classic that tells of the tragedy of newlywed couple Ma Huiqing and Liu Ruolan and the subsequent divorce and suicide when Ma's mother forces him to marry another woman.
Chen Yu, another Huju master, said she had been thrilled by the performance as the children seemed very professional in their acting and singing.
“You are very creative and have created a miracle,” she told the directors and students.
Li said the children had grown in confidence and their sense of cooperation during the course.
“Some girls were timid and dared not to sing aloud at the beginning, while some even cried when we asked them to raise their voices. But now they can perform confidently in front of a large audience,” he said. “They care about their own part at first but learn how to cooperate with each other through the whole process, which made the performance great.”
Tang Yuewen, 11, who played Liu, said she had joined the troupe to learn Shanghai dialect. Her family were from Chongming District and spoke with a Chongming accent. Her grandfather is a Huju amateur.
“I saw Huju as a kind of opera for old people previously, but now I think it’s interesting and we children can play it too,” she said.
Wang Hemin, founder of the troupe, said the training and the performance had not only improved the children’s skills and confidence, but had inspired them to pass on the traditional Shanghai culture.
Li said the success of the children’s performance had also given them confidence to promote the opera among the younger generation.
The troupe hope to perform the opera in schools and on other occasions in the future.
Tang Yuewen (left), who played Liu Ruolan in the opera, joined the troupe to learn Shanghai dialect.
Ma's mother and his cousin as portrayed on stage by children with the Wenguang Art Troupe.
Two children play the roles of servants.
