In 1992, a little girl was born in Shengzhou, the hometown of Yue Opera. From the beginning of understanding people's words, she grew up following the Yue Opera tunes flowing in her ears. When she was 13 years old, she solemnly told her parents that she wanted to apply for the Yue Opera School, and since then she has been indomitable on this non-mainstream road. More than 10 years later, this post-90s girl has opened up a new situation in traditional art with her own efforts, bringing infinite surprises to her peers. This is Chen Lijun who uses the power of youth to break through.
May 1992, Shengzhou, Zhejiang. A little girl is walking leisurely on the country road with a textbook, her name is Chen Lijun, she is 7 years old this year, and she has just entered the first grade of primary school.
Lili, the big drama in our village is going on again, let's go see it!The neighbor's aunt called Lili, who was coming home from school, and said enthusiastically. When Lili heard the "big play", her eyes immediately lit up. She threw down her backpack and excitedly followed her aunt to the only Yue theater in town.
This is the first time Lili has performed Yue Opera so closely. On stage, the actors wore colorful costumes and danced. The loud and Hongda singing voice is matched with the melodious melody of the dance, which is beautiful. Lili was fascinated by it, and her eyes didn't blink, for fear of missing any wonderful moment.
After the two-hour repertoire, Lili reluctantly left the theater, humming the singing section she had just heard along the way, trying to keep every movement and expression on stage firmly in mind.
Lili, practice singing a paragraph to your mother?When I got home, my mother smiled and suggested. Lili happily did so, and sang the classic singing section she had just heard word for word, and her mother's eyes lit up when she heard it, and she exclaimed: "How talented our Lili is, this memory is amazing!."”
This year, Lili was 7 years old. Yue Opera brought her not only an audio-visual feast, but more importantly, awakened her passion for art. Since then, she has wanted to become an actor on the stage when she grows up, so that more people can appreciate this beautiful art.
Now that Lili is 13 years old, it is a critical moment to decide the direction of her life. One day, Lili solemnly said to her parents: "Mom and Dad, I want to learn opera, and I want to be a Yue Opera actor in the future!"”
The parents were stunned at first, and then said worriedly: "Lili, the road to being an actor is very difficult, you are still young, and you may change your mind in the future."
No, I'm passionate about Yue Opera, and this has been a decision I've been thinking about for a long time. Lili said firmly, "Please give me this opportunity, I will definitely try my best to become an excellent actor and live up to your expectations." ”
Looking at their daughter's bright eyes, the parents were stunned. After a while, my father nodded: "Okay, since it is your dream, we respect and support you." Go ahead and head to your stage!”
Lili happily hugged her parents and thanked her repeatedly. In this way, 13-year-old Lili began her own road to Yue Opera and took the first step to chase her dreams. The road will not be easy, but with the support of her family and her own enthusiasm, she has enough courage to face all the hardships and uncertainties.
September 2005, Shengzhou, Zhejiang.
Lili came to Shengzhou Yue Opera Art School to report and start her formal Yue Opera study career.
Lili, you start with Hua Dan's basic skills, which requires very strong basic conditions. According to Lili's physical condition, the teacher decided to let her learn Tsing Yi Hua Dan first.
Hua Dan needs a beautiful singing voice and a light dancing posture, and the requirements for actors are extremely high. In order to quickly meet the standard, Lili began to practice the most basic skills every day - loud singing voice, smart expression, soft body, delicate gestures, and light and elegant steps, all carefully practiced.
Three years later, 16-year-old Lili finally ushered in the first opportunity to perform on stage in her life. This is the school's graduation report performance, and Lili will play her first Hua Dan role in "The Legend of the West Chamber" Cui Yingying.
Lili, this is your first step on the path of art, just relax and play at a normal level. The teacher gently reminded. Lili took a deep breath and nodded.
When she put on the costume and walked onto the stage, Lili felt a pounding heartbeat. Three years of hard training converged into the most moving dancing and singing at this moment, and the audience resounded with warm applause. Lili's first Hua Dan role was perfectly performed and was recognized by teachers and the audience.
is so good, she will definitely become an outstanding Yue Opera actor in the future!The teachers hugged Lili excitedly, and they were glad that the students had their first successful performance.
The warm applause from the audience also lasted for a long time. At this moment, Lili burst into tears with excitement. The joy of appearing on stage for the first time washed away all her hard work and hardships in the past three years, which is the most beautiful fruit of youth.
In 2008, Lili successfully graduated and got the opportunity to continue her studies - she was assigned to the youth training class of the Yue Opera industry, Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, and began to receive a higher level of professional training.
Soon after arriving in the new environment, Lili ushered in the second turning point in her life.
Your congenital conditions are very suitable for schoolchildren, which requires psychological preparation for transformation. After the mentor Mao Weitao got Lili, he quickly made such a suggestion.
Xiaosheng is the male character in Yue Opera, and the actor needs to have a heroic stage image and a free and easy singing voice. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for Lili.
Transformation requires more effort to re-adapt, have you figured it out?Teacher Mao asked solemnly.
Lili thought seriously for a while, and then nodded resolutely: "Teacher, I'm ready." This is an opportunity to improve, and I will definitely give my best and take on new challenges!”
Seeing the student's determination, Teacher Mao nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, I'll reformulate the training plan, you must adapt to the children's chanting and pretentiousness requirements within three months." There can be no slacking off during this period!”
Yes!I will definitely try my best to meet the requirements and live up to the expectations of my teachers!”
In this way, under the guidance of her mentor, Lili, who was only 16 years old in 2008, officially began her studies.
Here, she met her enlightenment mentor, Mao Weitao, a master actor who has won the highest award in the Yue opera industry "Plum Blossom Award" three times. The strict teacher Mao has extremely high requirements for every student, and Lili is no exception.
The training after the transformation was very difficult, and Lili had to adapt to Xiaosheng's full artificiality and broad and loud singing voice in a short time. But she was not discouraged, but studied more diligently, and finally won the recognition of Teacher Mao in the assessment three months later.
You will definitely be able to become the best in the small life in the future. The stern teacher Mao commented on Lili. This inspired Lili and made her see her potential and possibility.
In this way, under the careful guidance of Master Yan, Lili gradually grew into an all-round and outstanding young actor. The hard work and sweat were not in vain, and she showed more outstanding strength after the transformation. This laid a solid foundation for her future development.
In 2013, Lili officially graduated, and with the encouragement of her teacher, she joined the top Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe in the Yue Opera industry and became a full-time professional actor.
In the same year, an opportunity came - CCTV's large-scale literary program "Youth Theater" invited Lili as a special guest actor to play the classic role "Xu Xian".
This is undoubtedly a great opportunity. The show is extremely popular, and if Lili can successfully perform this classic role in the show, her fame and connections will increase greatly.
You will definitely be able to perfectly interpret this classic role and let the audience see the style of our Yue Opera. Mentor Mao Weitao encouraged.
Lili is also aware of her responsibilities. In order to successfully star in this large-scale show, she began to practice hard day and night, carefully designing every detail, until her mentor Mao Weitao was very satisfied with her performance.
Finally, the day of recording came. Lili took a deep breath to keep herself as calm as possible. When she put on the beautiful costume and walked onto the stage in the studio, she still felt the excitement of flesh and blood.
Tutors, students will definitely live up to your expectations!Lili said silently to Teacher Mao in her heart.
With the loud song of staff, Lili entered the state. Her sassy dancing, tactful and loud singing, and meticulous portrayal of every expression and movement successfully touched everyone. The enthusiastic response from the director and the audience proved that she performed this classic role perfectly.
When the camera focuses on Lili's face, there are tears of excitement in her eyes. Finally, his art entered thousands of households through the window of television. It was the most glorious moment of her life.
Since then, Lili has become a frequent guest actor on many CCTV Yue Opera programs. In 2014, she was also invited to appear on Hunan Satellite TV's large-scale variety show "Everyday Upward", showing the new artistic charm of young Yue Opera actors to the national audience.
I really didn't expect this post-90s girl to have such a strong strength, she is simply a rising star in the Yue Opera industry!The audience commented in the comment area. Lili is also well-known in the industry for her talent and diligence.
With her frequent appearances on TV, Lili's popularity and popularity have increased rapidly. But she didn't bask in the joy of her first success. Lili is thinking more about how to make more young audiences like this ancient art.
In 2018, an opportunity inspired her - at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Lili collaborated with active pop singer Li Yugang to present a work that integrated elements of Yue opera and pop music, which received an enthusiastic response.
It turns out that Yue Opera can also be so energetic, I like it so much!”
The little girl's singing voice is so sweet, and it is perfectly combined with pop elements!”
As soon as the show aired, it set off a wave of discussion on the Internet. Lili realizes that young people's acceptance of traditional art is not low, and the key is to express themselves creatively in a way that they can understand and accept.
Since then, Lili has actively tried to integrate Yue Opera with other elements, striving to bring forth the new. She also participated in various talent shows, and under the recommendation of her mentor Mao Weitao, she boldly showed her attainments in all aspects of Yue Opera.
Our generation of young actors must use innovation to open up a new situation in traditional culture. Lili expressed her thoughts in the interview.
At the beginning of 2022, Lili's Yue Opera Troupe launched a new immersive experience drama "New Dragon Gate Inn". Here, Lili ushered in another artistic breakthrough and transformation.
In the play, she challenges and reverses a very charismatic but extremely capricious villain - the blue-faced beast Jia Ting.
In order to perfectly play this complex and dangerous character, Lili put a lot of effort into her voice and tone, while adding many elaborate details - a sinister smile, a threatening look, all just right.
The most amazing thing for the audience is that Lili also easily completed a difficult action on the stage: after holding another actor "gold inlaid jade" with one hand, she can also rotate her body. The picture sense of this scene.
With more than 10 years of hard work, Lili has shown the world the love and persistence of a post-90s generation for traditional art.
As her mentor Mao Weitao said, "Lili represents the new style of the new generation of actors, she has not only accumulated a solid foundation, but also has the courage to innovate, I believe that she will be able to create a new situation in traditional art." ”
Indeed, Lili and her generation of young actors have used their own practice to illustrate the art of "inheritance and innovation".
With enthusiasm and courage, they opened up a new path for traditional culture. This also brings courage and hope to all of us - as long as we have ideals in our hearts, we will definitely be able to break out of our own world.